The Long Road T Rated Version
by DivaLola
Summary: Steve thought his life was crazy before. Now that his childhood best friend Maddie is back in his life, will all the pieces of the puzzle fall into place? Will he finally find the answers he's been searching for? And who will he choose to be with?
1. Chapter 1

DISCLAIMER: I do not own "Hawaii Five-O" or any of the characters!

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><p>AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hi everyone! Here is a new story I've started. Those of you who have read my other fics I will be finishing them. I PROMISE! I have some chapters that are going up next week. Count on it!<p>

Things you need to know. 1. Thoughts are in _italics_. 2. Don't be confused by anything. The relationships and who everyone is WILL BE explained soon. I promise! You won't be disappointed!

Anyways, Please read and review! I really want to know what you think! Good or bad!

Thanks a bunch,  
>Laura<p>

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><p><strong>CHAPTER 1<strong>

Lieutenant Commander Steve McGarrett sat in his office looking out into the main area of the 5-0 headquarters as his team joked around with one another. It was good to have Kono back. He could've killed Fryer for what he'd done. How dare he mess with his team like that? Blackmail Kono into helping him! Putting her in danger without them knowing about it! Just thinking about it made his blood boil.

As angry as he still was about the situation, it was all in the past now. They were all back together, and with a new member. Lori Weston seemed to be a nice addition to the team. She brought her own set of skills to their task force. He had to admit he'd been wrong about her. Of course, he'd never admit that to anyone else. Steve laughed to himself as he imagined how much shit Danny would give him if he found out.

McGarrett thought having Lori there was going to be a nightmare, but the more time he spent with her the more he realized she was someone he could count on. He could tell she had developed some feelings for him, but he hadn't decided how he felt about her or if she was even someone he could be with in that way. Plus, they did work together and with the last few months being as hectic as they were he didn't want to "rock the boat" when everything was beginning to look up. _It would be nice to have someone in my life like that though_, he thought. He was getting tired of being alone all the time. This thought caused his mind to wander to the person who had always been there for him. Maddie. Having to head out for a bit, he shook his head, knowing he just couldn't go there just then. But Steve knew he'd think about her later, just like he had every day since he'd met her.

Walking out of his office, he approached his laughing colleagues. "Hey guys, I'm gonna go grab a quick bite with Joe. I'll see you in a bit!"

"Sure thing boss!" Kono smiled.

This caused him to smile. _It's so good to hear her call me boss. I didn't realize how much her absence was affecting _us_, _he thought as he turned towards her. "It's really great to have you back Kono."

"Thanks Boss!"

The rest of the team cheered. Even Lori joined in, more to feel a part of the team he imagined. With that he turned around and headed towards his car.

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><p>Steve met Joe for a quick bite to eat at Kamekona's to see what he had on the video they'd recovered from the governor's office. The one of his dad, Wo Fat, and the governor.<p>

"I have nothing for you yet Steve. You gotta be patient," Joe told him.

He got the feeling Joe wasn't being straight with him. He just couldn't figure out what he wasn't telling him or why.

"You did give it to your friend, right?" Steve questioned.

"Yes! They have a lot to do besides this Steve." Joe paused. "Are you sure you want to know the answers kid?"

"Why? I need to know what my father was up to! I need to know who my father was." Steve exclaimed. _Why is he asking me this? _Steve wondered.

"I just promised your father I'd look out for you. I don't want you making things worse with Wo Fat by uncovering this. We have no idea what this could lead to! I understand your feelings on this Steve. I really do," Joe assured him.

"I HAVE to find out Joe. I'll figure it out with or without your help," he irritatedly replied.

Sighing, Joe stood up, "Well then, I'll let you know when I get something."

"Ok."

"Bye kid," Joe said.

"Yeah, bye." Steve watched as Joe walked away, a funny feeling burning in the pit of his stomach. _There is something off here_, Steve thought. _But, I guess there's nothing I can do about it right now._ Standing, he waved to Kamekona and started towards the water. He walked along the beach, mind wandering as he took in his surroundings. Just like every other time he was at the beach, Steve's mind wandered to Maddie. The way they'd sneak down to the beach at night as kids. Just talking and laughing for hours. She always had her guitar with her "just in case inspiration hit" she would tell him. Steve smiled, _which was all the time!_ he thought quietly, chuckling to himself as he reminisced.

He missed her. That was an understatement. They'd been through so much since they first met as kids, both good and bad. But they had always stuck by one another. He hadn't seen her in 2 years. Hadn't spoken to her in over a year. A far cry from the days when they spoke every night and that was when he was on the mainland and she was touring the world. But then he joined the Navy and it became increasingly more difficult to see and speak to her. It wasn't just his job that caused them to drift apart, it was hers too. She was never in one place for very long, but they had still figured out a way to stay in touch. That is, until he began chasing the Hess brothers all over the world._ Man, they caused me so many problems! Not only did Victor murder my father, but I lost the one person in the world I can't live without,_ Steve thought. He'd called her when his father had died (the first time in a year), but there was no answer. Steve had left her a message saying hi and that he wanted to catch up. He didn't mention that his father had been murdered. Maddie had been so close to his family and it wasn't something he wanted to tell her in a message. She never returned his call or the ones he'd left her every week since then. "There's no harm in calling again. Although I'm sure she won't answer or call me back," he mumbled to himself as he reached for his phone. "Mads" popped up on the screen as he hit speed dial 1. His thumb hovered over "Call" for what seemed like minutes before he pressed it. Holding the phone to his ear it rang and rang and rang. _Great she's not gonna answer_, he was disappointed. Even though he knew she wasn't going to answer when he called he always felt a huge loss afterwards. he had wished and hoped she'd answer this time. He really needed to hear her voice right then.

"Hi! You've reached Maddie! I OBVIOUSLY can't come to the phone right now, but if you leave your name, number, and a BREIF message I'll get back to you as soon as I can! Thank you and have a wonderful day!" Steve smiled at her sense of humor and her quirky inflections on the words "obviously" and "brief". _Not many people can get away with a message like that and not be considered rude, but she does it and it's funny! So her! Go figure! _he smiled sadly and sighed. _I miss that sense of humor._

McGarrett waited for the beep. _Should I even bother leaving a message? What am I going to say that I haven't already said on the million other messages I've left her? I mean she obviously wants nothing to do with me. I just wish I knew why! But...I guess it can't hurt at this point. _"Hi Maddie...I don't know what's going on...I hope you're okay. You know how I worry about you...Anyway, I just...I just need to hear your voice." There was a long pause before his voice became softer (if that was even possible) and with his eyes closed he said, "I just need you." With that, Steve hung up.

He plopped down on the hot sand feeling sorry for himself. _I need to get to the bottom of this. What if she's not okay? I mean she hates letting me know something isn't right. She's stubborn like that. Maybe that's the problem. But wouldn't Pete have called me? That's his job. That's why I got him the job. Because I trust him with her life. _The more he pondered Maddie's wellbeing the more freaked out and worried he became. "I'm just gonna give him a call. Make sure she's okay at least or I'm gonna go crazy worrying about her!" he immediately decided.

Steve quickly hit the number 2 and "send" as the name "Pete" came up on the screen. It rang a few times before he heard a slight husky whispered voice on the other end of the line, "Been too long bro!"

"Pete! How you been? How's everything?" Steve questioned, immediately putting on a macho male front.

"Hold on," he whispered. It was loud wherever Pete was. He could hear a ton of voices and wondered if she was there with him. _Of course she is! That's his job! Unless she's fired him. Oh my God! What if she fired him? Then who's making sure she's safe? _Steve began to panic until he heard Pete's voice. "Mo! I gotta take this call. I need you to take over for a few. I'll be back shortly. Thanks man!" _Calm down Steve. See, he's still with her. He's not even leaving her alone while he takes a phone call. He's bringing in his backup while he talks to you. Chill out!_ he attempted to talk himself down as he took long deep breaths, exhaling each one slowly. The voices began to fade away before Pete came back on. "Sorry for that bro. I just...uh...well...uh..." he stumbled unsure of what to say.

"You didn't want her to know it was me," Steve guessed.

Silence. The only answer he needed. "Sorry Steve," Pete quietly said. "I assume you wanna know how she is?"

It stung. The fact that she obviously didn't want to hear about him or know someone around her was talking to him hurt. Deep. She really didn't want anything to do with him. Of course he had assumed she didn't because she was ignoring him, but it became real with what Pete said. It just wasn't like her to "disappear" this way. The Maddie he'd known practically his entire life told you if you pissed her off. At least in situations like this. Sure, he figured she'd be mad she hadn't heard from him in so long, but she would not have "written him off" for something like that. "She mad I didn't call for so long? I couldn't. I called as soon as I could."

"No, that's not it. Honestly Steve, she won't tell me what it is. I don't know man..." Pete cryptically said sounding as if he was holding something back.

Steve picked up on it. He didn't like the way Pete had said that. He could feel something wasn't right. "What is it? What's wrong? Is she okay?" His heart was pounding as he questioned his old buddy.

"Woah Steve! She's safe! Calm down! ...Enough about Maddie. Where are you? Overseas still? How's Stilts? Buddha? Everyone?"

McGarrett laughed at the use of the crazy nicknames they'd given to everyone in their unit. "Man we had some great times! They're awesome! But I'm not with them. I'm actually in Hawaii. I'm on leave. Heading up a task force here."

"What? You're not running all over the world playing ninja with the others anymore? I can't believe it!" Pete teased, but still conveyed his shock.

"No, I'm not. But I'm taking care of some really terrible people. Gotta get them off the streets and off this island." "As long as you're happy McG, that's all that matters."

"Yeah, I know. Thanks."

"So, if you're in Hawaii that must mean you've seen your dad after what? 10 years? Longer? How is he? You staying with him?"

_Do I tell him? What if he tells Maddie? I don't want her finding out that way, _Steve paused while he decided how to answer. Never having lied to his friend before, he went with the truth. "He's actually dead. That's what brought me back to Hawaii."

"What? Oh man! Steve, I am so sorry! When this go down?"

"4 months ago."

Pete felt terrible. Why hadn't Steve told him? "What? Why are you just telling me now? I would've come out for the services!"

"I know, but you have a much more important job to do. Keeping her safe. Anyway, I didn't have anyone at the service. It was just me."

"Speaking of Maddie...does she know?" Pete could already guess the answer. He figured if she knew she wouldn't have frozen him out regardless of the reason, but then she hadn't really been acting like herself the last few months or so. Steve didn't need to know that right now. He hadn't lied when he told her she was safe because she most definitely was.

Steve sighed. "No. I called her when I got to Hawaii. I wanted her to know, but she never called back. It wasn't something I wanted to leave in a message. She was so close to my parents. She saw my dad more than I did the last 10 years. Every time she came home she'd stop by and see him. I know she'll be upset when she finds out, so please don't tell her. I don't want her finding out from anyone except me. As far as I know she doesn't even know I'm back here."

"Hmm... well, I won't tell her. But I can guarantee if I did, she'd at least call you. She,"

Steve interrupted him, "But I don't want her to contact me because of that. Because she feels she has to. I want her to do it because she wants to."

"I get it bro. I do. Well, I'll try and figure out what the problem is."

"Thanks P. I appreciate that."

"She's scheduled to go home soon. I can set it up where you just happen to run into her."

"Nah. No tricks. We'll just see what happens. Play it by ear," McGarrett sadly said.

"Alright, if you're sure. But if you change your mind, just let me know. Hey McG, I gotta go back to her. It's been..." Pete stopped mid sentence not wanting to let on that something was off with her. Steve didn't need to hear that right now. He had enough on his mind.

"What? I thought you said everything was fine! What aren't you telling me?" Steve felt his earlier panic over her wellbeing and safety return. He always did worry like crazy about her.

"Calm down bro! She's fine! It's just been a long couple days. I want to make sure she gets some time to just relax before the show," Pete tried to recover. He wasn't lying to him after all, that was the truth. He just wasn't telling Steve everything.

"Ok. As long as that's all it is."

"It is."

"Ok, go back. I'll talk to you soon!"

"You too McG! Sorry again to hear about your loss!"

"Thanks! Later,"

"Later."

With that Steve hung up. _Well at least she was safe. And she'd be home soon. _He'd get to the bottom of things then. Feeling better after speaking to Pete, he stood, brushed the sand off his cargos and headed towards his car. Although they didn't have a big case right now, there were still things that needed to get done.

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><p>That's it! Please please please READ and REVIEW! THANK YOU!<p> 


	2. Chapter 2

**DISCLAIMER:** I do not own "Hawaii Five-0" or any of it's characters!

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><p><strong>AUTHOR'S NOTE:<strong> I know you guys want to see more Steve and the cast. You will, I PROMISE! I'm just trying to set up the story. Anyway, keep reading and I promise you won't be disappointed!

As I mentioned before, thoughts are in _italics_.

Please be sure to read and review! I update faster if I know what people are thinking. Whether it's good or bad, REVIEW!

Thanks,

Laura

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><p>Michael Jackson's "Bad" filled the room causing Maddie to freeze. It was Steve. She knew that without even looking. It was his ringtone. They loved that song when it came out. They used to rock out to it late at night on the beach. Her heart began to pound as she reached for her phone. Picking it up she stared at the smiling photo of him on the screen. She had taken it the last time she'd seen him. Two years before. There was a black tie event in his honor for his win of the Navy Cross and he'd asked her to be his date (as friends of course). Seeing as it was such a big deal and she hadn't seen him in a while she rearranged her schedule, much to the dismay of her manager and label, and met him there. She was dressed in a red strapless vintage Chanel gown. The skirt a bit poofy. It was gorgeous. Something she had been saving for a very special occasion and she couldn't think of something more special than this night with Steve. He had been speechless when he saw her and she of him. He stood there in his dress whites, big smile on his face. They had the best time that night. They'd left the party a bit early and found themselves at the beach. He chased her with the intent of picking her up and throwing her into the water, just like he used to do when they were younger. They laughed and eventually collapsed on the sand out of breath. Noticing her shiver slightly, Steve pulled her to him, wrapping his arms around her. They sat like that for hours staring at the stars and talking. The two best friends played their childhood game of who could identify more constellations than the other. What made it fun was that at some point they would just start making them up sending them into hysterics. Sure, it was childish, but then again they'd made it up when they were 8. Apparently Steve was out of constellations and said, "A man sitting on a toilet." What was so funny was she saw the same thing. As the two laughed she snapped a picture of them on her phone. It was that photo that came up every time he called or texted her.<p>

So here she sat, phone in hand staring at the photo from that night. Maddie wanted more than anything to answer the phone. The internal battle raging within her was literally driving her nuts. She found herself distracted all the time because she couldn't stop thinking and worrying about him. Maddie missed him a lot! More than she thought humanly possible. Just as she was going to lose the battle and pick up the phone, it stopped ringing. _Phew! Close call! Come on Maddie! Be strong! Don't give in!_

The new voicemail message popped up on her screen. She wasn't sure she was going to listen to it. _I love his messages. I've saved every single one he's left me. But it makes it that much harder once I've heard it. _Deciding she couldn't handle hearing the message before her show she tucked her phone away in her purse. Maddie couldn't risk anymore distraction. She'd had enough on her mind the last 4 months.

She sat there in her dressing room staring off into space. Although she was surrounded by so many people at every moment, she felt so alone. Especially lately. Maddie felt her secrets were going to suffocate her. She felt like she had the weight of the world on her shoulders. She was pulled out of her head by a nearby phone ringing. Maddie looked over to see the head of her security, Pete, reaching for his cell. She knew who it was. It was Steve. He was getting worried. Steve and Pete had been part of the same Navy Seal team. Pete chose not to re-enlist around the time Maddie had a breakdown in her security team. Always overprotective of her, Steve had freaked out worrying about her safety. He'd contacted Pete and hired him as the head of her security. Between the two of them, they filled the rest of the seven members of her team with their buddies. People Steve could trust. The other eight had been hired three months ago at her request.

Pete glanced at his caller ID. Immediately seeing Steve's name, he looked up at Maddie to see her staring at him. She knew who it was. Pete quickly answered and excused himself from the room, leaving another bodyguard, Mo, in charge. Maddie sat there for what felt like and hour waiting for Pete to return. Finally he appeared and immediately started clearing people from her dressing room.

When the last person had left, Maddie turned to him, "Why'd you do that? Everything okay?"

"Of course! I just…It's been a long couple days. I know you haven't been sleeping well, I thought you could try and get some rest before the show tonight."

Smiling she replied, "You worry too much! I'm fine!"

"Come on Maddie. Are you forgetting about that little incident that happened this morning? You almost passed out on me. You're exhausted. You know, you don't have to pretend to be invincible around me. You trust me with your life, but not with what's bothering you. That makes no sense! Wanna talk about it?"

He looked so concerned. Genuinely concerned. _I wonder if he told Steve what happened this morning. _Maddie started panicking a bit. Steve couldn't find out. He just couldn't. "I'm fine Petey! I promise! I was just hungry!" She turned towards the mirror, playing with her hair. "Did you say anything to Steve about".

"The near fainting?" Pete interrupted. "No, I didn't. I should've! But…" Pete wanted to tell her what was going on with Steve, but he'd promised his "brother" that he wouldn't.

Maddie picked up on his hesitation. _What's going on? Is Steve okay?_ "What? Is everything alright with Steve? He hasn't been shot has he?"

"You could find out for yourself, ya know? If you'd call him back."

"Just tell me Pete! Is he alright?" Maddie snapped at him.

"Yes! He's safe!" Pete watched her close her eyes and sigh in relief. "Maddie?"

"Yes," she answered slowly opening her eyes to look at him.

"Why won't you talk to him? Did something happen?"

"Nothing happened. Everything's fine. I'm just busy," she quickly retorted.

"Come on Maddie! You can talk to me!"

After what felt like forever Maddie answered him, "I just….I realized that what I want from him he won't ever want to give me. It just hurts too much to be near him. Not that it's any of your business!" Maddie replied somewhat coldly.

"Look at me!" Pete demanded as he walked towards her.

She glared up at him as he towered over her in a caring, non-threatening, but assertive way. "You know that's bullshit! If you ever went to him asking for more he'd give it to you in a second. You know that! Don't pretend not to! So, what's the real reason Maddie?"

Pete watched her as her eyes began to fill with tears. He bent over slightly, "What is it? What has you so upset?"

She just looked away and shook her head.

"Is it why you haven't been acting like yourself the last few months? Does it all have to do with Steve? It's okay to tell me, you know."

_Dammit! My body had to choose this moment to cry in front of someone? Seriously? I can't tell him! Maddie, don't spill the beans! You know what's at stake!_ she chastised herself. As the tears spilled down her cheeks one after another all she could do was continue to shake her head at Pete. She was falling apart in front of his eyes.

_I wish Steve were here right now. He's not only the only person on the face of the earth that can get her smiling again in moments of sadness, which don't happen very often, but he could get to the bottom of things. _Pete was worried about her. _Maybe I should call Steve? Tell him the truth about what's been going on. Maybe he can fly out here? Get her to open up about whatever's eating away at her?_

Pete knelt down, a hand placed on the couch on each side of her. "Maddie? Let's call him. You can talk it out with him. Better yet, let's have him come out. I know everything will be okay if you just talk to him. I promise!"

"NO! You don't know what you're talking about!" Maddie practically yelled at him.

"Then explain it to me! No one understands Maddie!" Pete was becoming exasperated.

"I can't! Everything's fine! I just can't talk to him! Let it go!" Maddie was now practically hyperventilating she was crying so hard.

"No, everything is not fine! Look at yourself! Why won't you talk to him?" his voice rose, not out of anger, but out of confusion. Confused why she wouldn't talk to Steve. "You don't even know why, do you? You don't have a clue! No good reason to throw your best friend in the entire world away! The guy who stood by you through everything!" Pete exclaimed, trying to bait her. He hoped she'd get mad and reveal something by accident. He'd try anything at this point.

"I do too!"

"No you don't!" They were practically yelling at one another at this point. "If you do then what is it?"

"I'm protecting him!" Pete was shocked. He was not expecting that answer. A million questions swam through his head.

"From what, Maddie? What are you proctecting him from? Do you mean emotionally?"

"No."_ Dammit Maddie! Look what you did! You're only making things worse for Steve, _she yelled at herself.

Pete was beyond confused. "Physically? What would you need to protect him from? I don't understand Maddie." Pete calmly said.

Maddie paused. Hiccuping and sniffling from crying, she turned away and quietly said, "I'd like for you to leave now. I need to get ready for the show."

"Maddie…don't do this. Don't shut me out." Pete begged as he reached for her hand.

Pulling out of his grasp she stood and walked to the door leading to her dressing room's bathroom. "Please put me in lockdown until showtime."

"So absolutely no one in during that time? That kind of lockdown? Not even me?"

"No one." And with that she walked into the bathroom, slamming and locking the door behind her.

Pete walked to the closed door and laid his hand on it. "You know Maddie, I've been with Steve through some really terrible ordeals. There is nothing he can't handle. He can protect himself. You shutting him out is making him unfocused. I don't know what he needs protecting from, but he won't be able to protect himself as well if he can't focus. So, you're not really helping him. Think about it." With that, Pete turned and walked out of her dressing room, taking his place outside her door. Steve had tasked him with protecting the person most dear to him in the world and he took his job very seriously. He wouldn't even be alive if it wasn't for Steve, not to mention he was fond of Maddie in a brother/sister sort of way. He would protect her physical safety no matter what, he just wished he could protect her emotionally as well.

He stood there, pondering her last statement. He couldn't explain, but he had a terrible feeling about whatever was going on. Whatever it was, it wasn't good._ I've gotta get her to Hawaii as soon as possible. I have to get her to Steve. We have to figure out a way to get her to talk to him. Tell him what she's afraid of. _His mind made up he yelled to a man right down the hall. "Mo! I need you to take over for a second." The tall, buff African American man began towards him, "No problem Pete!" The two switched places as Pete ran off to make some calls.

Inside her dressing room bathroom Maddie slid down the back of the door sobs wracking her body. Not thinking in her current mental state, she reached for her phone and pressed 1.

Her rational self screamed at her to hang up the phone as it rang. Before she could listen to it he picked up. "Maddie?"

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><p>Don't forget to <strong>REVIEW<strong>**!**


	3. Chapter 3

**DISCLAIMER:** I do not own the show "Hawaii Five-0" or any of it's characters.

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><p><strong>AUTHOR'S NOTE:<strong> I'm sorry this chapter is kind of long. I probably should have made it 2 chapters, but I am sooo anxious to really get to the good part of the story. The parts where there's danger, adventure, romance, mystery, etc. The first 3 chapters are filled with background information and everything like that. The next chapter, chapter 4, will be full of excitement. I am dying to post it, but I wanted to give everyone a chance to read this one first. There's a lot of dialogue in this chapter, but I felt it was the easiest and fastest way to write it.

As always, thoughts are in _italics_.

Please let me know what you guys think! The more responses the sooner I will post the next next chapter, which is exciting!

xo,

Laura

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><p><strong>Previously in Chapter 2<strong>

Inside her dressing room bathroom Maddie slid down the back of the door sobs wracking her body. Not thinking in her current mental state, she reached for her phone and pressed 1.

Her rational self screamed at her to hang up the phone as it rang. Before she could listen to it he picked up. "Maddie?"

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><p><strong>CHAPTER 3<strong>

Lieutenant Commander Steve McGarrett walked into Five-0 Headquarters feeling more at ease in regards to Maddie since speaking to his buddy and head of her security, Pete. He and Pete went way back. They'd both been part of the same Seal team and had trusted each other with their lives. In fact, Steve had saved Pete's life a couple times. When Pete chose not to re-enlist Maddie had just had a breach in her security team, so Steve hired him on as her head of security and together they chose the rest of the guys. All people they knew and could trust. At the time, Steve was running around the world chasing the Hess brothers and needed to know she was taken care of. There was no one she would be safer with, except himself.

Chin Ho Kelly called out to Steve. "Hey McGarrett! Check this out!"

"Hey Chin! What's up?" Steve approached him as the rest of the team gathered around.

"I went back to the times we've known Wo Fat was on the island in hopes we'd maybe be able to find some more associates or people he's worked with. Since he's murdered all the ones we know about. Thought it might eventually lead us to his whereabouts."

"Good thinking. Find anything?" Lori Weston interjected from her spot next to Steve.

"I think so. I went back through the contents of the safe house of his we discovered a couple months back and I found a receipt and business card for a Thai restaurant in this area here." Chin pointed to it on the screen in front of them. "I thought maybe someone from there might remember him. Maybe he goes there for business meals."

"Great job Chin! Why don't…" Steve began to say, interrupted by his phone ringing.

"Are you a Michael Jackson fan? 'Bad', is that your jam? How did I not know this about you Steve?" Danny wisecracked.

The look on Steve's face was a mixture of happiness and shock. He snatched his phone from his belt, worried that if he waited too long to answer she'd chicken out and hang up. Picking up he said, "Maddie?" his face and voice full of concern.

She said nothing in response.

"Maddie?" his voice laced with added worry and a bit of panic.

Maddie did her best to not let him know she was crying, but it was becoming increasingly difficult. She tried holding her breath but it seemed to only make matters worse. A sob escaped.

"What's wrong? Are you okay? Maddie, answer me." Steve was panicked at this point. _Is she in trouble? Where the hell is Pete? I spoke to him 30 minutes ago and he claimed everything was fine. This does not sound like fine to me! _Steve thought to himself.

"Maddie? Who's Maddie?" Danny asked.

"Steve, she okay?" Chin asked his face also showing concern.

"What the hell is going on? Does someone want to fill me in? Why does Steve look like he's going to shoot off like Superman to rescue some girl?" Danny questioned.

She was now openly sobbing on the phone, but still couldn't say anything. _You idiot! Why'd you call him! It's just making things worse! Now he's definitely not going to let things go. You're just scaring the hell out of him. Hang up! Hang up the phone, Maddie! _she thought to herself. Even though she knew that she should hang up, she just couldn't do it. She needed Steve right now. She needed to hear his voice.

"Maddie, are you in danger? Talk to me! You're freaking me out! Where's Pete? I thought he was with you." Steve said to her, speaking rather quickly showing the others that he was beyond scared. Still only her tears and labored breathing could be heard. He could hear she was having a difficult time catching her breath at this point. "Fine, if you won't say anything to me at least cough to let me know you're safe."

He waited for what felt like minutes until he heard her cough. "Okay, there's something." A small smile of relief briefly appeared on his face as he sighed and whispered, "Thank God!" more to himself than to Maddie.

Maddie was crying so hard at this point that she started to gag. _Great! How attractive Madeline! Just hang up on him! _Maddie chastised herself.

Hearing her begin to gag Steve freaked out again. _Something has to be seriously wrong for her to cry like this and call me after freezing me out for months. She rarely cries in front of me, and when she does it's usually just a couple tears rolling down her face and then she stops. I've never heard her like this. _"Maddie….everything's okay. Take a deep breath. Just listen to my voice. I'm right here. You know you're always safe with me. Come on Mads….breath. Shh…shhh. You're okay."

Maddie's only response was more sobs, although she wasn't gagging as much. "Okay, you won't talk to me. That's alright. I'll do the talking. Hmm…let's see. I know! Remember when we were maybe 10 and we decided to pick my mom flowers and try and make her a lei for Mother's Day?" Steve was already chuckling before even finishing the story. "We scoured all over for the perfect flowers. When we finally finished and presented it to her my parents jaws dropped. Not only did we put poison oak in it, but marijuana! My dad had us trekking through the forest scratching our poison oak covered bodies to show him where we got the marijuana. We were sooo miserable. We thought we were so cool back then! So grown up! Do you remember that Mads?"

The rest of Five-0 didn't even bother pretending not to listen to his conversation. "Who the hell is he talking to? Who is Maddie?" Danny asked again.

"Yeah? Is it his sister?" Lori added hoping and praying that was the answer.

"My guess is he'll explain when he hangs up," Kono told them.

Maddie seemed to calm down a bit as Steve told the story. He could've sworn he even heard a small laugh in there. He was sure she was still crying, but at least she wasn't sobbing. He could definitely hear her hiccupping and attempting to catch her breath as she began to calm down. "There ya go. That's better. You're fine. I'm right here. I'm not going anywhere, baby." _Did you really just call her baby? Seriously? Why'd I do that? I've never done that before, _Steve berated himself. _Maybe she didn't hear me through her hiccups_, he hoped. But he knew that wasn't the case. There was a pause where she held her breath and then the sobs returned.

"Maddie! No! You're okay! Calm down, please. Shhh…shhh. Talk to me. Tell me what's going on!" Steve's brows were completely furrowed in concern as he listened to her cry.

_He called me baby! What the hell? He's never done that before. It just makes me miss him more and wish he was here. I gotta hang up! _It felt like the walls were closing in around her as she sat in a puddle on the bathroom floor. _How did this all happen? Why is this happening to me? To him? To us? And I can't even tell him! This isn't fair! _The more she thought about the trouble and predicament she was in the harder she cried. The gagging continued and before she knew it she was crying so hard that she vomited. Luckily she was already in the bathroom and made it to the toilet in time.

Steve heard the crying get worse and felt like crying himself. It absolutely ripped his heart out hearing her like this and not have any way to help her or get to her. "Woah, Mads. Take a deep breath! You're okay. I'm right here. You're not alone." He heard the gagging return. _Dammit! What the hell is going on? I gotta get in touch with Pete. Where the hell is he? _His eyes closed and his face scrunched up as he heard her throw up. _Wow, you gotta be crying so hard and be really upset to vomit from it. What the hell is wrong? I was concerned the last couple months, now I'm beyond worried! Something is NOT right. She's in trouble. I can feel it. _"Maddie…you need to talk to me NOW! Whatever it is I promise we can fix it. I'll help you. Everything will be fine. Please don't keep shutting me out."

Maddie wiped her face and leaned back against the door once more. _Hang up, Maddie! Just hang up! _she told herself. Knowing that's what she had to do she closed her eyes, took a deep breath and whispered, "I'm sorry." With that she hung up.

Steve froze at the sound of her voice. She sounded so scared, so lost. He'd been there for her through a lot of really terrible times. Her mother dying, her father physically abusing her, etc and he could honestly say he'd never heard her like this. His blood ran cold at the various explanations running through his mind. "What do you mean you're sorry? What for Maddie?" Steve heard nothing. No more sniffling, no more hyperventilating and no more gagging. "Maddie? …..Maddie? Are you there?" His eyes closed and he pursed his lips as the reality sunk in that she'd hung up. "Dammit!" he yelled as he threw the phone down on the table.

No one said anything as they watched an incredibly upset Steve swear under his breath. After a minute or so Steve looked up to see the entire team staring at him questions and confusion written on their faces. It was as if he lost the ability to speak and even if he could say something he wasn't sure what to tell them. So with a grunt Steve walked away heading outside. Danny moved to follow him, but Chin stopped him. "Let me."

* * *

><p>Chin found McGarrett sitting outside, his back against the building, his head in his hands. "Steve? What happened? Is Maddie alright?" Chin had gone to the same high school with Steve and Maddie and although they weren't friends at that time he remembered her. He'd been a senior when they were freshmen. Once she began touring the world she'd return home every so often. Although Steve no longer lived in Hawaii his dad did and Maddie always visited him when she was in town. Chin had been partnered with John McGarrett (Steve's dad) and through that became good friends with Maddie. They spoke every once in a while when she was on the road and they always saw one another when she was home in Hawaii. Although, he hadn't spoken with her on the phone since joining Five-0, they'd texted a couple times. She was aware he was part of a task force, but he hadn't told her about Steve. He didn't feel that was his place.<p>

"I don't know what's wrong Chin. I just…" he sighed. "She won't talk to me." Steve was on the verge of tears.

Chin sat on the ground next to Steve, his back also against the wall. "Well, why don't you tell me what you do know."

"I called her when my dad died, when I came back to Hawaii. She didn't answer and I left her a message. She never called me back. I've called her at least once a week since then and nothing. She never answers and never returns my calls. Nothing. No emails. No text messages. I don't know what's wrong."

"Does she know what happened to your dad?"

"No. I didn't want to leave it in a message. Maddie was really close to him. I wanted to tell her myself."

"Does she know you're back living in Hawaii?"

"No, I don't think so."

"Well, when was the last time you spoke to her?"

"Over a year ago. I was so busy chasing Hess it was hard to keep in touch with her. At first I thought maybe she was mad about that, but I don't think she'd freeze me out because of it. That's not how she is. When I tried calling Maddie earlier and she didn't answer I called Pete…just to make sure she was okay."

"What'd he say?"

"He said she isn't mad I didn't contact her for so long. That he didn't know why she refuses to talk to me. She won't talk about it."

"Did Pete tell you she was okay?"

"He said she was safe. There were a couple times I got the feeling he wasn't telling me something, but he claimed everything was fine. That she was tired today. Had a busy couple days and he needed to go because he wanted to make sure she got some rest before tonight's show."

"How long ago did you talk to him?" Chin asked.

Steve looked at his watch and turned towards his friend, "Maybe 45 minutes ago."

"That's not that long ago. What was Maddie saying on the phone?"

Thinking back to the phone call and how he just had to stand there listening to her sob unable to do anything about it, Steve got a bit choked up. Clearing the emotion and unshed tears from his throat he answered, "Nothing. Maddie said absolutely nothing. She just cried. That is an understatement. Sobbed. Hysterically. Could barely breath. She started gagging and eventually threw up from crying so hard."

"Wow. That would explain your reaction when you were on the phone." Chin shook his head becoming worried himself. "Have you ever seen her that upset before?"

"Are you kidding me? I think I've seen a few tears fall down her face a couple times. Maybe seen her actually somewhat cry once. And I've known her since we were 4 years old."

"I didn't hear you say bye on the phone. What happened?"

"She had calmed down after I distracted her and told her that story, but…I think I said the wrong thing, completely by accident, and it triggered something. She started sobbing all over again. Then gagging. Then she threw up. Maddie threw up because she was so upset. Do you know how hard you have to be crying for that to happen Chin?"

"I can't even imagine Steve. Must've been so hard to hear her like that and not be able to be with her."

"You have no idea."

"What happened next?"

Steve paused, his bottom lip quivering as he tried to hold back tears. "She said, 'I'm sorry'. Then she was gone. But her voice…oh my God Chin. The sound of her voice. Fear. Complete fear. And sadness. Hopelessness. Every sad emotion you can think of I heard in her voice." McGarrett wiped a tear from his eye before it could fall. "Something's not right. I gotta see her."

"What about flying to her? Where is she?"

"Somewhere in the Midwest. I need to get her off tour. She needs to come home for awhile. As much as I want to jump on a plane right now, she'll be able to avoid me because of her schedule. If I can get her to Hawaii, that won't be the case."

"That's true. But when is she scheduled to come home?"

"Pete said he thought it was in a few weeks…" Steve sighed.

"I gotta be honest with you Steve. I don't think you can wait that long. For her sake. And yours too."

Shaking his head, McGarrett looked at Chin, "I know." Thinking about what to do next, how to get Maddie home sooner, he put his head in his hands while scratching his head. "I'm gonna call Pete. See what he can do."

"Good idea. Mind putting him on speaker?" Chin asked feeling just as involved as McGarrett. He cared deeply for Maddie. She was like a little sister to him. There was no one on this earth like her. She was sweet as can be, absolutely hysterical, beyond talented, and wonderful to be around. This behavior wasn't like her and that concerned him.

"No problem," Steve replied as he hit speed dial 2 on his cell. After a couple rings, Pete answered. "Hello?"

_That's weird. He normally answers in an enthusiastic silly way when I call. Did he not look at his Caller ID? _Steve wondered.

"Hey Pete. It's me again."

"Uh…" Pete paused as if he wasn't sure who was on the line. Steve shot a questioning look towards Chin.

"Pete, It's me! Steve!"

"Oh! Sorry man. I've been on the phone with all sorts of people since I last talked to you. What's up?"

"You tell me," Steve retorted knowing for sure that Pete hadn't been straight with him earlier, which pissed him off. He hired Pete because he would keep him in the loop and be honest.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, Maddie called."

"She did? Great! You don't know how happy I am to hear that!" Pete sounded genuinely relieved and happy. _Maybe she told him what's bothering her and things will be better, _Pete thought to himself. "How'd it go?"

"She didn't say anything."

"What do you mean she didn't say anything? You just told me she called." Pete was utterly confused.

"She was hysterical. Maddie literally sat on the phone sobbing. Hyperventilating. What the hell happened after I hung up?" Steve's voice rose a bit.

Pete rubbed his head and sighed, "I'm sorry McG. That was my fault. I upset her."

"I've never in my life heard her like that. What the hell did you say?"

"After I hung up with you I went back to her. I kicked everyone out of her dressing room in hopes that she could get some rest before the show. She knew I'd been talking to you and she thought something had happened. Like you'd been shot or something. She asked about it and I told her you were fine. I figured it was as good a time as any to ask her why she won't talk to you…"

Steve interrupted praying that Maddie had spilled the beans, "Did she tell you? What'd she say?"

"She gave me some bullshit excuse. Completely lying to my face. I called her on it…"

"What was the lie?" The fact that Pete didn't tell him exactly what she said piqued his interest.

"Um…this is uncomfortable."

"Just tell me. I mean you have to now after saying that!" Steve countered. Chin too was extremely curious. Maddie wasn't normally a liar so the fact that she lied to begin with was completely out of character.

"Um…she claimed…well that…" Pete nervously began. "…that she had realized she wanted more from you and that you would never give it to her. That it was just too hard to be talk to you or be near you," Pete rattled off the rest rather quickly. It was obvious to both Steve and Chin that he was uncomfortable talking about this.

Steve was shocked. He didn't expect that. He was a bit hurt too, but he wasn't sure why. He wondered if all of what Maddie said was a lie. If any of it was true. _Don't worry about that now Steve. Deal with the problem at hand_, he told himself. "What'd you say to that?"

Chin and Steve didn't think it was possible for Pete to become more uncomfortable, but they were wrong. Pete stuttered and stumbled, "Uhhhhh…ummmm. Does it really matter Steve?"

"Yes! I want to know everything that was said. It'll help me try and figure out what triggered her to fall apart like that and why!" Steve was beyond curious now.

"Ok…umm…welll. I said….uhh…" Pete continued to stumble.

"For God's sake, just spit it out!" Steve cried, exasperated and dying to know.

"Fine! I told Maddie that that was complete and utter bullshit! That if she ever went to you wanting more you'd give it to her in a second. That she knew that. I then asked her what the real reason was." Pete was mortified right now. This was his friend's love life. Or lack of one. Steve had never admitted to being in love with Maddie, but everyone just knew he was. They figured neither Steve or Maddie had realized how they felt about each other yet, but that one day they would and that would be it.

Steve wasn't quite sure why he was blushing, but his face was fire truck red. He tried to inconspicuously hide his face from Chin. "Maddie and I are just friends Pete. Always have been. Always will be. Anyway, that's besides the point. What was her answer?"

Chin was doing his best to keep the massive smile from his face. _Wow, what a bunch of bullshit! I can't believe he still hasn't realized that he's head over heels for her. That they are soul mates! _Chin thought to himself as he shook his head.

"Her eyes began to fill with tears and I told her she could talk to me. That she trusted me with her life, why not trust me with this. She shook her head refusing to look at me. I asked her if that's why she'd been acting weird the last few months. If it had anything to do with you and she just…"

Steve's blood began to boil. Pete had lied right to his face. He had said she was fine. "What do you mean acting weird? Dammit Pete you told me everything was fine! What the hell is going on?" Steve somewhat yelled.

Chin reached over and placed a hand on his friend's forearm effectively telling him this wasn't the way to handle this situation.

"Sorry Pete. I just… go on and then we'll come back to this," Steve apologized.

"Um…ok.. Tears started rolling down her face, but she still wouldn't say anything. She just kept shaking her head at me Steve. I remember wishing you were there in that moment. You would have been able to fix everything. She trusts you."

"Obviously not right now Pete," Steve countered shaking his hand and biting his lip out of confusion and frustration. "So she never said anything to you? That's all you said to get her so upset? That's strange. That's not like Maddie at all."

"No…there's more."

"Alright, keep going."

"I suggested we call you or have you fly out. That maybe talking it out with you would make her feel better. And as I reached for my phone she freaked out on me."

"Freaked out? Maddie doesn't really freak out. What do you mean?" Steve asked, his eyebrows so furrowed together he appeared to have a uni-brow.

"She screamed no at me and that I had no idea what I was talking about. I asked her to explain it to me then because no one understood. Maddie said she couldn't and claimed everything was fine. That she just couldn't talk to you and that I should just let it go. But she was so upset when she said this Steve. She was frustrated and yelling and crying so hard she was starting to hyperventilate. Just not the Maddie I know. So I baited her. I figured she was already mad and flustered and that maybe I could get her to reveal something by accident."

"That explains it. So what happened? Did Mads tell you anything?"

"I yelled back. I told her everything wasn't fine. To just look at herself. I asked again why she wouldn't talk to you. Then I proceeded to bully her a bit. I told her she probably didn't even know why. That she had no reason to throw you away especially after everything you two have been through. That pissed her off big time and we did the whole 'Do too', 'do not" back and forth with each other a couple times until I felt she was reaching the point she might let something slip. So I said, 'then what is it?' and that's when she said it…"

"Said what?" Steve and Chin both said in unison dying to know what she'd revealed.

"She said she was protecting you Steve."

There was complete silence for a moment as both Steve and Chin took in what Pete had said. "What?" Steve was shocked and beyond confused. "Protecting me how? From what?"

"The same questions were running through my mind too. That was the last thing I was expecting her to say, so I calmly questioned her. I asked if she meant she was emotionally protecting you and she said no."

"So then physically? What the hell? What'd she tell you next?" Steve was itching with anticipation and long awaited answers.

"Nothing. She calmed very quickly and quietly told me to leave. Said she needed to get ready for the show. I tried to reach for her but she shrugged me away and told me to put her into lockdown."

"What's lockdown?" Chin asked.

"Chin Ho? Is that you?" Pete asked.

"Yeah, sorry! Steve filled me in on everything after Maddie called and I asked if he wouldn't mind putting your call on speaker. We should've said something." Chin replied.

"No problem! Anyway, lockdown is when Maddie is not to be disturbed. She rarely ever asks for it. Normally it's me wanting her to get some rest. Especially lately. So it was very out of character for her to ask."

"So you just left her? You let it go?" Steve wondered somewhat shocked Pete hadn't pushed more.

"Well she basically kicked me out McG. After she asked to go into lockdown she walked into the bathroom and locked the door. However, I did tell her that I'd been with you in some pretty terrible situations and that there is nothing you can't handle. That you can protect yourself. I told her that shutting you out is only going to distract you. That I didn't know what you needed to be protected from, but that you wouldn't be able to protect yourself if you were distracted. I said that she wasn't really helping you and to think about it. Then I left."

"That was a good thing to say to her Pete. I'm guessing it had to do with why she called me. You handled the whole thing well. Even if she did get upset at least we know something's not right." Steve encouraged.

"I don't wanna freak you out more, but I gotta tell you Steve…whatever is wrong…is bad. Whatever she's keeping to herself you gotta get her to tell you. I can't explain it brother, but I have a bad feeling about this," Pete hesitantly admitted to his friend.

"I have to agree with Pete, McGarrett. Something's not right…in a big sort of way," Chin chimed in.

"Yeah, I know. My gut's churning too guys," Steve disclosed as he rubbed his fingers along his forehead as if he had a headache. "Pete, you mentioned Maddie had been acting weird the last few months. What do you mean? What was she doing?"

"Well for one thing, you know how she hates having bodyguards. She doesn't like being followed around. She claims she can't be herself and do what she wants to do."

"I've heard her mention that once or twice," Steve joked causing all three to laugh. Maddie hated having protection around her. She was always telling Steve that she was a big girl and could protect herself. _She looks so cute when she's upset with me over security. So stubborn and adamant that she can take care of herself. Her eyebrows get all scrunched up as she pouts at me giving me the sad puppy eyes. Which work on me with everything except this issue_, he smiled as he thought about. "So what about her hating security?"

"Well about three months ago, 8 new guys showed up claiming they'd just been hired and that it was their first day."

"What?" Steve straightened up, his eyes growing large.

"I went to Maddie and she said she'd hired them."

"Maddie herself hired 8 new bodyguards? And it was her idea?" This freaked Steve out. She had to be beyond terrified to do this.

"Yes," Pete answered.

"She claims to be protecting me, but Pete, that means she's scared for her own safety as well. That's 16 people on her security team now. Maddie's terrified! She's never been scared like this! It's always been me worrying about her. She never really worries about her own safety and if she does she hides it." Steve felt like the walls were closing in on him. _What the hell is going on?_ he asked himself. "Why didn't you call me?"

"Honestly Steve, I didn't really know what was going on. I thought I'd suss it out before involving you. We've all been keeping a huge eye out. We haven't had any kind of incident."

"Alright…well what else has she been doing that's out of the ordinary?"

"She's not really sleeping. Maddie's exhausted and that's putting it mildly."

"Like she can't go to sleep?" Steve questioned. "Because she's always been kind of like that. Maddie's mind runs a million miles an hour. She has a hard time turning it off to go to sleep. I mean she's been like that since we were kids."

"Yeah, that happens sometimes. But it's more that she falls asleep and then has some sort of nightmare or something. Then she's too scared to go back to sleep. Some nights she's asleep in her bed on the back of the bus and I'm in my bunk towards the front and her screams wake me up. I run back there and she's dead asleep tossing, turning and crying as she screams, so I wake her up. She's never able to go back to sleep after that. And usually the next night she seems too scared to even try and sleep."

"I don't even know what to say right now," Steve replied. "This is so not Maddie. It's like you're describing a completely different person to me. I'm really worried."

"Has she said anything in her sleep? As she's screaming I mean," Chin questioned.

"No, I just want to wake her up as soon as possible."

"Anything else?" Steve wondered.

"She's jumpy. Gets easily startled."

"Yeah, that's not normal for her," Steve replied. The one question he wanted and needed to ask was the one he was afraid to get an answer for. He closed his eyes in preparation or prayer, he wasn't sure which one, "How's her appetite been? She eating alright?"

"Eh, it's not too bad actually. I mean, you know she's a finicky eater to begin with, but it's a little worse than it normally is. But it's not terrible."

"You're sure?" Steve hesitantly asked.

"What does that mean Steve? She appears to be eating decently. I mean she's not starving herself or anything." Pete sort of joked, but Steve didn't find it funny. He wondered if McGarrett knew something he didn't.

"Okay, well. I think it's pretty obvious what has to be done," Steve began. "My main reason for calling was to tell you that I need you to bring her to me. Bring her home to Hawaii. I know you told me that she's scheduled to be in Hawaii in a few weeks, but I don't think we should wait that long. Is there any way you can get here immediately?"

"Remember I mentioned I'd been on the phone with a ton of people since I spoke to you earlier? I was trying to change her schedule to get her to you."

"And…?" Steve asked, crossing his fingers in his mind, hoping Pete had been able to pull it off.

"It was a battle, but the earliest I can have here there is Thursday morning. The jet should land around 7am. Maddie will have a couple interviews and things like that, but she should be done around 12 or 1pm. It was the best I could do."

That was so much sooner than Steve thought it was going to be. He was ecstatic and relieved, not to mention a little nervous. "That's great! Thank you Pete! So, it's Tuesday so about two days from now. A little less. How long will she be able to stay? Is there anything you need on my end?"

"On OUR end," Chin corrected. "She's like a little sister to me. I'm in this with you. We'll figure everything out Steve. I promise."

"Thanks man," Steve smiled.

"As of right now, I was able to convince them to let her be there for a month. I told her manager and label that her health was in jeopardy and that she'd been losing her voice on and off for the last few weeks. Which is true. So, depending on how things are go I might be able to convince them to change more things around so she can stay longer. Really recuperate." Pete informed them.

"That's great Pete! Thank you!"

"No problem. Can you do me a favor Steve?"

"Sure thing!"

"She hasn't been in her house in close to 6 months. Would you mind going over there and getting it ready for her? Because she wasn't supposed to be there yet, her house manager is out of town."

"Of course! What all do you need me to do?"

"I'll email you a list. You still have your key?

"Yes, I go over there every so often and make sure all's well."

"Great! Well, I gotta get going. Showtime's in about an hour and a half and I gotta send hair, makeup, and wardrobe in there. But I better check on her first. Make sure she's alright."

"Keep me posted Pete," Steve told his buddy.

"Of course! Later guys!"

"Bye!" Chin and McGarrett replied.

After hanging up the phone, both men slowly stood up. "Well, at least we can start to figure things out," Chin said as they walked through the doors of the building towards headquarters.

"Yeah. Definitely. I just will feel a thousand times better when I have her here with me. Until then, I'm gonna be a mess." Steve admitted.

Chin shook his head and laughed. "What?" Steve asked.

"You really have never slept with her?"

"Where'd that come from?" Steve exclaimed.

"It's just you worry about her as if she was your girlfriend or wife or something." Chin explained.

"We just have a really different relationship than most friends do. That's all. We are just friends Chin. Best friend!" he replied in a way he hoped his friend and colleague would believe as the absolute truth.

"Whatever you say Steve," Chin teased.

Steve didn't have a chance to respond as they had just walked back into Five-0 and the rest of the team was staring at him hoping for an explanation.

"Everything okay boss?" Kono asked.

"Everything's going to be fine, Kono. Thanks for your concern," Steve answered. "Sorry about the interruption earlier guys. It's a long story I'd rather not go into so let me just run to the restroom and then we'll get back to the Thai restaurant Wo Fat seems to frequent."

With that Steve jogged off to the men's room leaving many confused faces behind.

* * *

><p>McGarrett was just washing his hands when Danny walked in. "Steve, what's going on? Who was on the phone?"<p>

"It's a long story Danny," Steve replied.

"So explain it to me. We are partners. Whoever was on the phone upset you. Talk to me about it. I can't have you distracted in the field. My life is in your hands. I have a daughter that I would like to be around to raise!"

"Are you questioning my ability to do my job?" Steve raised his voice. "Seriously? Are you kidding me right now?"

"No, I'm not. I'm sorry. I just…I need you to tell me what's going on. We are partners."

"Fine! Although it's really none of your business," Steve countered irritated with Danny.

"I don't care. Speak."

"I met Madeline, Maddie, when I was four years old. I stood up for her and punched a bully when we were in preschool. The school called our moms and they became best friends. They were always together, which meant so were we. I was either at her house or she was at mine. We remained inseparable until my dad sent me to the mainland a little before I turned 17. Maddie had already left school at that point and was spending a lot of time on the mainland. So, even…"

"Why did she leave school?" Danny interrupted.

"Since I first met her she was always singing and making up songs. She's so talented," Steve smiled as he thought of her. "Anyway, at 16 she actually signed a big record deal in New York and left school to record her first album. She would come home every so often and we'd spend every day together. When she was gone we spoke every night on the phone. My dad wanted to kill me over the phone bills. But he knew we needed one another. Anyway, when my dad sent me to the mainland we still kept in touch and saw one another. We still spoke every night and she'd come visit me. By that time, her album had been released and people liked her music. Because of that she was never in one place for very long. Once I graduated Annapolis, I became busy myself. It was harder to keep in contact, but we made it work. We didn't talk every night or anything, but whenever we could. Whenever I was allowed time to call loved ones. Even when I was with the Seals we stayed in contact. I talked to her more than I saw her, but at least we were still in contact. What threw a wrench into the mix was when I began chasing Hess around the world. It was nearly impossible to see her, let alone call her." Steve paused, thinking about how much he missed her the last 5 years.

"So when was the last time you saw her?" Danny asked.

"Two years ago. I was awarded the Navy Cross and there was a big party in my honor and I asked Maddie to be my date." Steve smiled remembering that night before he caught the look on his partner's face causing him to quickly add, "as friends of course. Anyway, she rearranged her schedule so she could accompany me. It was…amazing. Probably the best night of my life."

"When was the last time you talked to her?"

Steve's face darkened, his smile no longer visible. "It's been over a year. I hadn't called her in about a year when my dad was murdered. I called Maddie to let her know, but she didn't answer and she never called me back. I've called her at least once a week ever since. Left a ton of messages, but she's never returned any of them."

"Until today?" Danny guessed.

"Until today. I called earlier. After my lunch with Joe, but she didn't answer. So I called her head of security to make sure everything was okay."

"You know him?"

"I hired him. I hired the entire team. All 8 of them. Well now there's more, but that's beside the point. Anyway, Pete, her head of security, is a great friend of mine. He was a member of my seal team. He chose not to re-enlist around the time Maddie was having some security issues, so I hired him."

"So what'd he say when you called him?"

"He said she was fine. And that he wasn't sure why she's freezing me out. That it wasn't that I hadn't called in a year."

"But then she called. It seemed like she was upset? What happened? Is she okay?" Danny asked concerned.

"Maddie didn't say anything, she just sobbed. Hysterically sobbed. Something I've never seen her do. She eventually hung up on me."

Danny couldn't believe Steve had never told him about Maddie. It was obvious that she was extremely important to him and was a huge part of his life. Steve seemed so stressed and worried about her that he wanted to help his partner. "Well, let's call her head of security back. What's his name? Pete?"

"I already did," Steve answered.

"So what did Pete say? Is she okay?"

Steve's voice became quiet and his eyes a bit watery as he thought of Maddie alone and scared. "I don't think so."

"What do you mean? I thought he told you she was fine when you talked to him earlier?"

"Yeah, I know. But he badgered her, got her angry and she let slip that the reason she won't talk to me is that she's trying to protect me. And not emotionally. But she wouldn't say more. It turns out that she's been a mess the last few months. Isn't sleeping. Doubled her security team when she absolutely HATES having them to begin with. She's jumpy. The complete opposite of who she is."

Danny could tell McGarrett was beyond worried. "So, are you going to fly to wherever she is?"

"No, I asked Pete to bring her home to me. To bring her to Hawaii. She'll be here Thursday."

"That's good! I want to help in any way I can. Seriously. Anything you need," Danny said with a quick sort of pat to Steve's shoulder.

"Thanks Danny. I'll definitely be taking you up on that. I can feel that whatever she's hiding is bad. Really bad. So I'm going to need all the help I can get."

"No problem!" Danny smiled. "Hey, do you have a picture of her?"

McGarrett grinned. "Yeah I do," he answered while pulling out his phone and searching through it. Locating the photo that came up when she called, the exact same one she used, he handed the phone to Danny. "It's from the last time I saw her. When I received the Navy Cross."

"Holy shit!" Danny yelled.

"What?" Steve pretended as if he had no idea why Danny was freaking out.

"Do you know who that is?" Danny smile was so big it took up almost his entire face.

Steve laughed. "I just told you. It's who I've been talking about this entire time!"

"You've been telling me about Maddie. Maddie Maddie? The biggest singer/songwriter in the world? Seriously she's huge!"

Steve chuckled, a huge proud smile present on his face. He loved it when he heard people refer to her like that. She was so talented and hardworking and he couldn't be more proud of her. "Don't forget musician. She's amazing!"

"Wow! I was upset before that you didn't tell me about someone that is obviously such a huge part of your life, but now I hate you! I can't believe you kept this from me!" Danny playfully slapped Steve's arm.

"I don't bring it up unless it comes up. It's not something I tell many people, in fact, please keep all this to your self. Chin knows because the two are friends," Steve requested.

"You're crazy, but sure. You know, Gracie's the biggest fan of hers."

"I didn't. You can tell her, but wait until I get Maddie here and figure everything out. Then Gracie can come hang out with her. Maddie would love that!"

"Oh man! Gracie would love that! I can finally beat Step Stan at something! Thanks!" Danny joked!

Steve shook his head and laughed. "Glad I could help!

With that the partners made their way back to the rest of the team.

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><p>Once rejoining the team, Steve immediately got back to business. "Alright, so let's see if we can't find a contact of Wo Fat's that is still alive. Chin and Lori, why don't you head over to the restaurant and see what you can find out. Maybe canvas the area a bit? Meanwhile Kono, why don't you leave off where Chin did and keep searching for possible places or people Wo Fat visited when here in Hawaii."<p>

"Sure thing boss!" Kono smiled picking up where her cousin had left off.

Steve crossed the room and entered his office. Sitting down at his desk he opened his email, hoping Pete had sent over everything he needed him to do before Maddie arrived in two days. "Great! Here it is!" he said as he began reading, not noticing that Lori was standing in front of him.

She waited for Steve to acknowledge her until she finally gave up and cleared her throat a bit. His head shot up. "Hey Lori!" he greeted her.

"Hi! I just wanted to make sure you were alright. You seemed so upset earlier." She was fishing. She had intense feelings for Steve. In fact, she didn't think she'd ever felt like this before and she was worried that whoever was on the phone could get in the way of them possibly having something special.

"I'm alright. Everything's going to be fine. Thanks for asking though!" Steve smiled at her.

Disappointed he didn't give her more information, she said, "Ok good. I'm so glad to hear that….I was wondering since it seems to be a little less hectic around here than usual that you might want to grab dinner with me tonight? I know it's last minute, but since I joined Five-0 it's been non stop craziness and I just feel I haven't really gotten to know you. Just two co-workers getting to know one another. Very casual. Plus, to be honest, it'd be nice to not have to eat alone."

"I know what you mean." _I'm not sure. I have a lot of stuff to do before Mads comes. But, I mean I have to eat dinner either way. Plus, she's right…it'd be nice not to have to eat alone. It gets old. What could it hurt?_ he talked it over with himself. "Yeah, I'd love that. Just let me know when and where and I'll meet you there!"

_Thank God! Looks like I'm starting to make some headway. I guess Maddie really isn't anyone to worry about. She probably is his sister or something, _she thought. "Fantastic! I'll see you later then!" Lori happily replied. With that she turned and met up with Chin, so they could head out, leaving Steve to figure out how he was going to handle getting Maddie to open up to him.

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><p>As always, please <strong>REVIEW<strong>! The more I get the sooner I post! And trust me, you want to read the next chapters. They're awesome!


	4. Chapter 4

**DISCLAIMER:** I do not own the show "Hawaii Five-0" or any of it's characters.

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><p><strong>AUTHOR'S NOTE:<strong> Here is Chapter 4! YAY! I have written almost all of chapter 5 (just have a tiny bit more to write), which is where Steve and Maddie see one another. It was originally part of Chapter 4, but I thought I'd make it two chapters. I assume you guys would rather have more updates with shorter chapters instead of longer chapters and infrequent updates.

Anyway, as always... thoughts are in _italics_.

PLEASE PLEASE **REVIEW**! I'm getting a ton of hits and readers asking to be alerted when a new chapters up, but not many reviews. It really motivates me to get the chapters out sooner. It takes me a while to write each chapter because I'm such a perfectionist, so it's nice to know what you guys think. Good or bad!

Anyway, thanks for reading!

xo,

Laura

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><p><strong>CHAPTER 4<strong>

Her show had gone better than she expected given how tired, distracted, and upset she was. Maddie had been kicking herself for calling Steve. _A moment of weakness_, she thought to herself as she headed out of the arena to board her tour bus. Normally after shows she was wired and bouncing off the walls due to the adrenaline from performing, but the last few months she was so exhausted she could barely take a shower before climbing into bed. Maddie used to hang out with her band and dancers on their bus after the show, but now she always just went straight to hers. The stress of the last few months had caused her to become a bit antisocial. A bit of a loner. _Whatever. It is what it is_, she thought as she walked up the steps of her home on wheels and headed towards her room in the back. Slowly peeling off her sweat drenched stage costume Maddie stepped into the shower. _How could I have called Steve? I'd been doing so well. I mean, it hasn't been easy at all to ignore his calls let alone the voicemails he leaves me begging me to call him because he misses me and is worried, but I was handling it. Well if he was worried before today's incident, he's….I don't know a word for how concerned he must be now. Knowing him he must be freaking out, _she bit her lip at the thought, rinsing her hair one more time before getting out in case she missed any shampoo or conditioner.

Flipping off the water she reached for the towels she'd laid out for herself. Wrapping her long, wet, reddish brown hair in one she stepped out of the shower and onto her rose pink bath rug, careful not to drip water on the soft cream carpeting of her room. Using the second towel she dried her dripping wet body before wrapping herself up in it. Maddie walked towards her sink and stared at herself in the mirror. "God, I look awful," she said to herself. "Thank God I won't be seeing Steve anytime soon. He freaked out at hearing me sob on the phone, but he'd completely lose it if he saw me looking like this," she sighed. Her normally beautiful glowing skin, which was more on the fair side, but was still able to tan a bit, looked dull with a grayish tint to it. Her usual gorgeous, sparkling bright blue eyes looked to be almost a gray blue and they definitely weren't sparkling. Underneath them were huge dark circles from not getting any sleep and her eyes appeared to be half open out of pure exhaustion. _I can't remember the last time I got a complete night's sleep_, Maddie thought as she brushed her pearly white teeth.

Giving herself a sad, pathetic smile she turned away from the mirror grabbing for her favorite pajamas. With the black leggings and white socks on she picked up the oversized shirt lying next to her. Burying her face in it Maddie breathed in wishing that it still smelled of him. Sighing she threw Steve's Navy Seal t-shirt over her head, the one she'd stolen from him a couple years back. Just as she was ready to climb into bed someone knocked on her bedroom door. Shoulders slumping, Maddie sighed and said, "Come in!" Pete walked in, a folder in his hand.

"Hey Mads! Don't you look comfy?" Pete told her, noticing she was wearing Steve's shirt again. _She must really miss him_, he sadly smiled._ She's worn that almost every night the last couple months_.

"Yep. You know me. All about being comfy!" Maddie managed a small genuine smile through her fatigue.

"Well I can tell you're pooped, so I'll be quick. I just wanted to give you your revised schedule."

Maddie groaned. "Revised? Seriously? They added more to my already overly busy impossible schedule?" She reached for the folder and opened it. Pete was unsure of how she was going to react to going home in a little over a day.

"Nothing was added Maddie."

"I can see that…." Maddie bit her lip before saying, "I'm going home….in…basically a day. How'd that happen? I wasn't supposed to be in Hawaii for another 3 weeks." She looked up, staring directly at Pete. "You did this, didn't you?" She didn't seem mad, but she also didn't seem happy about it either.

"Yeah, I did. I just think it'll be good for you to go home for awhile. Relax. Get some sleep. Hang out with some friends."

Maddie sat on the end of her bed and was quiet for a moment before looking up at Pete. "Thanks Pete. You're right, I need to go home," she managed a small smile as she jokingly said, "how'd you know?" causing her to slightly laugh.

_This would be considered good spirits for her the last few months. Not compared to how she used to be, but I'll take what I can get. It's nice to hear her laugh. I'm glad she's okay with this…however, if she knew Steve was going to be home she wouldn't be_, he thought as he joined in her laughter. "Hmm…I don't know Maddie!" he said pretending to play dumb. Sitting down on the edge of her desk he continued, "So, as you can see after tomorrow's show in Chicago we'll board the jet and head to Honolulu."

"It sounds good to even hear the word 'Honolulu'," she said as she closed her eyes a peaceful look appearing on her face.

Pete chuckled. "Yeah, I can't wait to go to the beach! …Anyway, we should arrive in Hawaii Thursday morning around 7am, give or take. Your publicist, Carol, scheduled a press conference where you'll say you'll be taking a month off to recuperate. After that you have 3 interviews and then you're done for the day. That should be around noon. How does that sound?"

"Honestly Pete? It sounds…." she hesitated and Pete got the sense that she might be just a little bit sad about going home. He guessed that it was because home reminded her of Steve. "good." Maddie bit her lip as she slightly grinned. "I'm sorry you've been stuck with all the scheduling stuff the last few days while Tina went home. It was so important that she be there when her sister had her baby. She'll be back soon and then you won't have to worry about it. I know this assistant stuff doesn't fall under your job description, nor is it your cup of tea. Just know I appreciate it!"

"No problemo kiddo! I do have to say that I never realized how much work Tina's job entails! I have a whole new respect for her! She makes it look so easy!" Pete said shaking his head.

"Yeah, she's badass!" Maddie responded.

Standing up Pete placed the folder on her desk. "I'm gonna leave this right here."

"Okay, that's great," she yawned.

"Why don't you get some rest. You look beat Maddie," he said, his voice laced with concern.

"I'm a lright, I'm just a little tired," she lied. _Pretty sure I feel like I'm gonna die if I don't get into bed right now_, she thought.

_Like anyone would buy that line_, he thought."Goodnight Mads. Sleep well. Like always, I'm just down the hall," Pete smiled standing at her door.

"I know. Goodnight Petey. Don't let the bed bugs bite!" Maddie replied taking on a bit of kid's voice.

Turning off the light for her, he began to shut the door, but before it was completely closed he said, "Hey Maddie? I'm sorry about earlier…about pushing you. I'm sure you have your reasons…just know I'm here if you want to talk."

Maddie paused. She'd been hoping the incident earlier that day could just be forgotten. As if it had never happened. Her voice took on a monotone distant quality as she said, "Goodnight Pete."

With that he shut the door as she closed her eyes hoping and praying she'd be able to get an entire night's worth of rest.

Just as she was beginning to fall asleep Maddie heard a very distinct chime, one she dreaded. Her eyes flew open in fear. "No…please no," she whispered. Very slowly with trepidation she emerged from her bed and dug around in her black leather Balenciaga purse. Taking out her white iPhone 4s she set it on the bed before returning to continue the search of the contents of her favorite bag. As she felt her long slender fingers find the chiming object she briefly hesitated. Pulling the prepaid cell phone out she looked at the screen. Maddie froze as she read the text message she'd just received from an unknown sender. "I told you no contact with him. You don't want to find out what I'm capable of."

Maddie felt her chest tighten as she reread the message over and over. _Dammit! How'd he know I called Steve?_ she wondered completely freaked out. Goosebumps appeared all over her body to show just how creeped out she was._ You idiot Maddie! If something happens to Steve it'll be your fault. You know you'll never be able to live with yourself_, she thought. Just the idea of Steve getting hurt caused a sudden nausea to take over. She barely made it to the toilet before emptying what little contents were left in her stomach from throwing up earlier. Quickly flushing the vomit Maddie sat with her back against her bedroom door as tears streamed down her face. She sat there a good hour before climbing back into bed. "There's no way I'm getting any sleep tonight now," she told herself. And she was right, she laid there all night worrying about Steve and what exactly she was going to do.

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><p>Steve had spent the afternoon completing some of the list Pete had emailed over, but he still had so much to do. He contemplated calling Lori and asking if he could get a raincheck for dinner, but decided against it. He was hungry and whether or not he met Lori he'd have to eat either way. After all, Danny had offered to help him finish the rest of the list tomorrow.<p>

Pulling up to the address Lori had texted him, Steve felt weird. _It feels wrong to hang out with Lori tonight when I know something isn't right with Maddie_, he thought to himself. That wasn't the only reason he was feeling off, but he couldn't pin point what it was.

As he approached the hostess he spotted Lori sitting at a nearby table. _Am I late?_ he wondered as he quickly glanced at his watch. _No, right on time. She must've gotten here early_. She stood as Steve reached their table, leaning in to give him a hug.

She nearly melted as his arms wrapped around her in a warm embrace. _I could get used to his arms around me_, she thought.

"Hi Lori! Have you been here long?" Steve politely asked as he thought to himself, _Why does this feel like a first date? This was supposed to be a casual dinner between coworkers._

"No, not at all. I got here right before you!" she answered enthusiastically.

"Great! Perfect timing then!" he smiled. "I've never been here before," he stated while taking in his surroundings. "Cool place!"

"Yeah, I discovered it a few months ago with some friends. The food was so good, so I've been wanting to come back. Thought tonight was as good a time as any!"

"Great! Well, let's see what they have. I'm starving. It's been a…" Steve paused thinking about Maddie, "…long day."

Lori wanted nothing more than to ask again about who was on the phone, but Steve seemed unwilling to talk to her about it. Maybe once they got a couple drinks in them he'd fill her in. For some reason there was something about whoever was on the phone that made her jealous and that unnerved her. "I know those kinds of days all too well," she replied effectively hiding her insecurity.

Ten minutes later they had both ordered their food and while waiting found themselves cracking up and enjoying each other's company. As they were laughing over a story Lori had just told, Steve refilled both of their wine glasses from the bottle they'd ordered.

"I can't believe you did that!" He chuckled referring to what she'd just told him.

"Yeah, I was a spitfire as a child!" Lori grinned.

"Only as a child?" he mocked.

"Hey!" she playfully cried.

"What? I mean it in a positive way," he countered.

"You better!" _Wow, we are actually flirting!_ she thought to herself completely overjoyed.

The two coworkers continued to chat and get to know one another as they ate dinner and drank more wine.

"Wow! That was great!" Steve referred to the pasta he'd just inhaled as he leaned back in his chair. "How was yours?"

"Amazing!" Lori answered as she dabbed her face with her napkin. "You up for dessert?

"Um, I don't know. The tiramisu sounded amazing, but the helpings here seem to be incredibly large. I'd hate to waste anything," he replied.

"I love tiramisu! What if we split it?" she questioned taking a risk. _Let's move this to the next level_, she thought.

Steve didn't even hesitate. He hadn't worried or thought about Maddie since their dinner had arrived, something he was grateful for. It just was pointless when there was nothing he could do for her at the moment. "Alright! That sounds like a plan!" he flashed his infectious smile at her.

Before they knew it a big helping of the Italian dessert was placed in front of them along with two spoons. "Oh…my…God! This looks absolutely delicious!" Steve mumbled practically drooling over the dish.

"Yes, it does!" Having said that they both grabbed a spoon and dug in. They'd occasionally reach for the same piece causing them to smile while gazing into one another's eyes.

As the two Five-0 members finished Lori said, "I have to say…it's nice to see you loosen up a bit Steve. A little more relaxed."

He smirked, "Yeah, I'm capable of it." He laughed.

"That's not what I meant," she clarified.

"I know Lori. Don't worry," Steve assured her. "I must say it feels good." He gave her a big goofy smile as they stared into one another's eyes. Lori was drowning in his beautiful blue eyes. So completely content and happy to do so that she didn't notice their waiter drop the bill on the table. Steve was so quick to hand it back to him credit card tucked inside that she didn't stand a chance.

"Oh Steve! You don't have to do that!" she flirted.

"I know! I want to. Thank you for inviting me Lori. I really needed this!" he remarked grinning while biting his bottom lip in a way she found to be incredibly sexy.

"I'm so glad you agreed to join me. It was nice having someone to eat with," Lori replied placing her elbow on the table and her chin in her hand as she looked at him.

_This has been so nice. Maybe testing the waters with her wouldn't be a terrible idea. We can just kind of see what happens. Keep it to ourselves while we see if there is even anything here_, he thought.

Catching a glimpse of the clock across the room out of the corner of his eye he said, "Well, I hate to end such a lovely evening, but I gotta head home. I have a ton of stuff I HAVE to get done tomorrow."

Lori was disappointed, but didn't let on. She had hoped the evening might end with a nightcap at one of their homes. _Oh well_, she thought. _There will be other opportunities for that._ "I completely understand." Steve rose from the table and walked around pulling out her chair and helping her into her jacket. "Look at you! What a gentleman!" Lori teased, however inside she was ecstatic.

Steve's only response was a small chuckle as they headed outside together. Escorting her to her car he said, "I really had a wonderful time tonight Lori….Would you like to do this again sometime soon?"

"Of course! I would love to!" She smiled at him.

As they arrived at her car they stopped and caught each other's eye. Steve leaned in and gently kissed her. Not too long, but not too short. It wasn't a passionate stick your tongue down her throat kind of kiss, but not a mere friendship one either. It was very appropriate for the evening they'd had.

"Goodnight Steve," Lori whispered as she pulled away and got in her car.

"Goodnight. Drive safe!" With that he walked away. She watched to see if Steve looked back at her, but he didn't. He got right in his car and drove away.

_Hmmm…well that's interesting. Normally if a guy is really interested in you he'll look back at you as he's walking away. Oh well, not every guy is like that, _she thought to herself as she drove home.

* * *

><p>Just as Steve walked in his house his cell rang. "Hello?" he answered.<p>

A whispered voice greeted him on the other end of the line. "Hey McG."

Surprised to hear his good friend on the line he stopped in his tracks. "Pete! Is everything alright? She okay? You guys are 5 hours ahead. It's gotta be what? Close to 3am there?"

"Yeah, close to that. We're fine here, I just wanted to give you an update."

Steve calmed and headed up the stairs to his bedroom. "Ok. Thanks! What's going on? How'd the show go?"

"Um…it was alright…not her best, but she pulled it off."

Steve's forehead wrinkled in curiosity. "How so? What happened?"

"It was obvious she was distracted. Not to mention tired. Maddie stumbled a couple times during songs that had a lot of dancing and moving around."

"Stumbled? Like tripped? Over what?" He asked.

"No, like she almost fainted on me. So she ended up cutting out a bunch of her choreography for the rest of the show."

"Fainted? Man…" He sighed wishing he was with her right then. "Where is she now? And by the way, why are you whispering?" Steve questioned.

"She's in her bed, hopefully, at the back of the bus. I'm getting ready to head to my bunk, but wanted to call you first. I'm sitting towards the front of the bus with our driver, Ron. I don't want her to hear me talking to you." Pete continued to whisper.

Steve's heart sunk a bit. _I miss the days where I'd be on the phone with her right now_, he thought. "I understand. So, does she know she's coming to Hawaii?"

"Yeah, I gave her the news a little while ago."

"And? How'd she take it?"

"Surprisingly well. Maddie seems to want to go home for a while."

"That's good. So it wasn't a battle or anything," Steve said quietly as he sat hunched over on the edge of his bed, his elbows on his thighs as he held the phone to his ear using his right hand.

"Yeah. I really hope you can get to the bottom of things. I miss…" Stopping midsentence Pete whispered, "hold on one second," as he tiptoed towards Maddie's door.

McGarrett quickly sat up straight. "What? What is it?"

"I think I hear her."

"What's she doing? Put me on speakerphone. I'll be quiet. I won't say anything," Steve requested.

Pete did as his friend asked. They could make out Maddie shuffling around and then it sounded as if she ran to one side of her room. It was then they heard her throw up followed by the toilet flushing. Pete thought about knocking on her door to make sure she was okay, but figured she'd only shut down on him. Maddie knew that if she needed him he was there. Right before taking Steve off speaker phone they heard her crying. Quietly making his way towards the front of the bus, Pete brought the phone back to his ear. "You hear that?"

Thank God he was alone this time because Steve just couldn't keep the tears from rolling down his face. Clearing his throat he answered his old buddy, "Yeah, unfortunately I did…..Thank God you're bringing her to me Pete. Thank you."

"No problem McG. It's where she needs to be. Anyway, I better go. I'll see you soon."

"Alright. Later. Thanks for calling."

"Later," and with that Pete hung up. Putting his head in his hands he prayed that Maddie could make it through one more day of this. With that he got up and walked to his bunk in hopes of getting a good nights sleep.

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><p>Lori Weston was the furthest thing from Steve's mind as he wiped away the few tears that had fallen down his face. Stripping down to his boxers he climbed into bed hoping the calming sound of the waves crashing outside would distract him from worrying about Maddie and lull him to sleep.<p>

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><p>Thank you all for reading! Don't forget to leave a <strong><span>REVIEW<span>**!It literally only takes a couple seconds. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE let me know what you think! Thanks guys!

xo


	5. Chapter 5

****DISCLAIMER:** **I do not own the show "Hawaii Five-0" or any of it's characters.

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><p><strong><span>AUTHOR'S NOTE:<span>** Finally Maddie and Steve see one another! YAY! Please let me know what you think! I could have had this go so many different ways, so I'm anxious to hear your thoughts! Soooo **REVIEW**!

As always, thoughts are in _italics_.

Also, towards the end of the chapter...when Maddie arrives in Hawaii she is sooo tired that she is talking incredibly slow. You'll see I put a lot of periods in the dialogue when she speaks. That's why! It's like she's so tired she's having a hard time thinking of words. It's like their no the tip of her tongue. Has that ever happened to you guys? It's happened to me. So, just keep that in mind for the end of the chapter.

Besides that, enjoy! and please please REVIEW!

Thanks for your support! YOU GUYS ROCK![[[[[[[[[

xo,

Laura

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><p><strong>CHAPTER 5<strong>

Steve McGarrett hadn't gotten much sleep the night before. Maddie had been on his mind every moment. As he ran through possibility after possibility of what could be making her so upset and afraid he tossed and turned. The thing that stumped him was that she had said she was protecting him. _What could she be protecting me from? I mean what is the threat, _Steve thought to himself as he grabbed the last thing off the grocery list. Danny and he had spent the last 30 minutes at the store grabbing everything Pete had told him to get. Of course, they got some extra things as they came across them. After all, Steve knew all her favorite foods and drinks. Maddie had loved snack food since she was a kid. She'd live on it if she could. Just thinking about her love of junk food and her insane sweet tooth he smiled, biting his bottom lip and softly chuckling.

"What are you smiling about? I've never spent so long in the grocery store before. It's a nightmare in here! People driving their carts in to other people because they're not paying attention! Why would that make you smile?" Danny asked.

"No reason. Just thinking," Steve replied, a bit embarrassed Danny had noticed his sudden happiness.

"You really care about this girl. Like big time!" Danny said, knowing that his partner hadn't been able to get her off his mind.

"Yeah, I do. I really do. I don't know what I'd do if anything ever happened to her," his voice quieted at the mere thought.

Danny clapped his hand on his partner's upper back, "Don't worry, we won't let anything happen to her. I promise Steve. We'll help you figure everything out."

"Thanks Danno," Steve smirked.

"Really? Here I am being nice and supportive and you do that? What is wrong with you?" Danny quipped.

Laughing the two finished checking out and loaded up the police issued SUV and headed over to Maddie's house. As Steve pulled the car up to a huge decorative metal gate he aimed a clicker at it causing it to slide to life. He drove up a long driveway as Danny glued his face to the window staring out at the beautiful property. "Holy crap! This is amazing! She must have acres of land here. I mean we can't even see the house in the distance. It's just…wow."

Steve shook his head in amusement at his partner. "Yeah, it's beautiful here. Maddie bought the land about…hmm…6 years ago…It took about a year for her to design it and once they began building it took them nearly 3 years to finish everything. So the house itself is only about 2 years old. It's everything she ever dreamed. In fact, as kids we used to talk about our dream houses. When she designed it she incorporated parts of her dream house and parts of mine."

"What part of yours did she include?" Danny wondered.

"Many things. The big thing I always wanted was to have my backyard open to the beach. So that's how it is here."

"Your house is right on the beach though."

"Yeah, the front is. Having it off the back of the house allows for a little more privacy. I don't know. I just have always wanted that."

As McGarrett finished, the house came into view. "Oh….my….God!" Danny yelled, saying each word slowly for effect. Steve smiled as they got closer to it. He couldn't help it. It was Maddy's haven. It really made him think of her. _I can't wait to see her_, he thought.

The house was massive and that was putting it mildly. It was a Mediterranean style home that appeared to be two stories, but Danny couldn't 100% tell as it was so big and detailed. The outside was not only off-white smooth stucco, but Maddie had also had the contractor include a lot of gorgeous organic and light colored natural stone in various places. One of which was the massive driveway and steps leading up to the front door.

Steve parked the car and the two got out. Before grabbing the groceries Steve thought it best to unlock the door and let Danny look around for a minute. He was no use to him in the awestruck state he was currently in. Danny followed him towards the front door noticing how exquisite it was. "Steven! This door! I've never seen anything like it! Man this is sturdy," Danny rambled leaning into it. The door was simple, but beautifully carved out of dark wood, with a thick glass pane, small but still in proportion with the massive door for safety. This way you could see who was at the door, but no one could smash the glass and reach in and unlock the door.

Steve used his key and they entered the home. As they stepped inside the dark house, he reached along the left wall and hit a few switches causing every part of the house they could see to light up. "Holy shit!" Danny yelled as they found themselves in the foyer. But this wasn't like any foyer he'd ever seen before. You could either go straight and eventually enter a lit hallway or you could go to the set of stairs to the left or to the ones on the right. Each stairway curved to meet in the middle on the second floor. If you were upstairs you could stand on a landing between the flights of stairs and look down onto the first floor. She'd chosen a light colored natural tumbled stone for the flooring and the walls were white, while the banisters were rod iron. Very beautifully done.

"Follow me," Steve ordered as he walked down the hallway in the middle. Danny stumbled along behind him completely in awe as he glanced around. Eventually they ended up in what Danny assumed was the part of the house people probably congregated when Maddie had guests. At least three different rooms (the kitchen, living room, and dining room) flowed into one another giving it a very open feel, making it seem even bigger than it was. Steve went right to the kitchen, opening the fridge and cupboards. "Wow, there's literally nothing here. Good thing Pete told us to go to the store." The kitchen was massive. Maddie had an eight burner stove, a total of four ovens (two on one side of the kitchen, two on the other), two refrigerators and two freezers, at least a couple refrigerator drawers, two massive sinks, two dishwashers, a big island in the middle of the kitchen with plenty of space to prepare food, a microwave, and Danny's favorite part, the wrap around countertop that had six of the most comfortable bar stools (but with a back) he'd ever sat on. Before he had a chance to walk into the living room to really check it out, Steve called to him, "Come on Danny! I still have so much to get done. Let's grab the groceries and put them away. I promise you'll get to see the entire house. I'll let Maddie give you the tour. She loves to do that because she's so proud of this house. It's the one thing she's really spent her money on."

"Okay," Danny reluctantly replied, "as long as you promise!"

"I promise Danny!" With that they walked back to the car for the groceries.

It took about 45 minutes to put everything away. It would've taken only 20 if they had been more familiar with her kitchen and known exactly where things belonged. Finally finished, Steve glanced at his watch. "Oh my goodness! It's already 4pm and I still have so much to do," Steve commented as he turned the lights off and locked the front door.

As they got back in the SUV and drove towards their next stop Danny asked, "Is that the only house she owns?"

"It's the only one in Hawaii. But, not the only house she owns."

"Where else does she have property?"

"She has places in the cities she spends the most time in. Maddie has a pretty cool place in Los Angeles and a really nice three-story penthouse in New York City. Um…I think that's it."

"Wow, I bet the New York place cost a ton."

"Yeah, it did. But she's there a lot and it's an investment. Better than throwing the money away buying clothes and shoes all the time."

"Definitely!" Danny couldn't wait to meet Maddie. She sounded like a really intelligent, cool girl that had her "head screwed on straight", so to speak. "So, what next?"

Steve handed him the email he'd printed out from Pete. Everything he'd done had been checked off. "Wow, we do have a lot left still."

* * *

><p>Maddie hadn't slept a wink after receiving the threatening text message on the pre-paid cell phone the creep had sent her. It was how he communicated with her. At first she'd thrown it away, not taking him seriously. But when she'd gone to do her sound check for her show that night there'd been an incident. A couple times during her set she's strapped into a harness and lifted up. When they tested it out in sound check one of the cables just snapped. Luckily it was just one. If it had been all of them she could have been killed or seriously hurt. Pete had chalked it up to a fluke. He had no reason to believe it to be anything other than that, and neither did Maddie until she went back to her dressing room and another pre-paid cell phone sat on the table. When she picked it up a text message from "unknown sender" sat on the screen, "Now you know I'm serious. I love you, but if you don't obey me…well you don't want to find out." When she got off stage that night and boarded her bus she was just picking her phone up to call Steve and tell him about the whole thing. But before she could she received another one, "If you contact Steve in any way I'll kill him." The cable incident made her believe he was serious. Not to mention the fact that he was able to get past her security and into her dressing room without anyone noticing. And how did he know she was about to call Steve? The next day she hired more security because she was so afraid.<p>

So Maddie knew that whoever this psycho creep was, they meant what they said. All day she worried about Steve and whether or not he was okay. She wished more than anything things could go back to how they were. It was so hard on her not having him in her life. _Why can't I stop thinking about him? It would make things so much easier!_ she thought to herself as she sat next to Pete in the backseat of the black SUV hired to drive her to and from her obligations that day. On her way to the arena she stared out of one of the severely tinted windows and mumbled, "Petey?"

"Yes shortie?" he smiled calling her by one of the nicknames he'd given her.

"Have you talked to Steve today?"

"Why?" he was surprisedd by her question. For months his name had not been brought up, now two days in a row. _Weird_, he thought.

"I actually did. Just a little while ago. While you were reading to the kids at the Children's Hospital."

"I assume you would have told me if he wasn't okay," she stated.

"Of course!" Pete replied. She said nothing. Five minutes later he asked, "Why'd you ask about Steve?"

"Just curious."

"Really? That's all you're gonna say?"

Turning towards the man she relied on to keep her safe she looked into his eyes. "Let it go Pete."

There was something about the tone of her voice. It wasn't that Maddie sounded mean or anything. Actually she sounded very matter of fact. But what surprised him was that he could hear terror in her voice. She was completely terrified. His mind running a million miles a minute, the two sat in a comfortable silence the rest of the ride to the arena.

* * *

><p>Chin and Danny hadn't wanted Steve to just go home and obsess about Maddie and seeing her the next day, so they invited him out to a local bar. Hesitant at first, Steve agreed. The bar wasn't very busy at all allowing them to have their pick of tables. They chose one in the corner for privacy.<p>

"So, what's your plan tomorrow Steve? Are you just going to confront her?" Danny asked.

Before McGarrett could answer Chin began talking. "Actually, she texted me this morning telling me she was going to be in Hawaii. I asked her if she wanted to have lunch tomorrow. I told her to meet me at Five-0 headquarters when she was done with the press."

"Really?" Steve chewed on his bottom lip as he suddenly seemed nervous.

"Becoming more real to you now? You excited to see her? It's been what? 2 years?" Chin asked.

"Yeah…I'm excited, but I'm pretty nervous too. I don't know how she's going to react. I know it's not going to be great. But…I'm…I don't know what she's going to look like."

"What? That makes no sense! She's going to look like the girl you've known your whole life!" Danny cried.

"No I mean…Pete said she's not sleeping. She's stressed and upset. I just don't know that Maddie. Do you know what I mean? It's so hard for me to see her sick with a cold because I want to fix it. This is way beyond that. What if I can't fix it?" Steve laced his fingers in his hair as he rubbed his head. "I'm so worried that I'm not even making sense."

"No bra…don't worry. We understand. We get it." Chin quickly patted McGarrett's shoulder. "So, I was thinking…about tomorrow. Once Maddie gets to Five-0 we can have take-out so she doesn't have to deal with fans coming up all the time. She can feel safe in there. And you can approach her there."

"That's good. But I want to wait a bit before I confront her. I'll stay out of the way in my office or something. Somewhere she won't be able to see me, but where I can see her. This might sound weird but I just want to watch and listen to her for a few minutes. See if I can't pick up on anything. I want to see this behavior Pete's told me about for myself. Not that I don't believe him. I know Maddie and when something's seriously bothering her she tries to keep it from me at first. She's gotten pretty good at it. I mean when her father started beating her she successfully hid it from me for a long time." Steve shook his head at the memory. "Anyway, I know she'll put on an act for me. If I can watch her without her knowing, it'll hopefully help me get to the bottom of things. Not to mention I just want her to feel a bit relaxed before I see her. That way maybe I'll get a better reaction."

"I agree. I think that's the better way to handle everything," Chin replied. "I hope you don't mind, but I was talking to Malia last night. I told her what was going on with Maddie. The two of them had become really good friends. Malia's worried about her, especially medically. She says if she's not sleeping that it's taking a huge toll on her body. She said she'd wanted to see her as soon as possible to kind of suss it out without Maddie knowing. So I asked her to be with me tomorrow for lunch. I hope that's alright."

"Yeah, that's fine! Plus, Malia will be a friendly female face for Maddie. Might help just having a friend there." Steve took a swig of his beer. "One thing guys, please don't say anything to Maddie about my father or me living on the island. I'll tell her about my dad when I have her alone and obviously she'll figure out I'm here when she sees me. I don't want to give her the chance to run before I see her."

"You don't think she'll run when she sees you?" Danny questioned.

"No. I don't think she'll be able to. But if Maddie doesn't see me yet and finds out I'm there, there's a chance she'll run."

"How do you know?" Danny wondered.

Both Chin and Steve smiled. "I just do, Danno." The look on Danny's face at the use of his nickname caused the other two to crack up.

"Hey McGarrett? I have a question for you," Chin looked towards his friend, a large smirk on his face.

"Shoot. What's up?" He answered a bit hesitantly.

"What was with you and Lori today?"

"Seriously!" Danny contributed.

"What do you mean?" Steve answered playing dumb.

"Oh come on, you know what we're talking about!" Danny scoffed. "The way she was looking at you and smiling at you. I mean she always fawns over you a bit, but this was different especially because you seemed to be receptive to it. Normally you just pretend you don't notice. So come on Steven! Spill!"

"Yeah bra! Fill us in!" Chin added.

"Really guys, I don't know. She invited me to dinner last night," Steve began.

"Uh huh...ooooo" they both teased laughing it up.

"No it wasn't that kind of dinner. It wasn't a date. Just two coworkers sharing a meal. Very casual. I swear!"

"Babe, if that was the case there wouldn't have been the eye gazing and goofy smiles all day," Danny commented.

"I know she has some sort of feelings for me. I've picked up on it the last few weeks and I haven't been sure how I feel about her or how I feel about getting involved with someone I work with. But I had a great time last night, so I asked her if she wanted to do it again sometime. I figured it couldn't hurt getting to know her more and seeing if there is even anything there."

"Did you do anything with her? I noticed you look tired today. Did someone have a sleepover?" Danny prodded childishly.

"For your information, not that it's any of your business, I just kissed her. Briefly. No big deal." Steve answered as he leaned back in his chair arms crossed.

"That would explain her behavior around you today. Steven, a kiss is never 'no big deal' to a female. How do you not know that?"

"Bra, get to know her all you want, but be careful. You don't want to upset the balance at work right now. I'd take it slow. You don't want to lead her on especially with Maddie coming," Chin advised.

"What's Maddie got to do with Lori?" Steve questioned.

Chin paused wanting to say the next part just right as not to upset his friend. "Steve, you care so much about Maddie. I have to say I wonder if you're feelings for her are that of just friends. Your dad alw…"

Steve interrupted him before he could continue. "I know what my dad thought Chin. He thought we were soul mates, but my dad hadn't really spent time with me in nearly 15 years. He didn't really know me and he certainly didn't know my feelings for my best friend. Shit, she's basically like my sister. There's nothing romantic between Maddie and me. I love her like you love a sister. So you don't have anything to worry about when it comes to the Lori and I and the team. And I'm not saying there is a Lori and I. I'm just saying I want to get to know her better. Last night was the first time I'd ever really talked to her outside of work. This conversation is completely premature. Can we just drop it?"

"Yeah, no problem," Danny responded. _Wow, he's in love with Maddie. The next month should be incredibly interesting_, he thought.

"Okay. I'm sorry. I won't bring it up again," Chin apologized. _How stubborn can someone be? Hopefully he doesn't let that get in the way of his future_, Chin thought.

"Great," Steve smiled assuring them both there were no hard feelings. "But," he looked at his watch. "I better go. It's late and I didn't really get any sleep last night because of Maddie. Plus, I have a feeling tomorrow is going to be a looooonng day." Chugging the rest of his beer he pulled out his wallet taking out enough cash for the bill.

"No Steve. You don't have to pay for us," Chin said reaching for his wallet.

"Seriously," Danny added while rifling through his for cash.

Putting his hand out Steve answered, "No, this one's on me. Thank you guys for bringing me out tonight. I needed it. Plus, I don't know how to repay you for your help with Maddie. It means a lot. Thank you!" With that he stood up, waved and left.

* * *

><p>The show had gone alright. Maddie had pulled it off. She didn't know how, but she was so grateful she did. She was exhausted and really needed some sleep. Sitting on her plane headed to Honolulu she tried closing her eyes, but every time she did she saw Steve beaten and bloody dead on the ground, a man standing over him smiling at her. She couldn't see the man's face, but she just knew it was whoever was threatening her, "unknown sender" she called him. So, Maddie sat at the table guitar in hand and paper in front of her. "Might as well write some music instead of just sitting her," she whispered to herself.<p>

Pete sat in a reclining chair across from her on the other side of the plane, his second in command, Mo, passed out next to him. The rest of her security team also asleep in various places on the plane. _I can't believe she hasn't collapsed from exhaustion yet. And she obviously isn't going to be getting any sleep tonight_, he thought to himself. He knew that the next day would prove to be long and emotional and he wanted to be at his best. Closing his eyes he hoped and prayed everything would turn out all right.

* * *

><p>The plane had touched down that Thursday at 7:16 am in Honolulu. Wearing a pair of stylish white dressy shorts, a teal Ralph Lauren featherweight cashmere tank that made her gorgeous blue eyes pop, a black fitted blazer with the cuffs rolled a bit, and 6 inch black suede Jimmy Choo open toed sandals Maddie and her 16 bodyguards got into the three black SUV's waiting for them at the airport. Maddie, Pete, and Mo sat in the back seat of one while 2 others were in the front seat. Frank was driving and Carl sat in the passenger seat. The four men had known each other for years, which is why Pete and Steve had hired them. The 12 other men were split between the other two SUV's. As they began to drive away, one car in front of them, the other behind them, Maddie rolled her eyes feeling ridiculous. She always hated Steve's insistence of having the eight bodyguards. Now having sixteen she felt terrible. She wondered what people thought of her when they saw her surrounded by so many large men. <em>They must think I'm such a diva. A total bitch<em>, Maddie thought to herself as they drove to the press conference.

Interrupting her thoughts Pete looked at her saying, "Hey shortie, you must be so beat. We have about 30 minutes before we're there, why don't you lean against me and try to take a cat nap."

"I'm okay. I'm….really not that tired," she lied. What she didn't realize was that she was so exhausted at this point that she was speaking extremely slow as if her brain was having a difficult time working and trying to find the words. Although she looked beautiful with her makeup done and her long hair wavy with lose curls, she looked beyond exhausted. Pete didn't respond knowing there was no point.

_I wonder if Pete or Mo noticed that I was wobbly when I walked to the car? Every time I stand up I get a little dizzy. I must just be excited to be home. Maybe a little hungry. That's okay, I'll make it to lunch with Chin. Can't wait to see him and where he works! _she thought just as they pulled up to the hotel where her press conference was being held.

The place was swarming with so many fans and photographers that Pete, Mo, Frank, and Carl had a difficult time getting her out of the car. People were pushing trying to get as close to her as possible. _Wow, I haven't seen people in Hawaii be this aggressive with her before_, Pete thought awestruck at what was going on. The rest of the security team was having a hard time getting to them, so Pete pulled Maddie tight against him as the other three did their best to protect them. Luckily the others broke through the crowd and made a tight circle around her. Pete could feel Maddie gripping him tightly as he held onto her. "It's okay Maddie, no one's going to hurt you." Now that the men were all in place they pushed through the crowd making their way inside the hotel and to the room right next to where the conference would be held. Once inside the empty room ten of her security guards left to stand guard in various places in the hotel all given to them by Pete. Although her safety was no longer in any kind of jeopardy Maddie continued to hold onto Pete. "Shortie, I'm gonna grab you a bottle of water over there," he said pointing to the opposite side of the room.

Nodding she let him go and began slowly walking towards a chair to sit in. Feeling dizzy yet again she began to stumble looking as if she was going to fall. Luckily Mo grabbed her just in time helping her safely to the chair. Laughing Maddie lied, slowly saying, "Thanks Mo! That's what….um happens when you put a…klutz in 6 inch heels."

"No problem!" Mo replied. "I'm just so glad I'm a guy and don't have to wear anything like that."

"Don't lie Mo! I know….you walk around… in my heels when I'm…not around!" she joked with him.

Just as he was about to respond, someone came in to let them know it was time for her to speak to the press. Mo helped her stand up and walked her to the door where Pete waited. Maddie sauntered towards the table sitting in front of the 100 or so reporters snapping photos of her with Pete on one side and Mo on her other side. Over her head they shared a look of concern over the fact that she was not only talking so slow as if she couldn't find her words, but also the fact that she'd just almost passed out and tried to pretend it hadn't happened. _Thank God Steve will have her in just a few hours_, Pete thought.

Sitting at the table with the mic in front of her, Maddie cleared her throat and began her announcement that she would be taking a short break from her tour and that all of the concerts she'd be missing were being rescheduled. Afterwards she sat answering questions from the press.

Thirty minutes later she was back in the room next door starting her first of three interviews.

* * *

><p>Steve had the TV on as he ate breakfast. Turning the early morning news on live footage of Maddie arriving to the hotel for her press conference was being shown. He froze and his blood began to boil as he saw what a difficult time she was having getting out of the car. "Dammit! I should be there!" he yelled hating the fact that he couldn't be there to protect Maddie. "Why do they have to be so in her face? I mean I can't even really see her that well, but I can tell she's scared. Look at her leaning into Pete! She never does that! And she doesn't normally get nervous in those situations," he said to himself. Luckily her security team did their job and got her safely inside. "Wow that's a lot of security!" Steve stated as he watched 16 men gather around her and get her away from the "vultures". Pete had told him about her hiring the additional guys, but this was his first time seeing it. The news cut back to the anchor, so he turned it off putting his plate in the sink and headed out to work<p>

* * *

><p>Around noon, Steve's phone "dinged" telling him he had a new text message. Grabbing his phone he read, "Hey McG, we're done here. On our way. ETA 10 minutes."<p>

"She on her way?" Danny asked from his spot on the couch next to Chin in Steve's office.

"Yeah, she is," he nervously replied.

Typing on his phone, Chin said, "Maddie just texted me to let me know she's on her way. She said she can't wait to see me, where I work, and meet my co-workers."

"Okay guys, why don't you go out there and look like you're actually doing something. Better yet, actually do something," Steve joked.

"Hey! We help you and this is the thanks we get!" Danny replied as the two left his partner's office just as they saw Malia greet Kono.

A few minutes later, Steve received another text message saying they were just pulling up. "Okay," Steve whispered to himself, "here goes nothing." Taking a seat on his couch where he could have a view of Maddie's back, but where she wouldn't be able to see him he prepared himself for what was to come.

**- Meanwhile outside….. -**

Because they were on a gated property Maddie was easily able to get out of the car because no one was there to get in her face. "I'm so excited….to see…Chin. Not to mention…I'm really happy that…he's…uh, back with the…police." Maddie slowly said. Noticing that the other two SUV's containing members of her security team had not pulled up with them she looked at Pete. "Where is everyone?"

"Oh, I sent them ahead to unpack the car at the house. Figured we wouldn't need them here," he lied. He and Steve had decided to let them go home and take a mini vacation. Carl and Frank would be flying out shortly leaving only Pete and Mo. Steve had decided he would be by Maddie's side at every moment figuring it would be the only way to find out what was going on. So there was really no need for the rest of the guys to be there. Plus she'd be at her house a lot of the time as opposed to traveling. That's when she really needed the security.

"Ohhh…what a good...idea…" she approved.

"What's with the flowers?" Pete asked, referring to the bouquet in her hand.

"A fan…um, gave them to me. I thought I'd….give them to Chin. Liven up his…new workplace," she answered as Pete and her walked towards Five-0.

"Good idea."

As Mo watched them disappear into the building he said, "Come on guys! Let's go! You don't wanna miss your flight home! Plus, I gotta be back in time to take her home." With that Mo, Frank, and Carl climbed into the SUV and drove away.

* * *

><p>The team, and Malia of course, was gathered around the table in the middle of headquarters. Some were sitting, some were standing, but they were all laughing about something. Steve hadn't been paying attention from his spot in his office because he was too distracted. The laughing stopped and it became very quiet pulling him from his thoughts. That's when he heard the clicking of her high heels. Maddie came into view as she neared the middle of headquarters where his co-workers were. The sight of her knocked the wind of him and made his heart pound. He suddenly had butterflies in his stomach. <em>I don't remember ever feeling quite like this,<em> he thought._ Wow, I guess I really missed her_. Watching her Steve noticed her start to sway a bit as if she was going to fall. Pete grabbed her. "That's…what happens when you um…wear 6 inch heels," she smiled. He crinkled his forehead at the sound of her voice. It was a bit gravely as if she was beginning to lose it and she was speaking incredibly slow like she was having a hard time thinking. She sounded beyond tired. _Oh man, it is bad. Whatever's going on is bad_, Steve thought. He just wanted to run to her and envelope her in his arms telling her everything was going to be alright.

"Shortie, now that you're done for the day and will be sitting for a bit let's take the shoes off. You're gonna hurt yourself in them," Pete said playing along with her lie. He knew her stumbling around had nothing to do with the shoes, but with the fact that she was exhausted and her body was trying to shut down on her. He figured it was only a matter of time before she fainted. "Here, sit down," he led her to an empty chair at the table.

Removing her shoes and setting them on the floor she said, "It's so good to…um see you Chin! Malia! Kono!"

"Maddie! It's so good to see you! You look great!" Chin exclaimed walking to her to give her a hug. "No, don't get up. You're fine!" he told her when she attempted to get up to hug him. Malia and Kono both followed his actions.

Once the hugs were over, Chin introduced her to the other two faces at the table. "Maddie, these are two members of the Five-0 task force. Meet Officer Lori Weston."

The two females shook hands. "So nice to…meet you Lori! I'm Maddie." _Maddie…hm…I wonder if this is who Steve spoke to the other day? I hope not…she's gorgeous…not to mention a celebrity…one of the biggest_, Lori thought.

"And Detective Danny Williams," Chin continued.

With a stupid star struck smile on his face Danny shook her hand, "It is….so nice to…to…to meet you. I'm a big fan! My daughter…she just…just idolizes you!"

"Wow…thank you so much! You have…a daughter? I would love…to meet her."

"She would love that. She'd probably die!" Everyone laughed at Danny and the fact that he was acting like a teenage boy.

"So Maddie, I picked up lunch on my way over here. Chin told me you guys were doing lunch and I was so excited you were in town that I sort of invited myself. I hope that's alright? I just couldn't wait to see you!" Malia told her as Chin started passing out everyone's food. _I can see she's pretty close to collapsing from exhaustion, not to mention she's severly dehydrated. She needs to be hospitalized for this. I better tell Steve when I have a chance_, Malia thought.

"Of course! I'm glad…you did. I'm so happy…to see you." Maddie smiled. Looking around from her spot at the table she said, "Wow Chin, this…place is nice! Really...state of the art."

Steve watched from his spot in his office. _She looks thinner than the last time I saw her_, he worried. Keeping a close eye on her to see if she really ate her food he remembered the time 5 years ago, right before he started chasing Hess, that they got in a fight over her weight and appetite. She'd dropped to 98 lbs at her 5'2" frame, which was just way too skinny. He'd insisted Maddie stay with him for a couple weeks and he put her on a diet to gain weight. She didn't fight him on it, however she did tell him that he was being ridiculous. She gained 5 lbs while she was there, which made him feel a little better. Ever since then Steve was constantly worrying about her size. The entertainment industry could be a brutal place and he didn't want her to pick up any "bad habits". _She's definitely not as skinny as back then, but she's a little bit smaller than 2 years ago_, he thought as he watched her.

As they ate lunch his team told her stories and laughed while Maddie listened. She was much more reserved than she normally was he noticed.

Finished she pushed her food container to the side and noticed the forgotten flowers she'd set next to her. " I brought these for you. Thought you could put them somewhere in here. Is there somewhere I could get something to put them in and a glass of water for myself?"

Kono jumped up. "Yeah, no problem! I'll be right back."

"Awesome…thank you!"

While Maddie waited for Kono to return she asked Chin and Malia, "So, are you…guys back…together?"

Staring at one another they smiled, "Yeah, we are!"

"That's great! I'm….so glad!" Maddie grinned.

Just as Kono was returning with the water and vase for the flowers, Lori asked, "So, how do you know Chin?"

"Thanks so much….Kono," Maddie said taking the water glass and vase. "These are cool!" she added. The vase and glass matched. Both were made of extremely thin glass and written on it was "Five-0". "Anyway, I'm sorry…we actually…um, went to the same…high school," she answered Lori.

"Oh, so then do you know Steve?" she asked their guest.

In his office Steve straightened up. _Crap! This could go either way…good or bad_, he thought preparing himself just in case it went bad.

The mention of Steve's name caused her heart to ache. "Yeah, I do know Steve."

_I was really hoping this wasn't the same Maddie Steve was on the phone with the other day, but it looks like it is. I wonder if they ever dated? What is she to him? He obviously cares about her given his reaction when she called_, Lori thought.

"How do you know Steve?" Maddie wondered.

"This is gonna go bad," Steve said to himself as he began to stand. He'd wait for a second before walking out. Make sure it was the right moment.

Maddie had a bad feeling as she noticed Pete, Danny, Malia, and Chin get quiet and sort of eye each other. It was beginning to feel quite hot in the room.

"He's actually our boss," Lori answered.

Suddenly it became hard to breath, she felt herself start to take huge breaths. "He's in Hawaii?"

"Maddie…" Chin said. Maddie ignored him as she waited for Lori's response.

_I thought they were friends. She doesn't know he lives in Hawaii again?_ Lori thought to herself. "Yeah, he moved back when his father died." Pushing her chair back as she stood up, vase in one hand, glass of water in the other, Maddie found it even harder to get air.

_SHIT!_ Steve thought walking to his office door and opening it.

Looking towards Pete and Chin Maddie whispered, "You set me up…" The room suddenly felt extremely small as she started hyperventilating.

"Maddie."

At the sound of Steve's voice she turned around. There he stood. The walls began closing in on her and everything started moving as she struggled for air. Not realizing that she'd been squeezing the thin glass of water it shattered in her hand shards of glass cutting into her. Maddie didn't seem to notice as she stared directly into Steve's eyes.

"Maddie!" Steve cried at the sight of her blood dripping on the floor from the shattered glass. The danger of Steve standing in front of her hit her like a ton of bricks and she began completely gasping for air as the extremely large vase fell from her shaking hand shattering into a million pieces around her bare feet.

"Maddie!" he yelled. As she began to sway he took off towards her in hopes to get to her before she hit the floor.

"No, you don't understand. I'm protecting…" and before Maddie could finish her eyes rolled back in her head and she collapsed on top of the broken glass.

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><p>Thanks for reading! Please <strong>REVIEW<strong>! Pretty Puh-lease! With cherries on top! I worked really hard on this chapter and am dying to know what everyone thinks.

xo


	6. Chapter 6

******DISCLAIMER:** ****I do not own the show "Hawaii Five-0" or any of it's characters.

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><p><strong><span>AUTHOR'S NOTE:<span>** Thanks everyone for your wonderful comments! I appreciate it! So here is Ch.6! I hope you like it!

As always, thoughts are in _italics_.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE getting your reviews so please please please keep them coming! I want to know what you think whether it's good or bad!

Thanks,

Laura

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><p><strong>CHAPTER 6<strong>

Steve reached Maddie a second after she hit the floor and a few seconds before the rest of them got to her. "Maddie!" he called her name. Crouching down next to her on her right, not even caring if he had shards of glass digging into his knees, he took in the sight. She lay barefoot crumpled on a million pieces of sharp glass. The hand she'd been holding the water glass in, her left, laid on her shorts covered in bloody cuts, most of which weren't too big, however there were a few large ones that were bleeding profusely. Her once pristine white shorts were now covered in blood. As his eyes moved down her body he noticed her bare legs had a few superficial bleeding cuts. Maddie's bare feet on the other hand were another story. Between the already bloody gashes he could see some shards actually sticking out of her feet. "Oh Maddie," Steve mumbled to himself feeling guilty for her current state. As his eyes wandered up her body he wished she'd still had her jacket on. _If she'd had her jacket on her arms and back would have been protected_, he thought. Because she landed on her back and a bit on her right side, her right arm was worse than her left. Afraid to touch her, he bit his lip, his gorgeous blue eyes scanning for any sign she was awake. "Maddie," he repeated his eyes glued to hers hoping they'd open. Nothing. "Maddie, wake up!" To say he was panicking was an understatement.

"Was that thump her head hitting the floor?" Danny said squatting next to Steve. Chin was on Maddie's left side while Pete was near her head. Kono and Lori stood back not wanting to get in the way.

Steve closed his eyes remembering the sound her head made as it hit the dark marble floor. His hand in a slight fist against his mouth he sighed, "Yeah…Dammit! I should've been quicker!" he cried blaming himself.

"Hey! McG! This is not your fault. She hasn't slept in two days. She was really wobbly on her feet today. I've been watching her praying she wouldn't faint. I had hoped I'd get her to you before it happened and that you could get her to get some sleep. It was inevitable…the way she's been going lately," Pete reassured his buddy.

"Maddie, wake up!" Steve uttered. Looking up he asked, "Where's Malia? Should we call 911?"

She went to get some supplies. She said to not call until she gets back," Chin disclosed. Just then Malia appeared with a bag in hand.

Everyone except Steve backed away from Maddie to give the doctor room.

Squatting next to her friend she began to carefully look at her head and neck. "Has she moved at all? Any sign at all of waking up?"

Noticing that Steve was frozen as his eyes stayed glued to Maddie's face, Danny answered, "No."

"Chin, can you look in my bag and hand me the smelling salts. Hopefully that wakes her up. That would be a good sign in terms of her head. If not…" Malia said.

Chin rifled through the bag finally finding the salts. He handed the package to her.

_Please work. Please, please wake up Mads_, Steve thought to himself. He reached for her "good" hand (her right one) although it too was a bit cut up. Not wanting to hurt her he carefully held onto it. Malia ripped open the smelling salts packaging releasing an incredibly strong odor. She held it under Maddie's nose.

"Wow that stinks! That's definitely gonna do the trick Steve," Danny assured his partner.

Everyone froze inwardly praying this would do the trick. "Come on Maddie…wake up," Steve whispered.

After holding them under Maddie's nose for about 30 seconds Malia pulled them away. "Damn! She needs to go to the hospital and get an MRI. We need to make sure there's no bleeding or swelling on her brain. We need to call 911 and have them come get her. We could take her, but she needs to be put in a neck brace and on a stretcher. We don't want to move her head or neck when we don't know what's going on or it could do permanent damage."

Just as Chin pulled out his phone to dial Steve said, "Just try it one more time…Please!" Knowing how upset he was she did as he asked. "Come on baby…open those blue eyes," he said.

Lori's heart dropped at the sound of him calling her baby. She knew she shouldn't be jealous at a time like this, but she was. Her heart was aching. She wondered if she was the one lying on the floor if Steve would react the same way.

"Come on…wake up. Come on Mads. You can do it," Steve mumbled once more as he lightly squeezed Maddie's hand.

"I'm sorry Steve, but if it was going to work, it would've by now," Malia sadly told him as she pulled the smelling salts away from Maddie's nose.

Just then Maddie's eyes began to flutter a bit. Steve perked up, moving closer to her. He reached forward gently brushing a strand of her beautiful wavy hair from her face. "That's it. Come on Mads." Her eyes only continued to flutter, so he tried once more. "Look at me baby." Her face scrunched up in pain as her eyes opened a bit looking directly at Steve.

Not understanding what was going on Maddie mumbled, "What…"

Steve bit his lip and smiled at her as he brushed more hair from her face. "You decided to scare the hell out of me and faint. You okay?"

Although still fuzzy and extremely dizzy, bits and pieces came back to her. "I need to…" she began as she looked at Steve. He shook his head at her. She tried again. "You can't be…" she just couldn't seem to finish. Her eyes felt heavy as they slowly opened and closed as if she was fighting the urge to pass out again.

"Maddie, whatever's going on we'll deal with it later. Let's first get you cleaned up and feeling better," Steve stated, leaving no room for argument.

As Maddie continued to look as though she'd pass out at any moment she started to try and get into a sitting position. "Ow," she groaned closing her eyes and wrinkling her face in pain.

"Careful," Steve softly instructed as he reached for her and gently helped her sit up. As she moved you could hear bits of glass falling off her body and scraping against the marble floor. "You okay?" he hesitantly questioned as he leaned back a bit looking at her. Carefully taking his hands away from her, but leaving them sort of hovering next to her just in case he bit his lip as he stared at her.

Trying her best to stay awake Maddie gazed back at him through half open sleepy eyes. "Hmmmm," she groaned right before her eyes closed and she slumped forward against his chest.

"Woah…I got ya," Steve sighed holding her tightly to himself. _God it feels so good to have her in my arms. I just wish the circumstances were different,_ he thought to himself as he pulled her tighter. He felt her grab his shirt, balling it into her fists. "Owww," she moaned and loosened her grip in her left hand.

"Shh…you're safe," Steve whispered in her ear before kissing the top of her head. A gesture that did not go unnoticed by everyone around them. In fact, Danny and Chin's eyes met with a knowing glance, which Lori caught.

_Now he's kissing her? Are they together? Is he in love with her? And why did Danny and Chin look at one another like that. Like they knew something no one else did_, she knew it was selfish, but she wished she could find a way to get Steve's attention. "Don't you think you should have Pete," she paused, turning towards Maddie's bodyguard. "That's your name, right?" Pete nodded. "We didn't get an introduction. I'm Lori…Anyway, don't you think Pete should take her to the hospital?"

Maddie started vigorously shaking her head causing her to cry out in pain. "Noo" she mumbled into Steve's chest. "Please….don't."

Hearing her cry out Steve placed his hand on the back of her head. "Shh…It's okay. Be careful." He was torn. He knew why she didn't want to be taken to the hospital. It would cause her so much grief after. The press would hound her and it'd be all over the news. Given her state of mind lately he didn't think she could handle that right now. But he knew she needed to have tests run. "Is there another choice? I know she needs to get checked out, but can we avoid taking her to the hospital?"

"Yeah…I can take blood here and have my lab run it. While that's happening I can rent a portable MRI machine and bring it over. We can treat her at home," Malia replied.

"Let's do that," Steve told her still sitting on the floor with Maddie in front of him leaning into him.

_He hasn't even acknowledged my presence! _Lori thought. _I can't stand here and watch this anymore. It's killing me. I need to get out of here, but I don't want to just leave and risk Steve thinking I'm inconsiderate and don't care._ Thinking for a second she came up with a plan. Grabbing her phone and looking at it she said, "I am so sorry, but the governor's calling. I better take this! I'll be back." As she walked down the hall towards the exit she pretended to answer and talk on the phone, "Hello?...Hi …yes…." Once she was sure she was out of earshot she hung up her phone, jogged to her car and drove home.

Chin and Danny looked at one another again, having their suspicions that Lori had just lied to them. In fact, it was pretty obvious. Realizing Steve hadn't even noticed Lori had said anything, let alone left, they shook their heads hoping his actions with Lori the other night wouldn't lead to drama in Five-0.

"I want to get her standing." Steve looked to Pete, Danny, and Chin. The three pulled her away from Steve supporting her when she wanted to slump over like a ragdoll. She winced when her head moved. They helped Maddie stand as Steve began brushing small pieces of glass from her clothes. You could hear them each hit the ground surrounding her bare feet, which were throbbing and stinging. Pete and Danny each moved to a side of Maddie to let Steve brush off the back of her. No longer needed Chin went to help Malia make plans with the hospital for the MRI machine.

As Steve came around to the back of Maddie he discovered cuts on her upper back and shoulders. Because her tank top was so thin the shards had gone right through the material poking into her skin, however he was unable to see the damage they'd left. Working his way down her body he came to her butt. _Her cute little butt_, he thought. Sliding his hand over her small bubble butt he felt his cheeks flush. _Why am I blushing? It's just Maddie_, he thought. _Luckily no one can see my face right now._ Finishing the back of her shorts he carefully brushed some pieces off her bare legs. He didn't want to focus too much on them because most were sticking out of her skin. He'd use tweezers later to get them out. "I'm not gonna touch the pieces stuck in your skin right now," he told Maddie. Carefully Steve laced his hands in her soft long hair jostling the waves causing glass to plummet to the ground. "Man, that cup and vase broke into a million pieces. These little suckers are everywhere," he mumbled. Standing back looking for more pieces he told her, "I got most of it. We'll get the rest off at home, baby." _What's with me calling her baby so much? I've never called her baby before. Well, except for the other day on the phone. But that was the first time, _he thought to himself puzzled.

Steve walked back around to the front of Maddie making sure he gotten the big stuff off her. Seeing a bunch of pieces on the front of her shirt, he closed his eyes taking a deep calming breath. _Great, I've touched her butt and now I've got to touch her breasts. This wouldn't be so weird if I didn't have all these people watching me. Especially since most of them have been questioning my feelings for her lately_. The sound of Maddie whimpering in pain brought him back to reality. With no one on his mind except her he reached forward lightly brushing the few pieces of glass off her stomach first. Making his way up her body his hand slowed as it gently brushed against her breasts.

Maddie opened her eyes making eye contact with him. Staring into one another's eyes he cleaned off the top of her shirt slowly. He saw something in her eyes he'd never seen before. _Passion? _he wondered. _Lust?_ Whatever it was gave him a warm tingly feeling in his low belly. _Get a hold of yourself. She most likely has a serious concussion. That's why her eyes look different right now. Don't see something that isn't there just because you wish it was_, he chastised himself. Pulling his hand away from her he froze._ Steve…this isn't the time for this. You're just getting confused because you're so worried about her. You don't want to lose her and that has you thinking crazy. _Abandoning his train of thought he looked around for Malia.

"Where'd Malia go?" Steve asked.

"She and Chin went to grab some stuff," Danny told him. _He is sooo in love with her. I wish Chin had seen what I just saw._ With Maddie's back to him Danny saw her begin to slightly sway.

Maddie had closed her eyes to break eye contact with Steve. She thought she enjoyed his hands on her like that, but she was so dizzy and her head and body hurt so bad that she just wasn't sure. With his hands no longer on her she opened her eyes wanting to know what was going on. The light caused her to squint and she suddenly felt a wave of nausea and intense dizziness hit her. As she tried to fight the impending darkness she began to sway. Danny and Pete were still on either side of her barely holding on in case she collapsed. Noticing her begin to sway Danny yelled, "Steve!"

"What?" Steve asked. Looking back to Maddie he immediately saw her waver. Before she could pass out he placed one arm around her back and the other under her knees and swiftly lifted her. Now holding her he slowly walked towards his office as to not jiggle her around too much. Steve had noticed that movement was causing her head to hurt more. Maddie still in his arms he took a seat on his coach and waited for Malia and Chin to return.

As soon as she felt Steve pick her up in, Maddie nuzzled her face into his chest and neck while wrapping her hands tightly in his shirt again. In that moment she felt so safe. As he sat them down on the couch she moved in closer breathing in his scent. Although she felt terrible she hadn't felt this relaxed in…she didn't know how long. As Maddie began to doze off she felt Steve kiss her forehead and then lean his cheek against it.

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><p>About ten minutes later Chin and Malia returned. Pete and Danny were busy sweeping and picking the glass up off the marbled floor. Walking into Steve's office Chin smiled slightly at how every minute or so Steve lightly kissed her head. "Is she awake?" Chin whispered.<p>

"I don't think so," Kono answered from the floor next to Maddie. She was working on Maddie's hand with a tweezers, carefully trying to get the pieces of glass out of it.

Chin pulled a chair in front of Steve and Maddie for Malia. Sitting down she said, "You're gonna wanna wake her up every 30 minutes Steve. I know she has a concussion, the question is how bad. The fact that her body was already shutting down on her before she hit her head probably made it worse. If she'd been strong and in good health when it happened…well it would have been better. Because she's been so stressed and hasn't been taking care of herself I wanna draw some blood. Over lunch I already noticed she was dehydrated. I want to find out how bad and see if anything is going on. So, I'm going to draw her blood and then you can take her home."

"Okay. Do you need to wake her up for that?" he whispered really not wanting to wake her until he had to.

"No…but Kono, I'm going to need that arm."

"No problem," she smiled at her cousin's girlfriend or fiancé or whatever they were at the moment. She wasn't quite sure. "I'll work on her legs."

"Thanks Kono," Steve smiled.

Malia gently took Maddie's arm and looked for a vein. She was having a difficult time. "She must be more dehydrated than I suspected because I'm not seeing one."

She continued looking and luckily five minutes later she found one and stuck the needle in. Although Maddie didn't wake up she did snuggle in closer to Steve causing him to kiss her head again. After collecting 8 vials of blood Malia pulled the needle out and placed a cotton ball on the puncture wound. After taping it in place she sat back. "Ok. You can take her home now Steve. I'll be there as soon as possible. I'm going to run to the hospital and grab the portable MRI and some other things and then I'll be over."

"I'll go with you and help," Chin told Malia.

"Thank you Chin Ho," she smiled.

"Boss, I'll come with you in case you need some help," Kono looked at McGarrett.

"That'd be great Kono!" Carefully standing up still holding Maddie he walked out of his office and over to Pete.

"You ready?" Pete asked him. Seeing glass on Maddie's bare feet he carefully brushed the lose pieces off.

"Hey! We just finished sweeping it all up!" Danny laughed. Looking at his partner he asked, "How is she?"

"I don't know…asleep for now. We'll see."

"She seems to be happy to see you. And you thought she was going to shut you out," Danny said.

"She's like this because she's hurt. We'll see how she reacts to me when she's feeling better," Steve replied biting his lip.

"Alright, Mo is outside waiting in the car. He says there's some press outside the gate with telephoto lenses. So, here's a blanket to cover her up with. That way they don't get any kind of photo of this," Pete relayed to Steve as he opened a grey fuzzy blanket and started placing it over Maddie with Kono's assistance.

"Great! Thank you! She'd be so upset if the press got wind of this!" Steve thanked them.

Pete and Kono stood on either side of Steve as he carried Maddie out of the building and to the car. Once she helped him into the back seat of the black SUV, Kono climbed in. "Let's go home," Pete looked at Mo from the passenger seat.

"Sure thing," Mo said, as he drove towards Maddie's house.

Glancing behind him Pete couldn't help but smile at Steve holding Maddie. _I did the right thing bringing her home to him_, he thought. _Hopefully he can figure out what she's hiding and we can fix it. _Although it was a sweet sight he couldn't help but feel like this was the calm before the storm.

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><p>Please <strong><span>REVIEW<span>**! I'll love you for it!

xoxo


	7. Chapter 7

**DISCLAIMER:** I do not own "Hawaii Five-0" or any of the characters from the show. However, I do own Maddie! :o)

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><p><strong>AUTHOR'S NOTE: <strong>

YAY! A new chapter! I wanted to give you guys some info on what exactly a portable MRI machine is. An MRI is a machine that scans different parts of your body. It shows more than an X-ray (which really just shows bones). This shows nerves, tissues, etc. An MRI is kind of like a tube. In this case, Maddie needs a scan of her brain so she lays down on the bed part of the machine and it slides her slowly inside a tube which is where the pictures of her brain would be , normally you go to a hospital for an MRI scan, but now they have portable MRI's. They are inside a big truck...think a size similar to a tour bus or a big motorhome. Anyway, one room has the machine in it and then there's another room where someone sits and sees the pictures being taken come up on a screen. I hope this makes sense. If you want to see a picture of what the portable MRI units look like google it and you'll see a bunch of pictures!

Anyway, as always, the characters thoughts are in _italics_.

I'm so excited for the next few chapters because the story really picks up. I'd really like to know what you guys think of it. Also let me know if you're ever confused by anything. I try and really make sure to be clear in my writing, but I think sometimes then I over think things and maybe end up making it confusing. HA! Sooo, please let me know if that ever happens!

PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW! The more reviews the faster I update. I didn't receive many reviews last time, so it took me awhile to update. A TON of people have read the story and put it on alert, just not reviewed!

SOOOO PLEASE REVIEW!

Thanks so much!

xo,

Laura

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><p><strong>CHAPTER 7<strong>

Pulling up to Maddie's house Pete jumped out the passenger seat of the black SUV and pulled the back seat door open. "Here Steve, I'll take her," he offered so Steve would be able to get out of the car. Not the easiest thing to do while holding a person.

Reluctant to hand her over, Steve looked down at Maddie's face or at least what he could see of it since she had it buried in his chest and neck. _Man, I really missed her_, he thought. _Just wish I'd actually been able to talk to her. I miss her cute, silly personality. Her outlook on life. How even when she's sad or having a bad day, she's always cheerful and making jokes._ Loving the feeling of having her in his arms where she was safe he said, "It's alright Pete. I think passing her off will jiggle her head around more and that seems to cause her the most pain. I got her."

"Alright bro," Pete smiled knowing Steve just didn't want to let go of her. He carefully helped his friend out of the car.

As Steve walked up the few steps to her already open front door (thanks to Kono) he heard Maddie groan and pull herself tighter against Steve. "Sorry for the movement Mads. We are almost there," he assured before softly kissing her forehead.

Making his way into the living room right off the kitchen he noticed Kono had already placed a blanket on the couch and was cutting open a trash bag. "You read my mind Kono. I don't want to take her to her room until after Malia comes with the MRI truck. But…," he stopped watching her place what used to be the trash bag but was now a big sheet of plastic on the carpet next to the couch. "What's with the…whatever that is?"

"She still has some glass on her. Her hand for sure and a few small pieces here and there. I mean, you got the big pieces, but she's still covered in teeny ones. Thought while we wait for Malia and Chin I'd try and get the rest off. I don't want any falling on the carpet only for someone to step on them later, so…thought we'd set this beneath her on the floor. The blanket on the couch will collect those pieces," Kono rambled showing Steve she too was worried and a bit anxious.

"Good thinking Kono." He bent over to lay Maddie on the couch, however she still clung to him, his shirt balled in her fists, and it seemed there was no way she was letting go. Steve bent closer to her and whispered something in her ear. No one heard what he said, but whatever it did worked. Maddie let go of his shirt. Reaching a hand out and placing it on Kono's forearm Steve made eye contact with her. "I know how close you and Maddie are. That you've become friends through Chin. She's going to be okay. Luckily the pieces of glass were all pretty small. Every cut on her is superficial."

"But boss, her head. I mean she really hit her head. What if…" Kono couldn't finish.

Knowing what she was worried about because it was exactly what had him freaked out Steve replied, "She's responding to me. She's going to be just fine. Leave it to Maddie to not pass out on some carpet or grass, but marble and broken glass. She is and always has been the biggest klutz I've ever met." Steve smiled hoping he was helping Kono calm down. His voice and body language in these moments oozed calm and collected, but his eyes told a different story. One Kono didn't pick up on, but Pete did. He could see Steve was worried about her head, but more than that he was completely freaked out as to what could be going on with her. Given her reaction to seeing him, both Steve and Pete knew whatever she was hiding was worse than they had thought. Maddie wasn't a drama queen or a diva. She despised making people worry and didn't do very well when people fussed over her like this. It made her uncomfortable. What she hated most of all was worrying Steve. So he knew if she was falling apart like this and causing everyone worry, it had to be something…he didn't even know what it could be, only that it had to be something serious.

Steve bent over his best friend and closely inspected her left hand. The hand she'd crushed the glass in. Out of the corner of his eye he spotted some almost microscopic shards all over her clothes. "Seriously? I thought I got most of the pieces off her. But it looks like she's covered in glass confetti. Great!"

"Let's not worry about what's on her clothes. I'll get the rest out of her hand and you look on her legs. I think I got almost all of it out in your office, but…let's double check," Kono stated.

"Alright," Steve agreed as he knelt next to Maddie eliciting a groan from him.

Kono glanced over. "You okay boss?"

"Yeah," he laughed a bit shaking his head. "Think I have a few shards in my knees from kneeling next to her back at HQ. No big deal. I'll deal with it later."

With that both went back to the task at hand. Five minutes later Steve stood looking at his watch. Walking to Kono's other side where he could be next to Maddie's face he leaned over, "Maddie?" Getting no response he gently shook her shoulder. "Mads, come on. Let me see those blue eyes." Kono noticed how he was so sweet with her. The soothing tone his voice took on. This was a side of him she'd never seen, but she liked it. It was obvious he cared deeply for her. She found herself wondering if they'd ever been more than friends. _They'd make an amazing couple_, Kono thought. _And the most beautiful children. I mean Maddie is drop dead gorgeous and then there's Steve. Probably the most good-looking guy she'd ever met._ She smiled at the thought of little baby Maddie and Steve's running around. McGarrett's voice interrupted her thoughts.

"Maddie? Come on…" He was starting to get a bit worried. He wasn't a doctor, but he knew what it would mean if she didn't wake up. Just as he was about to call her name again, she groaned. As Maddie barely opened her eyes she found Steve looking down on her smiling brightly, but the worry evident in his eyes.

"Hey you…" he softly said as he tucked a piece of her soft hair behind her ear.

"Mmmm," Maddie groaned as her eyes closed once more.

He didn't her to stay awake long, he just needed to make sure she would wake up, so he let her fall back asleep. Running a hand down the side of her head, he sighed before returning to his spot on Kono's other side.

"It looks like I got everything out of her hand boss. I just…it's probably going to be a little sore. Some of these are pretty bad."

Steve glanced over at Maddie's left hand. "Yeah…" he bit his lip before joking, "well, luckily she's right handed." The two coworkers smiled briefly before he continued on. "I'd wrap it up, but let's have Malia give it a once over when she gets here."

"Cool," Kono answered. "How you doing boss?"

Steve used a tweezers to pull out a shard on the back of Maddie's calf and then lightly brushed the area in case there were any lose pieces. "I think it looks good. What do you think? There's this one here, but it's really in there. My hands and fingers are too big."

"Here let me try." Kono scooted closer to McGarrett lightly elbowing him to move over. She leaned closer to the area Steve pointed out. "I see it. Alright, watch a pro." After a few seconds she pulled the offending object from the bottom of her friends foot. Holding it up triumphantly, she performed a sort of victory dance with her head and shoulders.

Steve chuckled. He knew what she was doing; trying to make him laugh and lighten the mood. "Thanks Kono."

"You're welcome Boss," Kono paused turning towards him. "You know you're right, she really is going to be fine. Whatever's bothering her…you'll get to the bottom of it."

"Have you talked to her lately?" he asked. Sure Kono was younger than Maddie, but they shared a unique bond. Chin had introduced the two right after Kono busted her knee. She had been in a bad place and Maddie had helped pull her out of her dark funk.

Kono became quiet. "Yeah…we speak."

"She tell you anything?"

Kono was a bit unsure as to whether she should be talking to Steve about anything Maddie ever said to her. Their friendship meant a lot to her and she didn't want to do anything mess that up. "Um…" Kono looked down at Maddie and back at Steve and then towards the kitchen across the room. Steve nodded understanding what she was saying.

Standing Kono headed towards the kitchen. Before following her, Steve walked to a chest near the couch and pulled out a dark purple plush blanket. Unfolding it he walked back to a sleeping Maddie and carefully covered her. He chuckled as she reacted to the soft fabric. Even though the couch he'd laid her on was huge, so big that his 6 foot 3 inch frame could lie down on it comfortably and there'd still be more room, she curled into the fetal position, her knees up to her chin. From under the blanket her hands grabbed the fabric pulling it to her body tightly. Steve rolled his eyes while shaking his head smiling as Maddie made an almost purring noise. _I love it when she does that, _he thought, recalling all the times he'd jokingly made fun of her for her childlike snuggling ways. Remembering Kono was in the kitchen waiting, he snapped out of it and made his way across the room.

Reaching into the refrigerator and grabbing two bottles of water he spoke quietly, picking up where they'd left off. "Sorry, Kono. I shouldn't have asked. I don't want you to break her confidence. I'm just," Steve paused as he handed one of the waters to Kono. "I'm just really worried about her. You know Maddie. She doesn't fall apart. She's so strong. Something just isn't right, Kono. Plus, she's never shut me out like this."

"No, it's okay. I understand. And…no, she never said anything to me. But I noticed a change in her. Of course we only spoke over the phone. I haven't seen her in a while." Kono took a sip of her water.

"What do you mean? What kind of change?" Steve wondered.

"Just…I don't know how to explain it….Like….I guess she became distant. You know how she always has so much to say on the phone? And she wants to hear all about what's going on with you?"

Steve smiled, "Yeah. I know exactly what you're talking about." _Man, I miss those phone calls with her_, he thought.

"Well, she'd still tell me stories and fill me in, but it was nothing how it normally was. Not only did she not talk as much, but it was like while she was speaking her mind was off somewhere else. I mentioned it a couple times, but she just denied it claiming she was tired and had a long day. And…she just wasn't as silly. Didn't crack as many jokes. Just….different. Like she was carrying the weight of the world."

Steve was silent as he took everything in. "Kono?"

"Yeah, boss?"

"Did she ever bring me up to you? Did she ever tell you why she wouldn't talk to me?"

Kono could tell by the sound of his voice that sure he was worried, but he was hurt. Maddie had hurt him, something she assumed wasn't easy to do. She guessed that he'd really needed her since his father had been murdered. "Sometimes, she'd bring you up. She'd laugh and tell me stories about you two. But I didn't know she was ignoring you until Chin told me yesterday. When he filled me in on everything. And plus, I hadn't met you until 4 months ago."

"Obviously you never told her we worked together."

"I realized about 3 months ago that she had NO IDEA you were back in Hawaii. It was late one night and we were talking about…I don't even remember, and she said that…" Kono's expression changed. _Crap! I wasn't thinking! Now I remember when she brought this up…I can't tell him the circumstances. That will NOT go over well. What should I say? Come on…think Kono…think_, she told herself.

"What?" Steve picked up on it.

"Um…nothing. I just…I remember the circumstances," she somewhat told the truth.

"What? What were they?" Steve had a weird feeling and not a good one at that.

"I shouldn't be telling you this….but given the circumstances..."

Steve straightened a bit as he waited for Kono to continue.

Her voice became even quieter than before, he assumed because she didn't want Maddie to hear on the off chance she was awake. "We were catching up. She'd been dating some…well asshole. And that's putting it mildly. Anyway, they weren't seriously dating. Maybe a few months? I mean, she was on tour and beyond busy. And…well anyway, we were talking and she was telling me…" Kono couldn't look at Steve. She knew she couldn't tell him the whole story. Not only would Steve freak out, but Maddie would kill her. So she had to think of a way to sugarcoat and leave out the dirty details.

Steve stood, waiting for her to continue, his heart pounding.

"She was telling me about how he came to visit her. He started giving her a hard time for her schedule and for never getting to see her, something he'd been doing a lot of lately. Well, anyway Maddie was tired of it and…well the night ended badly. She dumped him. She was sooo pissed at him for everything. After telling me the story she said, 'I kind of wish Steve were here to kick his ass.' Maddie got quiet for a second before going on to say, 'But good thing he's off chasing those brothers around the world. He's safer there than here with me.' I thought it was a really weird statement, but I thought she was referring to what had just happened with the guy."

"What happened with him?" Steve questioned.

Kono became a bit nervous. "Oh um…" she stuttered, "just that they broke up." Kono lied.

"Why would you assume her comment about me not being safe with her was about a breakup? That doesn't make sense Kono! Come on, tell me the truth!" Steve's voice was becoming louder as different scenarios ran through his mind.

Kono only closed her eyes, berating herself.

"Spit it out Kono," Steve said forcefully.

"Ah, so this is the overprotective Steve Maddie has told me about," Kono joked attempting to change the topic.

"Didn't work. Tell me," Steve demanded staring her down as if she were suspect.

"I…" Kono began was interrupted by Pete walking in.

"Hey, they're here. They brought the portable MRI truck. Let me tell you, that thing is huge! It's as big as Maddie's tour bus! Wasn't expecting that!" Pete noticed the look on Steve's face and glanced between the coworkers. "Am I interrupting something?"

"No!" Kono immediately answered as Steve coldly said, "Yes!"

"Umm…that's confusing."

"Kono, spit it out."

"What's going on? Steve? Kono? Someone fill me in here," Pete insisted.

"Did something happen between Maddie and some guy she was seeing. What was it?" Steve glanced over at Kono. "Three months ago?"

_Great! That's all Steve needs to hear now. How the hell did this come up? This is not the time for Steve to hear this. He's already tense and worried about Maddie_, Pete thought. Knowing he was going to have to lie to Steve, something he didn't want to do, an incredible wave of guilt hit him. I mean Steve was his "brother" and here he was lying to him about the person that meant the most to him in the world. The only thing that made him be able to go ahead with the lie was that he'd fill him in another time…well, maybe…if the topic came up again."Ah…so that's what has you all in a huff McG!...He came to visit her and was just an ass the second he arrived. One night Maddie dumped him and he was pretty upset about it. She had me escort him out and told me she never wanted him near her again. But that's it."

Kono knew for a fact he was lying to Steve. Maddie had told her Pete knew everything. _I guess he must agree it's a bad time for Steve to hear about this, _Kono thought.

Steve knew they were both lying. Just as he was about to say something, Malia and Chin walked in.

"Hey guys!" Chin greeted as Malia walked over to Maddie. Feeling the tension Chin looked between his three friends, "Everything okay?"

"No," Steve answered. "And we'll continue this conversation later and you'll tell me the truth. You're lucky that Maddie needs me right now. And seriously, Pete…lying to me? Really? About all things? Maddie?" With that Steve walked to the living room leaving a guilty looking Kono and Pete and a very confused Chin behind him.

"How is she?" Steve immediately questioned Malia.

Chuckling, she knelt next to Maddie pulling the blanket off her. "Funny, I was just about to ask you that."

"Oh," Steve smiled standing behind the couch looking down on Maddie. "Kono and I removed the rest of the glass…"

"Have you been waking her up?" she asked as she straightened pulled Maddie out of the fetal position causing for her to frown and sigh as she moved in her sleep.

"Yes," Steve stood there awkwardly as Malia looked at the cuts along her arms and legs.

"When was the last time?" Reaching into her bag she grabbed some gauge wrap and ointment.

Looking at his watch he answered, "25 minutes ago."

Smiling she said, "well then perfect timing. We'll need to wake her up exactly when we'll take her outside for the MRI."

He watched as she put ointment on the cuts on Maddie's left hand. "Yeah, I wanted you to see those. They seemed deep. Will she need any stitches?"

"No, but they will be painful. It'll be sore for a few days. Hard for her to use this hand. She needs to keep them clean because they could easily get infected. Especially since she's so exhausted and run down. Her immune system is compromised from being so tired, so it'll be harder for her body to fight off infection."

"Don't worry. They'll stay clean. Plus, she's not going anywhere. She's staying in bed and resting."

Malia laughed at his overprotectiveness. _Chin was right. He is head over heels for Maddie and doesn't even realize, _She thought to herself as she finished wrapping Maddie's left hand. Carefully checking the cuts on her legs and feet she notices a few really deep cuts on her right foot causing her to put the antibiotic ointment on them and wrap her foot. Looking up at Steve she said, "She's lucky to have you…"

His only response was a small nervous smile unable to take his eyes off his childhood friend.

"Well let's wake her up…Maddie? Wake up," Malia gently shook her.

"Mads…" Steve tried.

Hearing her name, Maddie stirred. They watched as her eyes fluttered. After a few seconds her eyes opened, however it was obvious she was fighting to keep them that way as she continued to slowly blink. "Malia?" she sounded confused.

"Hey girly!" Malia greeted, her smile reaching her eyes. It was a good sign she was talking.

"What are you…?" Maddie's face scrunched in pain and she reached up to her head with her bandaged left hand. Noticing the bandage she continued, "What the…?"

Steve went to answer her, but Malia gave him a look as if saying, "Just give her a second."

Maddie's eyes drifted closed again and didn't open. "Woah woah. Keep those eyes open. Just for a couple minutes. Come on now…" Malia urged rubbing her friend's shoulder. Partially opening her eyes she groaned. "Do you remember what happened?"

Maddie nodded, the movement causing intense pain in her head. Crying out she scrunched her face. Steve was fighting the urge to reach for her, but he didn't want to get in Malia's way. It was killing him seeing her in pain and not being able to fix it.

"Can you tell me what happened?" Malia wanted to be sure she really did remember.

Her eyes still only slightly open Maddie answered. "Chin. We had lunch. Met everyone and…Steve. Wasn't expecting that. Must've passed out." Her sentences were incomplete. Really not even sentences, but Malia knew it was normal for a head trauma like this.

Finally dawning on Maddie that she had passed out in front of Steve she groaned and covered her face with her hands. "Uhhh…..Steeeevvee," she drew out his name.

"Hey…," Steve quietly spoke from his position next to her, but behind the couch.

Her eyes flew open at the sound of his voice. Not partially open either. Turning her head slightly to the right Maddie's eyes met his. She said nothing and neither did he. It was as if they were in a trance as they stared at one another._ I missed him…_ Maddie thought as she looked into his blue eyes. All she knew was that she shouldn't be near him, but her thoughts were fuzzy and hard to hold on to. Making a slight move her body was flooded with intense pain. The longer her eyes were open the more nauseous she felt. Not to mention she just felt very out of it…like the world was in slow motion. She knew there was no way she was going anywhere and she knew Steve would not be leaving her. She'd figure out what to do later when she could actually think. Until then she'd just give in to it. What choice did she have?

As the friends continued to stare at one another Malia let them have their moment busying herself with the contents of her bag.

Finally breaking the silence Steve reached down brushing some curls from her face. "You scared the hell out of me Maddie," Steve quietly admitted.

Maddie's eyes closed at the feel of Steve's hand against her skin and in her hair. She struggled to open them again. It was taking everything she had to stay awake. But, she had missed him and didn't want to take her eyes off him. "I'm sorry...dunno what happened…" she lied.

"Yes you do. And so do I. But we'll talk about it later. When you're feeling better. We'll talk about EVERYTHING," Steve spoke enunciating the word 'everything'.

She thought she saw disappointment in his eyes when he told her he knew what happened. That was something Maddie just couldn't handle so she stopped fighting the impending darkness. "Tired." Her eyes fluttered close.

"I know Maddie, but I need you to stay awake for just a little bit longer.," Malia replied.

Groaning she opened her eyes.

"What hurts?" Malia asked.

Maddie didn't want to do this in front of Steve. She knew she had to answer the questions, but she didn't know if she'd ask her how things had been before today. Steve was already beyond worried about her, he didn't need to hear how she hadn't been taking care of herself. Maddie looked at Steve and then back to Malia. "Uh.."

Malia understood what the problem was. Catching McGarrett's eye she motioned her head to the kitchen. He was about to argue, but saw the look in the doctor's eye. Sighing he said, "Baby, I'll be right back. I'm gonna go talk to Pete. But, I'll be close. I'll just be in the kitchen."

"Mm hmm," Maddie muttered. Her stomach flip-flopped at the term of endearment he'd used. He'd never called her that before the phone the other day. She liked it, but didn't have it in her at the current time to think about why. _Must just be the nausea or maybe I'm hungry_, she told herself. However, the thought of food made her even more nauseous. She was really fighting the urge to vomit, knowing it would worry Steve even more.

Malia noticed the look on Maddie's face and called to Steve's retreating figure. "You might want to get a trashcan or bowl or something over here."

He turned around confused. The reason dawning on him his eyes grew large. Before she knew it Malia had a trashcan in her hand. _He really is a ninja_, the doctor thought to herself.

Now that they had privacy, Malia turned to Maddie. "This is here if you need it. Anyway, so…where does it hurt?"

"Everywhere."

* * *

><p>After a few minutes Malia appeared in the kitchen where Steve, Chin, and Kono waited. "I don't know how, but her concussion doesn't appear to be as bad as it should have been. My guess is there's no bleeding on her brain, but we need to do the MRI to know for sure. I checked her pupils. They are definitely sluggish and severely sensitive to light, but she'll be fine. Let's get her outside to the portable MRI truck. Then I'll get an IV started and get some fluids in her."<p>

Steve relaxed slightly at the news. "Thanks, Malia. I really appreciate all this," he genuinely told her.

She smiled as Chin and Kono also thanked her.

"So…do you want…" Steve began only to be interrupted by Pete coming back from outside.

"Son of a bitch!" He cursed under his breath as he closed his cell phone and slammed it back into its holder on his belt.

"What?" Chin looked to him. "Is everything alright brah?"

"Is something wrong with the truck? Is it not working?" Malia questioned.

"Oh. Um, sorry. No, that's all fine. How's Maddie? Is she awake by any chance?" Pete asked.

"She's going to be fine. She's doing pretty well considering," Malia answered. "She's sort of awake. In and out. She responded pretty well to my questions. No complete sentences. A little like a caveman."

"I need to talk to her," Pete said shaking his head. He was obviously upset and irritated about something.

"What is it? Is everything alright?" Steve asked. "We were just about to take her outside to run the test."

"Yeah, I just need to talk to her. It only take a second McG. Excuse me." And with that said, Pete walked into the living room.

The three coworkers and Malia stood in the kitchen watching as Pete whispered something. They heard her groan and respond, but couldn't hear what she said. She struggled to sit up, but the change in position caused her to throw up. Luckily she made it in the trashcan. Steve ran to Maddie a towel in his hand, Malia close behind.

"Let's get her outside. Can you walk Maddie?"

"No, I got her," Steve blurted as Maddie wiped her face on the towel he'd given her.

"P…just what I said. Be fine. Tmrw. Set it for," Maddie muttered as she laid back down closing her eyes once again.

"Ok, shorty. I'll tell take care of it," Pete responded. He must've understood what she'd been trying to say. Steve looked to him, brows furrowed in a questioning manner. Pete shook his head and mouthed, "later".

"Alright let's do this," Malia said.

With that Steve scooped her up and carried her outside.

* * *

><p>As Maddie lay asleep in the MRI machine while it scanned her brain, Danny drove up. Exiting his vehicle he pulled a big duffle from the back seat. "Here you go," he said as he entered the huge truck handing the bag to his partner. "How's she doing? She alright?"<p>

Taking the bag from him Steve answered. "Thanks so much for grabbing this Danno. With everything that happened I left it behind. Anyway, uh…she's okay. Looks like a pretty bad concussion."

"Well, sucks about the concussion, but it could've been worse. So good news!"

Steve smiled slightly at his partner trying to cheer him up. "How's Gracie?"

"She's good! Picked her up from school. Stopped for a snack and took her home to Rachel's," Danny answered. The mention of his ex wife's name brought a sadness over him. One Steve noticed. _I'll have to talk to him about that later. When there's not so many people around. I wonder how he's holding up. Can't imagine how he must feel. He thought that baby was his!_ Steve thought.

"Alright, test's done. We can get her out," Malia announced. "And while you're at it. It's been 30 minutes. Wake her up."

Steve walked into the other room of the mobile MRI truck. The room where the actual machine was. "Mads, wake up," he murmured as he bent over her. Her eyes fluttered open and a small smile appeared on her face when she realized it was Steve. "Ah, so you are happy to see me. Now here this whole time I thought you wanted nothing to do with me," he teased.

Her smile faded and he watched as her eyes began to tear up. "Hey! Hey! I was just kidding around."

"Sorry. Never like that," she croaked as she lightly rubbed her palms against his chest.

_You idiot! Did you have to say that to her? She already feels terrible physically, don't make her feel worse! She needs you right now, even if she claims she doesn't_, he chastised himself. As he scooped her into his arms he laid a small kiss on her forehead and walked past the watching eyes of everyone and into the house.

* * *

><p>After he'd brought her upstairs Steve left the room while Malia and Kono helped her change into something more comfortable. He couldn't fight the huge smile that graced his face when he saw what she was wearing. Black leggings, big bunchy socks, and his Navy Seal t-shirt. Now forty-five minutes after carrying her upstairs Steve stood in Maddie's bedroom as Malia put an IV in her arm thinking about her choice in attire. <em>I wondered where that shirt of mine went<em>, he thought. _She looks cute in it_. _Even all banged up and asleep._ His thoughts were interrupted by his fellow Seal.

"You know, she's worn that shirt almost every night for months now," Pete smiled, glancing at his friend's reaction from the corner of his eye.

"Really?" McGarrett couldn't help but grin like a school boy.

"Really…"

"Well then, I guess she doesn't hate me," Steve surmised.

"Definitely not!" Pete turned to look directly at his buddy. "I think that's the problem."

"Hey, G.I. Joe? Is that your shirt she has on?" Danny interrupted having just entered the room.

"I guess so. I hadn't noticed," Steve lied causing Pete to shake his head.

"Yeah, I'm sure," Danny replied sarcastically while rolling his eyes. "Well, you know what it means when a girl steals and wears your clothes, right?"

Steve's forehead wrinkled in confusion. "No, what?"

Danny turned to his partner and wiggled his eyebrows in a suggestive manner.

"It's true McG," Pete chimed in.

"It's not like that with us," Steve assured them. But he couldn't explain it and didn't want to even think about why he kind of hoped Danny was right. Shaking the thoughts from his head he turned to Pete. "Hey, what was all that weird stuff with you earlier? When you went to talk to Maddie?"

Pete immediately became tense and irritated. "Nothing…just her manager called and said the label scheduled a show for Saturday here in Oahu."

Steve's eyes grew. "What? That's two days from now. She can't do that! Look at her! There's no way I'm letting her do that." Steve was upset, to put it mildly.

"I know, I know. Maddie told me what to do and I took care of it," Pete assured his friend hoping to calm him.

"So, she doesn't have to do anything then?" Danny asked.

"It doesn't look like it. She has a way to get out of it. The specifics haven't been hammered out, but she has a conference call with them tomorrow to talk everything out."

Steve stood shaking his head, arms crossed and eyes on Maddie. "A conference call? Tomorrow? LOOK AT HER!"

"Well, it's better than a show isn't it?" Pete argued.

Steve sighed, "Yeah, it is…..She needs a break. She needs to get some rest."

"I know, and she will. But you know what a workaholic she is. You guys are very similar that way," Pete smiled.

"Well, I'll make sure she rests."

Pete chuckled and patted Steve's shoulder. "Good luck with that! Anyway, you sure it's okay if I go out?"

Steve smiled knowing Maddie would be fighting him tooth and nail the second she was feeling better. "Yeah! I'll be here with her. Go see that girl you were telling me about!"

"Alright! See you later bro!" Pete said as he walked out.

"Ok, this fluid should help her in the long run," Malia spoke as she gathered her medical supplies. "There was no bleeding on her MRI scans. I'll be back in the morning to check on her. Just be sure to wake her up every 30 minutes. If, God forbid, she doesn't wake up call 911 immediately and then me. If you have any questions or concerns don't hesitate to call and I'll come over."

"Okay," Steve answered. "Thanks for everything Malia! And thank Chin!"

"Where is Chin?" Danny wondered.

"No problem! I'm happy she's home and will be for a while. I missed her!" She turned to Danny, answering his question. "Chin and Kono returned the portable MRI unit. I'm going to go pick them up now. Oh and Steve, you know that Mo went to see his family, which I guess live close by. He said to call him if you needed him."

"Perfect! Thank you!" McGarrett hugged her goodbye.

"Bye! See you in the morning," Malia called as she left the room.

"So…," Danny said.

"So," Steve responded.

"You going to be okay here by yourself?"

Steve turned to his partner and then back to a sleeping Maddie. "Yeah, we'll be fine here. I actually prefer to have no one here. Less going on, more chance for her to rest."

"Surrreeee…. That's why you want to be alone with her," Danny joked.

"Shut up Danno," Steve countered.

Laughing as he walked towards the bedroom door he said, "I'll lock the door on my way out. I'll check in with you tomorrow."

"Great! Thanks!"

* * *

><p>Steve stood next to Maddie's bed looking down on her sleeping form. "What did you do Maddie? Huh? What's going on with you?" he whispered out loud. Shaking his head and sighing he pulled the covers up over her body before walking to the other side of the bed. Pulling his shoes off he climbed in still clad in his khaki cargo pants and blue polo shirt. He scooted a little closer to her, but not too close. Glancing at his watch he realized it'd been 30 minutes.<p>

"Maddie? Wake up," Steve said. Her eyes fluttered open. "Hey," he greeted. She slowly turned on her left side to look at Steve. A movement that caused a lot of pain, something very evident to him. "Be careful."

Noticing they were safe in her room, her curtains closed she figured she didn't have to worry about anything or anyone. "Where's everyone?" she asked.

"They're gone. Malia's giving you fluid," he pointed to the IV in her right arm. "She took some blood earlier, but doesn't have the results yet. However she could tell you were exhausted and severely dehydrated. Said you really need this."

"Oh." Maddie stared at him, her expression unreadable as she scooted a bit closer to him. Although it was obvious she was still incredibly sleepy she was the most alert she'd been.

The two friends stared at each other as they laid there on their sides facing one another. _Well she's awake, seems like as good a time as any to bring something up. I'll start easy_, he thought. "It's not easy to become that exhausted and dehydrated. You taking care of yourself on tour?" Steve asked as he tucked some of her hair behind her ear.

"Uh huh," she answered quietly.

"Really?" Steve responded, his eyebrows arched and eyes wide.

"Yeah."

"What about your sleeping? You been sleeping?" he tried another approach.

She shrugged her shoulders, "I dunno. I do a little."

He smiled, "You lie."

Maddie's eyes fluttered closed for a second before opening up again. She was really trying to fight the sleepiness. _Change the subject Maddie_, she told herself. Thinking about the last few months, she felt the emotion building and no longer could meet Steve's eyes.

"Maddie? You okay? What's wrong?" Steve gently asked.

Looking back to him he could see her eyes were filled with unshed tears. "I missed you," she whispered.

Steve smiled. He couldn't have been happier to hear those words from her even though he could hear the sadness in them as well. Using his left arm he reached it forward and rubbed her upper arm as he said, "I missed you too…like crazy!"

That's all it took for the tears to fall down her face. "Hey! Me missing you is supposed to make you smile, not cry. What is it?" he asked as he wiped a few from her face.

Maddie's eyes closed as the tears continued down her face. Looking back to him she sobbed, "I'm so sorry." With that now said she was sobbing. Not as bad as she had on the phone a couple days before, but harder than he'd ever seen her cry in a long time. Her face contorted in pain, the crying obviously making her head hurt more.

He pulled her to him and she buried her face in his chest. "Maddie, crying is going to make your head hurt even more." Her sobs continued. "What are you sorry for? You said that the other day? Not calling me back? It's okay. I'm fine. You're going to be fine. Everything's okay." He rubbed her back as he kissed the top of her head and continued to tell her everything would be okay. Maddie's snuggled in closer to him their bodies completely pressed against one another, their legs tangled together. She never said another word, and eventually his soothing calmed her and she passed out.

Steve woke her up every 30 minutes like Malia told him to. A few times Maddie woke by herself to throw up from the nausea thanks to the concussion. He held her hair and rubbed her back as she did so and then tucked her back into bed. She always snuggled right back into him, something he didn't mind at all. They didn't talk about what happened earlier and why she'd been crying. Steve figured it was better to wait until she was feeling better.

* * *

><p>"Dammit!" the man yelled as he stared at the many screens in the dark room. Every screen showed another room in the beautiful woman's home. His dog tags rattled as he stood up from his spot in front of a screen showing her snuggled against him in bed. "Maddie? Did you not think I was serious?"<p>

Pacing the room he came up with a plan. "Yeah, I know he surprised her. She had no intention of seeing him. Hell, she didn't even know he was back in Hawaii. But here she is all cozy with him! I won't go after him right away. No, I'll let her think she's safe. That he's safe! That I'm no where to be found." He smiled and chuckled at what was to come.

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><p>Please, please, PLEASE REVIEW! Soooo many of you are reading it and asking to be alerted when a new chapter is posted, but I'm not getting many reviews. Seriously, the more reviews I get the faster I update!<p>

Thanks! xoxo


	8. Chapter 8

**DISCLAIMER:** I do not own "Hawaii Five-0" or any of it's characters. I do own Maddie and Pete though! hehe :o)

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><p>AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hi guys! I hope you enjoyed the last chapter! Thank you for those of you that left reviews. Still not a ton for how many people are reading the story!<p>

Like always, characters thoughts are in _italics_.

ENJOY! And...PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE leave a review!

Thanks,

Laura

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><p><strong>CHAPTER 8<strong>

To say Lieutenant Commander Steven McGarrett was exhausted was an understatement. He had laid in bed wide awake all night holding Maddie. He was afraid that if he fell asleep he wouldn't wake her up when he was supposed to and she'd slip into a coma. If it had just been last night that he hadn't slept he wouldn't be so tired, but ever since Maddie had called him sobbing on Tuesday he'd had a difficult time sleeping. Now it was Friday and he knew if he didn't get some sleep soon he would be of no help to his best friend.

Around 7am, Steve had carefully slid out of bed smiling at the little whimpering groans Maddie made in her sleep at the loss of contact with him. _How cute is that?_ he thought as he smiled down on her slightly biting his bottom lip in a very sexy way. He'd be back in 15 minutes to wake her up again. Walking down the stairs towards the kitchen he rubbed his right knee. One of the times he'd woken her up he'd changed out of his clothes into some sweatpants and realized he had a pretty deep gash on his right knee from kneeling in glass. Rubbing his hands on his face in an attempt to wake up he entered the kitchen, on a mission for coffee. Once he finally found the coffee maker and grounds and got it going it had been 15 minutes.

"Gotta go wake up Mads," Steve whispered to himself as he headed back upstairs. Walking into her huge bedroom, more like a master suite, he approached the white, king sized, four-poster bed. He quietly chuckled at the image before him. Petite little Maddie snuggled deep in the extra fluffy, pale blue and white down comforter. "She looks so small in the massive bed! You could fit 20 of her in it," he mumbled to himself. _She has always loved to be snuggly,_ he reminisced. Reaching the lavish bed Steve sat on the edge. Knowing he had to wake her up for a second he gently shook her. "Mads…."

As she opened her eyes he could see just how exhausted she was. With the makeup she'd had on the previous day now gone he took in her appearance. Her usual glowing skin was incredibly pale. Her gorgeous, piercing, crystal blue eyes seemed to have lost their sparkle and faded to a dull blue gray. Underneath were dark circles from the lack of sleep. _Oh Maddie_, he thought. Sure she was small, especially in her gigantic bed, but she looked even more so now. Small and fragile. She looked like she'd break with the littlest fall. He knew it wasn't so, she'd proven that yesterday, but it looked like it. _A lot of this could be because of the trauma to her body yesterday, _he told himself. But he knew that wasn't the reason. This was all from whatever added stress she'd been under. From whatever had her so upset.

Reaching forward he ran his fingers through her soft reddish brown hair, the previous days curls now practically straight with a bit of waves here and there. "How do you feel?"

"Eh…Tired." He'd noticed the slight roughness to her voice yesterday as if she'd been talking over a loud crowd for too long. However, even though she hadn't used it much since then it was worse. _The last few months must've caught up to her_, Steve guessed.

"That's normal. Go ahead and get back to sleep," he softly said running her fingers through her hair again. Her eyes fluttered closed at the feel of his fingers in her hair. Thinking she was already asleep he bent down and kissed her forehead before getting up and leaving the room.

Hearing her door close behind him Maddie opened her eyes. Reaching up she brushed her fingertips against her forehead where he'd kissed her. She felt so guilty. She had ignored him for months. Months when he really needed her. Now after all that here he was taking such good care of her. She didn't deserve it. _I'm such a terrible friend_, she thought. _Sure, I ignored him to keep him safe, but he wouldn't be in danger if it wasn't for me. Right? _

Knowing the longer she was in this physically weak state from yesterday's fall the guiltier she would feel. Although she felt terrible Maddie swung her legs over the side of the bed and pulled herself into a sitting position. A maneuver that took almost all her energy. "Ugh…I must've fallen hard. Every part of me hurts," she said aloud. Looking down at her right arm she remembered the IV Malia had hooked up. "This is not going to make me look better." Using her bandaged left hand she tried carefully pulling the sticky tape off the needle and tubing so she'd be able to pull it out. However, the gauge wrap on her hand was making it incredibly difficult. "Screw it!...This is going to have to go too!" Using her right hand she roughly pulled the offending material from her hand. As she got the last bit off she bumped the bottom of her palm against her right hand. "Ahhh!" Maddie cried out. "Son of a bitch that hurts!" Wondering why she turned her palm over. For the first time she saw the deep gash on her palm near the bottom of her thumb and another one, almost identical to the first, on the inside of her wrist. "Wow! I really cut the shit out of my hand!" Cradling it to her chest she waited for the pain to dissipate. "Well, at least I'm right handed. However, it's going to be painful to play any instruments." Annoyed with herself for getting hurt, she roughly went to work on pulling the IV out. "Damn!" she cried out as the spot where the needle had been was now bleeding. Not wanting to get blood anywhere Maddie quickly rose making her way to her bathroom on the other side of her bedroom.

"Bad idea," she mumbled as a wave of dizziness hit her. Stumbling and limping towards the bathroom door she reached out and steadied herself against the wall. "Concussions suck!" she declared. The dizzy feeling subsided a bit and she made it into the bathroom. Leaning against the counter she stared at herself. "Oh my God! And I was afraid of Steve seeing me a few days ago!" Shaking her head at her reflection she decided maybe a shower would not only help her appearance, but help her feel a bit better. "Maybe the warm water will help this pounding in my head," she hoped rubbing her head.

Knowing there was no way she'd be able to undress without falling over she sat on the edge of the bathtub. Now naked Maddie noticed why she'd been limping before. "So that's why my foot hurts!" she mumbled staring at her bandaged right foot. "Can't take a shower with this on," Maddie concluded and freed herself from the soft wrap. Seeing the deep gash on the bottom of her foot she gasped, "Damn…" Busy looking at her foot she hadn't heard someone enter her bedroom. The knocking on her bathroom door caused her to jump.

"Maddie?" It was Pete. _Thank God_, she thought. If it had been Steve, it would have just made everything worse.

"Yeah?" she answered.

"You okay?"

_Not really_, Maddie thought. "Yeah. Just using the restroom," she lied.

"Oh okay. Well, I wanted to let you know you have that conference call in 30 minutes."

_Conference call? Conference call? _Maddie was wracking her brain trying to remember what he was talking about. Suddenly it hit her! _Oh yeah! The label wanted me to do a show tomorrow…I told Pete to schedule a call._ Shaking her head at the thought of having to deal with the label when she felt this awful she answered Pete, "Alright. I'll be down shortly."

"Okay. Let me know if you need anything or any help," he told her.

"I will." Maddie waited until she was sure he was gone. Rising she opened the shower door and stepped under the warm water. As the water ran down her body she hissed. "Ahh! Dammit!"

_The water's not that hot!_ she thought. Wondering why her entire body was stinging she looked herself over. Covering her body were tiny cuts. Literally everywhere. "What the hell?" Thinking back to the previous day and why she'd have these particular injuries Maddie remembered all the broken glass. "Dammit! I must've fallen on it. Way to go!...I'm just gonna have to suck it up!" she told herself.

Initially she had hoped the shower would help her feel better, but she now realized that was not going to be the case. _I don't know how long I can take this_, she thought. Not only would her cuts not stop stinging from the water, but she was becoming more nauseous and dizzy by the moment. Throwing shampoo in her hair was torture on her hands, especially her left. The pain from having soap in her huge gashes was awful. Tears started making their way down her face. As the suds made their way down her body it amplified the stinging in every single cut on her arms, back, legs, feet. Everywhere! Rushing through the rest of her shower Maddie turned the water off stepped out and plopped down on the throw rug in front of the shower. Sitting there completely naked she cried from the pain. "Come on Maddie, pull yourself together! Steve should be back any second. You can't be curled up on the floor naked and crying! You need to get dressed and be downstairs before he makes it up here," she told herself. Reaching for towels from her spot on the floor she dried herself. Noticing the blood on the pale blue towels she realized the gashes on her hand and foot were bleeding profusely along with some of the cuts on her body. "Great! I have nothing to wrap them up with up here." Wondering how she'd hide it from Steve she attempted to stand. It took a few tries, but she did it. Not wanting to get blood on her carpet Maddie took her towels and slowly made a path to her closet. This way she could walk on the towels. They already had blood on them anyway, and she could wash them easier than the carpet.

Wanting to appear completely back to normal for Steve she grabbed a pair of skinny jeans, a grey tank top, and a black long sleeved shirt. Sure, she knew it was too hot outside for long sleeves, but she had to cover her bleeding wrist. Pulling her clothes on was yet another painful task. Especially the jeans. "Dammit!" Maddie cried, mad at herself for getting hurt like this. Once dressed she realized you could see the blood from the two gashes running down her hand. Maddie frantically looked around her closet. Seeing a stack of sweatshirts she smiled "Perfect!" Grabbing the biggest black one she had she put it on. "Yes!" she cried, happy it was big enough that she was able to tuck her hands in the sleeves and the dark color would hide any blood that got on the fabric. As the dizziness increased she sat down, closing her eyes for a minute. Knowing it was almost time for her conference call she pulled the big black socks she'd picked out over her feet, hissing as it rubbed against the gash on her right foot. Sliding her throbbing foot into her black biker boots caused a few tears to roll down her face. "Man that hurts!" Once the other boot was on Maddie carefully stood staring at herself in the mirror. "I don't look great, but I look better than I did!" Satisfied, Maddie walked slowly to her bedroom door. The only way she could figure out how to walk without a limp was to walk on the ball of her right foot. Never put pressure on her right heel. Knowing it would look a little funny, but better than the alternative, Maddie headed downstairs.

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><p>Steve had left Maddie's room and gone to the kitchen to have a HUGE cup of coffee. He needed it. Leaning against the counter he couldn't get the image of her rundown, pale face out of his head. And last night she hadn't gotten any rest because just as she was really falling asleep he'd have to wake her up. Hopefully Malia would tell him that she wouldn't need to be woken up every 30 minutes. Consumed by his thoughts Steve didn't notice when Pete strolled into the kitchen.<p>

"Morning!" Pete greeted. Seeing his buddy staring into space he decided to have fun with him. "Oh my God! Maddie!" he cried. Steve immediately reacted. His eyes looking every which way for her he asked, "Where? What happened? Is she okay?"

His reaction was better than Pete could have hoped. Hysterically laughing Pete could barely answer, "She's fine! Chill out! You should've seen your face though!"

Realizing it was a joke, Steve punched his buddy in the shoulder. Not hard, but hard enough to let him know he didn't find the prank funny. He was tired and worried about her and he didn't find her current state a laughing matter. "Chill McG! I was just trying to get your attention! You were on another planet."

Annoyed Steve went around the kitchen island to sit at the counter. Pete's laughs subsided and he apologized, "Sorry Steve. I shouldn't have done that." Steve nodded in acceptance. "So, how is she? She asleep?"

Setting his steaming cup of coffee down he looked at his longtime friend. "She's doing better. She's exhausted though. Sooo pale. The bags under her eyes. I couldn't see how bad it was yesterday because she covered it up with makeup."

"Yeah, I told you she wasn't sleeping. Did she get any last night?" Pete asked pouring himself a cup of coffee.

"Not really. I mean just as she would be really falling asleep I'd have to wake her up. How long has…" Steve was interrupted by his ringing cell phone. "McGarrett," he answered. "Good…..yeah….upstairs….okay….Now?...Great!...No problem, we're good here….Okay, see you in a couple hours….Thanks, bye!" Setting his phone down he took a long sip of his coffee.

"Everything cool?" Pete asked leaning against the counter.

"Yeah. It was Malia checking in. She said that an emergency came up at the hospital and she'd be here in a couple of hours. Good news is she said that I could wake Maddie every hour." Looking at the time on his cell he said, "So I can let her get a little sleep. Wake her up about 8:30."

Pete's eyes widened. "Oh crap! That reminds me! She has a conference call at 8:30."

"Dammit!" Steve exclaimed rolling his eyes. "I wish she didn't have to take that."

"I know. Trust me, I know. But it'll be quick. I better go tell her."

"Since she has that going on and you're awake, would you mind holding down the fort while I take a shower?" Steve asked.

"No problem!" Pete replied as he trudged up the stairs to Maddie's room.

Before barging into her room Pete knocked softly. Hearing no answer he entered. Noticing she wasn't in her bed, but that her bathroom door was closed he walked towards it. "Maddie?" he called out as he knocked on the door.

"Yeah?"

"You okay?"

"Yeah. Just using the restroom."

"Oh okay. Well, I wanted to let you know you have that conference call in 30 minutes."

"Alright. I'll be down shortly."

"Okay. Let me know if you need anything or any help," he told her.

"I will."

_Okay, she seems to be doing better_, Pete thought as he made his way downstairs where McGarrett was still sitting at the counter drinking his coffee.

Hearing Pete coming back, Steve turned around, "Maddie okay?"

"Yeah. Seems like it. She was in the bathroom when I went up," he revealed.

Steve couldn't hide his surprise. "Really? And she was okay? Maybe I should go see if she needs any help."

"I offered already. She was okay. Said she'd be down soon to take her call. So why don't you go take a shower. That way you'll be done when she is."

Hesitantly Steve nodded, "Okay." Standing up he trudged towards the guest room he had his bag in. Grabbing what he needed from it he walked into the bathroom.

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><p>Pete was dressed and in the kitchen making breakfast, his back to her, when Maddie meandered in. Having only two minutes before her conference call she headed down the hall towards her office. "I'll be in my office," she called to Pete not giving him a chance to really see her.<p>

_I wonder where Steve is? _Maddie pondered. _Maybe he left_, her heart sunk at the thought, even though she knew it would be for the better. _I mean, he does have a job and a life. And I think a girlfriend. That coworker I met yesterday seemed…I dunno. I got a vibe from her. I think there's something going on between them. _Her train of thought was interrupted by the phone on her desk. _Perfect timing_, she thought as she walked through the door. Plopping down in her comfortable desk chair she answered, "Hello?" _This is gonna be soo much fun…not_, she thought.

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><p>Steve McGarrett had taken the longest shower in…he didn't even know how long. He was so used to "Navy Showers" at this point. A three minute shower was considered a luxury to a Navy man, so he couldn't believe when he stepped out and realized he'd been in there for 20 minutes. He blamed it on the fact that he was not only tired, but also distracted. Steve just couldn't stop thinking about Maddie. And it wasn't even that he was worrying about her every moment. I mean he was, but he just couldn't stop thinking about her in general. He wanted to be holding her while she snuggled into him. <em>What does that mean? <em>he wondered. Confused by his thoughts and feelings, he shook them from his mind. Getting dressed he hurried downstairs, anxious to check on Maddie.

* * *

><p>Maddie was fuming when she hung up the phone 30 minutes later. The new head of her record label had it out for her. She was convinced. "Son of a bitch! Could my week get any worse? I mean really?" She rested her head on the top of her desk closing her eyes. She felt terrible. Her head felt like it was going to explode, her hand and foot were throbbing and still bleeding, and her body in general just ached. All she wanted to do was curl up and sleep through this, but she knew she had to pretend she was fine for Steve. The last few months had been rough for him and to make it worse she hadn't been there for him. The last thing he needed right now was to be worrying about her. "I better head into the kitchen before they come looking for me." She used what little energy she had left to force herself to stand. Immediately the dizziness and nausea increased. "Just breath through it Maddie. You're going to be fine. Just breath," she whispered. Limping to the door, she rubbed the inside of her right elbow. It was really throbbing, but she didn't know why. <em>Ugh, I feel awful<em>, she thought. As she walked down the hall every step became more painful. _Maybe the skinny jeans were a bad call_, she thought. Every little movement caused the denim to rub against the cuts on her legs. Maddie could tell that they were bleeding. Luckily they were all small. However, their size didn't make them hurt less.

As she rounded the corner she saw Pete sitting at the counter while Steve was making something to eat. What, she couldn't tell.

Hearing her behind him Pete greeted, "Morning Shorty! How ya feeling!" He turned around to hear her answer and his eyes grew big.

"I'm great! Feeling a thousand times better!" Maddie lied trying to sound as cheerful and enthusiastic as possible.

Steve would have turned around when he heard them talking, but he was in the middle of flipping pancakes and couldn't.

"McGarrett…."

Steve froze at the sound of Pete's voice and turned around. Maddie was standing in the opening of the kitchen. Her face so pale is was grey, her eyes half open. He gave her a once over. There was no IV bag with her. She was wearing a baggy sweatshirt with her hands pulled inside. He'd known her long enough to what that meant. To say he was mad was an understatement. "Madeline Lily," Steve growled. "Are you kidding me?"

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><p>Thanks sooo much for reading my story! The story is going to get really intense soon. I don't want to give anything away!<p>

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW! I'm going out of town for a few days and if I get a bunch of reviews I will update while I'm gone, I really wanna know what you all are thinking!


	9. Chapter 9

**DISCLAIMER: **I do not own "Hawaii Five-0" or any of its characters. However, I do own Maddie! :o)

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><p><strong>AUTHOR'S NOTE: <strong>Here is chapter 9. I left it hanging because I wanted to post what I had so far. I hope to have the talk between Maddie and Steve up later tonight as Ch. 10.

As always, thoughts are in _italics_.

PLEASE PLEASE let me know what you think! I wanted to give a shout out to all the reviews I've received lately. You guys are awesome! You've said some really amazing things, so seriously, THANK YOU!

KEEP IT UP!

xo

Laura

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><p><strong>CHAPTER 9<strong>

Maddie knew by the sound of his voice that he was pissed. Pissed being an understatement. More furious. Extremely furious. She assumed his eyes would tell the same story had she been able to meet them. _CRAP! First and middle name! I should have known I wouldn't get away with it. But why's he soooo mad? I can't look that bad... I mean, I'm up and around. I feel like complete shit, but…maybe if I just keep pretending like I'm fine he'll let it go_, she hoped, however deep down she knew Steve was not going to buy it.

Danny had let himself in the beautiful estate figuring everyone would be asleep. He'd used the key Steve had given him a couple days before. He just wanted to check on things before he picked Grace up from Rachael's and took her to school. However, hearing voices down the hall he realized people were awake. As he entered the kitchen he was just about to greet his partner when he took in the scene before him. Pete sat at the counter with Steve near the stove both looking in the direction of a frozen Maddie standing on the opposite side of the room as him. It looked as if she'd come from another hallway, one he hadn't been down. Although Danny couldn't completely see Steve's face he could tell he had aneurism face. He was mad. Really mad. So mad that Danny was afraid to say anything. _Just keep quiet Danny. Just see what happens_, he told himself as he stood in place and watched

"That wasn't a rhetorical question Madeline Lily," Steve seethed.

Danny's eyes drifted to Maddie standing just at the entrance to the kitchen. For the first time since arriving he looked her over. She didn't look good at all. Her skin was grey, bags under her eyes so large and dark it looked as if her eyes were sinking in her head. It made her seem thinner than she was. Then again she was wearing a big, baggy, black sweatshirt, so for all he knew she could've been that skinny. However, he'd seen her in shorts and a tank top the day before and sure she was a petite, thin girl, but not unhealthily so. Maddie said nothing as she refused to look anywhere but Steve. Wanting to help break some of the tension Danny joked, "Wow, a first and middle name! This can't be good!"

Maddie glanced in Danny's direction grateful at his attempt to ease the uncomfortable silence in the room. However, Steve only ignored him as he continued to glare at his best friend. Fighting the urge to run to her, pick her up and carry her back to bed, he loudly cleared his throat to get Maddie's attention back on him and hopefully some sort of answer.

Taking a deep breath and looking towards Steve, but still refusing to meet his eyes Maddie played dumb, "What do you mean?"

"What do I mean?" Steve scoffed. "Why are you up and around?"

"I had a conference call. I had to take care of some things," she replied. Her answers only pissed him off more.

"Seriously Maddie! Don't play dumb. You're dressed. My guess is you ripped your bandages off and I'm pretty sure I don't see you holding an IV bag," he cried.

The yelling was making her feel worse. Maddie wished she could sit down, but that wouldn't show him she was fine. However, she didn't know how much longer she could hold herself up. She was weak, exhausted, and in tremendous amounts of pain. Knowing she needed to get this argument over with she attempted to shout back, but due to the fact she barely had a voice left it came out as a squeaky whisper. "Steven, I'm fine! I feel so much better! I'm dressed because it's a new day! I'm home…IN HAWAII! It's beautiful outside," she pointed a bit behind her and to the right to big sliding glass doors leading to her backyard. "So I'm going to enjoy my day! Stop worrying. I'm 100%!" she lied. _More like 20%_, she told herself.

"You are NOT going anywhere except back upstairs!" he shouted pointing towards the stairs on the other side of the room. "And you are definitely not fine! You look awful! You look close to death Madeline." As soon as the words were out of his mouth Steve knew he'd gone too far. He was just so worried about her and he was too tired himself to deal with her stubbornness right now especially about her health and wellbeing.

Danny and Pete flinched as Steve told her she looked like death. _Oh Steven! You have so much to learn. You just don't say that to a woman. Especially like that_, Danny told himself.

If Maddie hadn't felt like her legs were going to give out on her at any moment she would have stormed out, gotten in her car, and taken off, but there was no way that was going to happen. She didn't even have it in her to yell at him. She just wanted him to leave. Hoping to piss him off bad enough he'd storm out himself she chose to say something she knew would irritate him. "Your pancakes are burning," Maddie stubbornly said, her voice laced with venom as she pointed behind at him. He hated it when she avoided the topic in a fight and when she was a smartass.

"Seriously Madeline?" Steve yelled as he yanked the pan from the stove before throwing it into the nearby sink causing the other three to flinch. When it hit the metal sink it created a loud noise causing Maddie to immediately grab her head. Hoping to get some sort of explanation Steve looked back to her to see her slightly bent over, her hands, still tucked safely inside her baggy sweatshirt, cradling her head. "Crap," he mumbled immediately feeling guilty for making such a loud noise. He had let his anger get the best of him. He should've realized the loud noise was going to kill her head.

That was all Maddie needed to do her in. Her head feeling as if it was exploding she immediately buried it in her hands. The increase in pain caused a huge wave of dizziness to overtake her and she could feel her legs getting ready to drop her to the floor. All of which didn't go unnoticed by Steve.

Steve's anger lessened at the sight before him. "That's it," he stated sighing heavily as he walked briskly to Maddie and scooped her up. Looking down at her in his arms he noticed she'd paled considerably in the last few minutes. _How is that even possible? I thought that was as pale as she could get. She went from grey to stark white_, he worried.

"No, Steve. I'm fine. Put me down," Maddie ordered. However, her words were telling him to put her down while her actions were giving him a different story. She wasn't really fighting him physically except the little thump of her fist against his chest. But she quickly realized that wasn't a good idea when she hit the gash in her left hand against his chest. Groaning in pain she gave up and leaned into him.

Shaking his head as he headed towards the stairs, Steve said, "Stop being so stubborn Maddie. You're just making everything worse on yourself."

"I'm not stubborn!" she countered as her eyelids drifted shut. _Way to convince him you're fine Maddie! _she chastised herself. However, she felt so bad she just didn't have it in her to fight him. However, she knew they'd go head to head as soon as she was feeling better.

"Whatever you say," Steve retorted as he carried her up the stairs. Upon entering her bedroom he carefully sat her on her bed. "Alright, let's see the damage…" he told her as he stood back staring at her and shaking his head. He was still mad at her, but definitely not as much. He always found it hard to stay upset with her.

"Damage? There's no damage. What are you talking about?" Maddie lied, her head still feeling as if it was going to explode. "Did you really have to yell and throw things?" she asked him scrunching her face in pain and holding her head.

"I'm so sorry baby. I wasn't thinking…You just…" he stopped and let out a frustrated growl rubbing his hands in his hair. Looking at Maddie and seeing how terrible she looked and felt he sighed. "We'll talk about it later. First I want to see how bad things are. Arms up!"

Maddie's eyes flew open. "Excuse me? No!"

"Maddie, either cooperate or don't. Either way I'm going to see how bad things are. It will make things A LOT easier if you help me, but you know me well enough to know I don't need help to figure out what you did." Steve waited and watched as she thought it over. Seeing the defeat in her face he continued, "So…sweatshirt first. Arms up!"

"Fine! But only because I don't have it in me to fight you," Maddie squeaked her voice becoming worse and worse every time she spoke.

"HA! See I knew you were lying!" Steve cried in victory. She hadn't even realized what she'd admitted by saying that until it was too late. _Way to go you idiot! _she berated herself blushing in embarrassment.

"I hate you right now…"

"Yeah, yeah. I know," Steve smiled. "Arms up baby!"

Her face blushed even more at this new pet name he'd given her. _Why does he keep calling me that? ….and why don't I care? Better yet…why do I seem to like it? _she wondered as her face became even redder. Finding it too hard to analyze her emotions in her current state she let it go. At least for the time being. "Mads…come on," Steve coaxed bringing her back to the moment.

The fact that Maddie's face became even more flushed when he called her "baby" didn't go unnoticed by Steve. _Does that mean she likes it when I call her that?_ he wondered. He found himself wondering if maybe Danny and Pete had been right the night before when they told him why girls steal guys clothes. The possibility made his heart pound. He found that he liked the idea, but that it also scared the crap out of him. _Steve, you can't think about this stuff now. Focus on the moment._

Coming back to reality Steve noticed she'd lifted her arms and was staring at him eyes squinted from the pain in her head as she waited for him to come back to Earth. As he carefully pulled the sweatshirt over her head he asked, "Maddie….tell me the truth. How do you feel?"

She debated whether or not to answer honestly, but there was something in his eyes and the sound of his voice. Looking directly at him her eyes began to fill with tears however none fell. She wouldn't let them. "Stevie…" Maddie started, using the childhood nickname she'd given him. "I feel terrible. Really awful."

"Oh baby…I'm so sorry. Malia should be here shortly and I'm hoping she can give you something for the pain." Steve assured her before softly kissing her forehead. Dropping her sweatshirt he'd been holding on the carpet he looked at her. Noticing the long sleeved shirt he shook his head having an idea why'd she'd worn it on a hot day, especially since she was sort of hiding her left hand behind her back. "Arms up."

"I'm just gonna keep this top on. It's comfy," Maddie stuttered. She knew Steve was gonna be upset when he saw her bleeding hand.

"Maddie…no arguing. Arms…up."

"Fine," she conceded as she slowly lifted her arms. Steve grabbed the hem of her black shirt and pulled it up over her head. Maddie hissed as the tight fabric rubbed over the cuts on her arms.

The garment finally off Steve searched Maddie's face. "You okay? Sorry!"

"It's okay. I'm fine…But don't be mad, okay?"

He didn't like her last sentence and immediately looked to her hand. "Oh my God! Madeline Lily! What did you do?" Steve's eyes were wide. Jumping up he walked to intercom system near her bedroom door and hit a couple buttons. "Pete, can you grab all the stuff Malia left for Maddie's injuries? I think I either left it on the coffee table or maybe the kitchen table? It's some where in there," he asked, his eyes never leaving Maddie as she stayed sitting on the edge of the bed but laid back closing her eyes.

A few seconds went by before he heard Pete's voice. "Sure thing. Anything else?"

"No, not right now. But, the sooner the better on the first aid stuff." Knowing Pete would be up with everything he needed to clean up Maddie's hand he rushed to her bathroom coming back with a few hand towels. Some wet, some dry. Walking back to the bed Steve kneeled in front of her taking her hand in his.

"How long has it been bleeding like this?" he asked as he used the wet towel to clean up all the blood from her hand.

"I dunno…maybe an hour," she answered honestly, her eyes still closed as she laid on the bed.

"Maddiiieee….Why…nevermind. Let's get everything cleaned up first."

Steve was disappointed with her. He didn't have to tell her. She could hear it in his voice and it was more than she could handle in that moment. Although closed, Maddie's eyes were welling up and she was doing her best to keep the tears from falling, but it was getting hard. _Come on Maddie…don't start crying. Everything's fine. Of course he's disappointed in you, but it isn't the end of the world. It'll go away. Just don't start crying_, she told herself.

Although Steve was concentrating on cleaning the deep cuts on her hand and wrist and making sure nothing had gotten in them he noticed Maddie slightly bending her right arm in a funny way and then sort of shake it. "Your right arm okay?" he asked continuing to clean up her left hand.

_No reason to lie Maddie_, she told herself. "I dunno…it's actually really hurting. Sort of like a throb, but not in the same way as these," she answered moving her left hand to refer to the cuts on it.

"Okay, I'll take a look once I wrap this up. That is whenever Pete decides to grace us with his presence." No sooner had Steve said this than his buddy hurried in the room, supplied in hand.

"Here you go, McG!" Steve took the items from Pete, immediately beginning to use the antibiotic ointment Malia had left him before wrapping her wrist and hand. "How are things?"

"Fine," Maddie quickly answered her eyes from her position on the bed. "Petey?"

"Yeah shorty?" he answered, sitting at the bottom of the bed he leaned towards her rubbing his hand down her hair in a caring gesture.

"Do you know where my purse is?"

Pete's brows furrowed trying to recall. "Uhh…I think we grabbed it when we left Five-0 headquarters yesterday. But it was so hectic. I'll look for it for you."

"Okay, thanks. I really appreciate it," Maddie gave him a small sad smile.

"Is Danny still here?" Steve questioned as he grabbed the white gauge to begin wrapping her hand and wrist.

"Nah, he took off. Had to pick up….Grace, I think he said. Take her to school. That sound right?"

"Yeah, Gracie is his daughter."

"Ah ok. Makes sense. Anyway, he said he'd be back when he was done."

"Ok…Maddie, did I wrap this too tight?" Steve asked.

Moving her left hand a bit she tested it out. "No, it's fine."

"Alright," Steve replied as he taped the wrap to keep it in place and from unwrapping.

"I'm gonna go hunt down your bag Shorty. That is unless you need something else McG?" Pete asked.

"No, we are good. Thanks for bringing this up."

"No problemo," Pete replied as he walked out of the room.

"Alright, let's see your right arm. Where does it hurt?" Steve asked his best friend.

"Right here," she pointed to the inside of her elbow, exactly where her IV had been.

"Oooo! That looks painful! There's a big bubble under your skin! It's from your IV. My guess from taking it out yourself. And I'm betting you weren't very gentle about it." he looked at her pointedly, frown on his face. "We'll show Malia when she comes, see if there isn't anything she can do."

Steve watched her nod and could tell she was fading. She needed to get some sleep. "Maddie, where are your jammies? Do you want the same ones you had on?"

Her head hurt so bad it was hard to think. After a short time she processed what he was asking and nodded, pointing to the bathroom. Steve understood and went and grabbed the leggings and big t-shirt from the bathroom floor. Returning to the spot on the floor in front of Maddie, Steve asked, "Can you change out of your jeans, tank top, and everything by yourself? Or do you need some help? I still have to look at your foot, but it'll be easier when you're in these." He held up her jammies.

Maddie thought about it. Sure it would be awkward for Steve to help her, but she didn't think she could do it by herself. She was feeling worse by the second. Plus there'd been a couple times when they'd gone out drinking together and he'd had to help her change because she was too drunk. And Steve had seen her in her bra and panties before. It was just like a bathing suit. "Will you help me?" she asked.

"Of course!" Steve smiled, relieved she had stopped fighting him. At least for the time being. Although happy, he was also nervous. Not a normal nervousness either. Not the kind where you're nervous to make a speech or something like that. The kind of anxious nervousness you get with a girl you like. _Chill out Steve. Why are you nervous? You've helped her change before_, he assured himself. Taking a deep breath Steve said, "Okay, let's get the shirt on first." He helped her sit back up. "Arms up again." She did as he asked and he slid the tank top up over her head leaving her sitting there in her bra and jeans. The thought of having to take her bra off made him even more nervous. _Steve…take a deep breath. This is no big deal. Not the first time you've helped her change. I mean, the other couple times she's been completely drunk, but still. This shouldn't be a big deal_. _Plus the quicker you help her the quicker you can get her back in bed and have her finally get some actual rest_, he assured himself_._ Grabbing his Navy Seal t-shirt she'd stolen he put it over her head and pulled it down to her waist. However he didn't have her put her arms through the holes. Reaching behind her and up the back of her shirt he unclasped her bra and pulled the straps down her arms. The item fell into Maddie's lap and he grabbed the black lacy bra and set it beside her on the bed. "Ok, arms in the holes," he softly told her helping her slip her thin, but toned arms through the arm holes of his t-shirt. "There we go! One down…almost there." _See, that wasn't so bad_, he told himself.

Steve's hands went down to her feet as he took hold of her left motorcycle boot and pulled it off. Setting it on the ground beside him he reached for her other one pulling it off as carefully as he could. He wanted to avoid causing her as much pain as possible. Maddie's eyes flew closed as she winced and groaned as the boot left her foot. "Sorry Mads…" Steve apologized. Lightly touching her black sock clad foot he could feel it was damp. Taking his hand away from her foot he looked at it seeing some blood on his palm. _Oh Maddie…why did you do this?_ He thought to himself as he sighed. "Alright…jeans."

Knowing it was going to be incredibly painful when her jeans came off she thought it was better if she did it herself. There was a good chance it was going to make her cry and she didn't want Steve to see that. Afraid that he was going to get even more upset and worried she said, "I got it. I'm just gonna go in the bathroom and…" Maddie started as she quickly stood up. Apparently too quickly. A huge wave of dizziness and nausea hit her. She stumbled and wavered. "Wo…" she mumbled, but immediately clasped her hand over her mouth not wanting to throw up on the carpet or Steve. As her knees began to buckle Steve used his right hand to pull her down to his lap while he grabbed the trashcan he'd set by her side of the bed during the night with his left. Thank God he did because as soon as he pulled it to them she hunched over it and vomited. However there was nothing left in her stomach, so nothing really came out. Tears rolling down her face she dry heaved for a couple minutes while Steve held her hair and rubbed her back. Finally finished she collapsed against him and he wrapped both arms around her. Once he felt she was settled he got her back on the edge of the bed. "Let me help you Maddie."

Mad at herself for being such a mess Maddie ignored him and reached down and began trying to unbutton and unzip her pants while tears still rolled down her face. He let her try because he understood what was going on. She felt helpless, something she didn't cope well with. Throwing up just then had pushed her over the edge a bit. So Steve sat in front of her and watched as she tried and tried, but the big bandage on her hand made it impossible. Steve could tell she was getting frustrated and decided it was time to step in. "Maddie. Baby, stop. Let me help you. You're gonna hurt yourself."

However, she didn't listen and kept trying with no success. "Maddie, it's ok!" Steve tried again, but nothing. As she became more frustrated she got rougher with the button and zipper. Before she knew it Maddie must've bumped one of her cuts just right causing her to cry out in pain. "Madeline! Stop!" He immediately grabbed both hands in his. Turning her left palm over he looked at it to make sure it hadn't bled through the bandage. It was definitely bleeding again, but didn't look like it'd go through the wrap.

"Maddie, let me help you. I don't want you making your hand worse. Lay back on the bed. It'll make it easier." Maddie hesitated, but knew she needed his help.

She laid her back on the bed. Once she was completely flat, with her legs dangling off the side of the bed Steve stood and bent over Maddie. His face inches from hers. _Why is my heart pounding?_ She wondered. She felt Steve's hands on the waistband of her jeans causing a tingling in her lower belly. He quickly freed the button and unzipped her tight jeans. Standing straight up he grabbed the bottom of her jeans around each ankle. "This is probably gonna hurt. You just had to wear skinny jeans, didn't you? I'm gonna pull them fast, so just…be prepared."

"Okay," Maddie sniffled she had stopped crying, but her eyes were glassy with unshed tears. He could tell she was holding the rest of her tears in.

"Okay, here we go," he said and then yanked the jeans off her.

"Holy shit!" she cried as the jeans scraped down the cuts on her legs causing them to bleed a bit.

"Sorry! You okay?"

"I'm fine. Just…" she took a deep breath as a few tears escaped from the outside corners of her eyes. "Just help me get my leggings on?"

Steve did as she asked. Once she was clothed he pulled her black socks off and saw her foot was bleeding profusely. "Oh Mads…this has to hurt!"

"Not really."

"Liar…" Steve countered. Shaking his head he cleaned her foot, put the antibiotic ointment on the cut and wrapped it. "Too tight?" he asked her.

"No," Maddie answered as she wiped away a few stray tears.

Steve finished wrapping it and then helped her into bed. "How's that? Comfy?" he smiled down at her as he pulled the big, squishy down comforter up and tucked it around her.

"Very!" Maddie purred snuggling her face into the bedding. Staring up at him she noticed how tired he looked. From the stubbly hair all over his face she could tell he obviously hadn't shaved in a few days. Maddie couldn't remember the last she'd seen him with so much facial hair. Actually she'd never seen his beard this long. _He looks handsome_, she thought to herself.

"What?" he asked noticing her staring.

Embarrassed he'd caught her, her cheeks pinked a bit. "Nothing…it's just…you look so tired. You didn't get any sleep at all last night did you?"

Not wanting to make her feel worse about him worrying about her, Steve smiled at her and tucked at strand of hair behind her ear. "I'm fine. Don't worry about me. I'm just glad you're more alert than you were yesterday. You really scared the hell out of me Maddie."

She averted her eyes feeling bad. Steve walked to the other side of the bed and climbed in. Once he was settled Maddie slowly rolled off her back and on to her left side to look at him. Feeling her eyes on him Steve turned to her now laying on his right side. The two friends stared at one another for a couple minutes before Steve spoke up. "Maddie, get some sleep." With that said he closed his eyes, hoping she'd follow suit.

A few minutes went by and Steve could still feel her eyes on him. "Maddie…sleep. You need rest," he whispered without opening his eyes.

Maddie wasn't really listening and she didn't completely realize she was staring at him. Now that her mind was clearer than it had been the day before she thought over what had happened at Five-0 headquarters. She remembered finding out that Steve's dad had died. _What happened? That's why he called me four months ago…I can't believe I didn't call him back. I thought I was protecting him_, were some of the thoughts running through her head. She had so many questions for him. And yes she was exhausted and felt awful, but she wasn't sure she'd be able to sleep without getting some of the answers. The main one she wanted answered…was he okay?

Maddie's thoughts were interrupted by Steve. He'd finally opened his eyes still feeling her looking at him. He found her staring at him but off in her own world. He watched her for a minute before taking his hand and putting them over her eyes. "Sleep Maddie…Close your eyes," he smiled.

"Okay," she smiled at him. Satisfied when he saw her eyes flutter closed he too shut his. However, not even 30 seconds later Steve felt her eyes back on him. He knew her well enough to know something was on her mind. "Okay Maddie, what is it? Spit it out. You're starting to creep me out," he joked grinning at her.

She smiled back for a second before it fell from her face and she opened her mouth to speak.

**TO BE CONTINUED…..**

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><p><strong><strong>As always...**REVIEW**! THANKS so much!

xo


	10. Chapter 10

**DISCLAIMER: **I do not own "Hawaii Five-0" or any of its characters. However, I do own Maddie! :o)

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><p><strong>AUTHOR'S NOTE: <strong>So, I had a TON of people reading my story and adding alerts, but not very many reviews. Normally, because of that, I wouldn't have posted this chapter up so soon, but it was done and I was excited to share it. So, PLEASE, PLEASE review! Good or bad! I just want to know what you guys think.

Anyway, as always thoughts are in _italics__._

I'm excited for what's to come...things are going to get good! YAY! Can't wait for it!

Well, thank you to all of you that are reading this story and especially to those that have posted reviews! YOU GUYS ROCK!

XO,

Laura

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><p><strong>CHAPTER 10<strong>

Not sure where to begin Maddie closed her mouth pursing her lips and squinting her eyes in thought. While he waited for whatever she had to say Steve stared at her. He could almost see her mind moving a million miles an hour. After a minute of silence he finally spoke up. "Maddie?"

She locked eyes with him at the sound of her name. She just didn't know where to begin. _Start simple. Work your way to his dad_, she encouraged herself. "Just wondering what time do you need to be at work?" _Lame starting point! You couldn't have done better, Maddie? _she asked herself.

Her question surprised him. That was not what he was expecting. "That's what's keeping you from going to sleep?" Steve asked her. Maddie said nothing, only waited for the answer. "No work today."

"But it's…" she had to think for a second because her head was pounding. "…Friday."

"So."

"Steve…are you not going to work because of me?" she asked immediately feeling more guilty than she already was. Here she had ignored him when he'd really needed her and then after treating him like that he'd taken such good care of her. She was a terrible friend. Thinking about it all made her head hurt worse.

"Does it matter?" he responded.

"Yes…I'm a big girl. I can take care of myself, ya know."

"I never said you couldn't." He sighed. "Look Mads, don't fight me on this because it's not going to change my mind. I'm staying here with you. Okay?" He paused before adding, "I'm really worried about you."

Maddie chewed the edge of her bottom lip trying to bite the skin off, a nervous tick that didn't go unnoticed by Steve. "I'm sorry about yesterday. It had been a long day. I don't know what happened…but I'm alright. Sure, my head hurts, but even Malia said I am going to be just fine. So, see…you don't need to worry about me. I'm okay," she tried to assure him.

"Maddie, I know all that, but that's not why I'm worried about you." He paused. He hadn't wanted to talk to her about this until she was feeling better, but it looked like they were going to talk now. "I know what happened yesterday…and so do you." At this she averted her gaze, embarrassed. "Hey….baby, look at me." _There I go calling her 'baby' again! What is with that? It just keeps slipping out_, he questioned himself.

_There he goes again_, she thought feeling the butterflies the pet name gave her. Maddie turned back to look at him. "Want to tell me what's going on?" he gently asked.

"I don't know what you mean Steve. Nothing's going on," she lied as she slowly began biting the nails of her bandaged left hand, another nervous tick he picked up on, especially since she'd never ever been a nail biter.

"Maddie…." he sighed.

"What?" she innocently responded.

"Okay, let's start with yesterday." She said nothing as she continued to bite her nails. "You passed out, Maddie. You fainted."

She looked away again, "I guess so."

"Look at me…" he told her. When she didn't look back to him Steve took his left hand and placed it under her chin guiding her face up so she'd look at him.

"There's those blue eyes," he smiled before continuing. "You've never fainted before. What happened?" She said nothing as she stared back at him biting her lip. "Maybe it's from not getting any sleep?"

"Who told you that?" Maddie asked.

"No one had to tell me. I could tell! Plus Pete mentioned it. What's going on? Why aren't you sleeping?"

"You surprised me. I had NO IDEA I'd be seeing you. That you were back in Hawaii," she told him. "It had NOTHING to do with how much sleep I get."

Steve rolled his eyes at her response. "I didn't make you pass out Maddie. Yeah, you were surprised. But you were exhausted. You could barely speak. Don't change the subject. What's going on? Why aren't you sleeping?"

Maddie knew she couldn't get away with saying she didn't know, but there was also no way she was going to tell him the truth. She still had to protect him. She felt bad lying to him, but it was for his own good. The last time she'd kept something huge from him was when they were teenagers and she was able to hide the fact her dad had been abusing her for years. But that was before he was a Navy Seal. She wasn't stupid, she knew she'd only be able to keep it from him for a short amount of time, but she had to try. "My schedule's been insane the last few months. It's draining. Haven't you ever been so tired that you're too tired to go to sleep?"

_She's lying_, he told himself. _But I'll play along with it for now. I'll figure it out whether she tells me or not._ "Sort of. But at some point you fall asleep. That's not happening to you."

It was obvious he'd been talking to Pete. Even though he hadn't come out and said it, he knew about the nightmares. She could just tell. Annoyed Pete couldn't keep his mouth shut, she snapped at him. "Why ask me the questions when you've gone to Pete first?"

"Hey! I called you first! I wanted to talk to YOU! You wouldn't call me back! FOR MONTHS! I was worried about you. You've never done that before!" Steve cried dying to hear what excuse she gave him. Seeing her wince in pain from the sudden loudness of his voice he immediately reached out and caressed her cheek. "Sorry baby…I wasn't thinking," his voice a bit softer than his normal volume.

Pushing the pain aside, Maddie's eyes widened a bit at his response. _Dammit! I walked right into that one!_ She chastised herself. _Stay calm. Tell him some sort of truth mixed with a lie._ Shaking her head slightly she spoke, "I'm sorry. I should've called you back. I wanted to talk to you…" _That was all true._

Steve could tell she wasn't lying here. "Why didn't you?"

She took a deep breath and sighed audibly. "Honestly?...I was annoyed with you."

Steve's eyes widened. _She's telling the truth…what the hell?_ He was beyond confused. "Why?"

"Seriously?" Maddie scoffed. "I rearranged my schedule to go to that awards dinner in your honor and."

"I never asked you to rearrange your schedule!" he interrupted.

"I know that! I WANTED to go! I was so excited you asked me! I had such a great time that night and then I heard nothing from you Steve."

"That was the best night I've had in…probably forever! I'm sorry I didn't reach out after that. I was so wrapped up in catching the Hess brothers. It's no excuse and I know that. So that's why you wouldn't call me back?" Steve questioned her.

"Yeah. I was hurt…" Maddie somewhat lied. Sure she had been upset she hadn't heard from him, but that wasn't really why she hadn't called him back.

"You could've called me, ya know. I would've been so happy to hear from you," he smiled at her.

"I know, but I figured if you wanted to talk you would've called. That you were busy. I didn't want to pull your focus away from your job and then have something happen to you," she replied honestly. "I'm sorry I didn't call back…" Maddie paused, "You have no idea how much I wish things would have been different." She barely whispered the last part as if she was saying it to herself and not to him. Not to mention that although she was staring at him she seemed to be somewhere else when she said it.

_Alright, I was right. Something's wrong. She's just not telling me. Greeaattt. I'm just gonna have to wait it out. Watch her like a hawk until then_, Steve thought. "It's okay…I just needed to talk to you."

"I know. I was planning to call you back the last couple weeks, but…it's been hectic. Not great." He could tell she was lying about calling him back, but not about things being crazy.

"Why? What's going on?" Steve asked concerned.

"New head of the label," her eyebrows furrowed and she frowned before continuing, "He doesn't seem to like me very much. Working us like crazy. I feel bad for everyone else. It's like their paying for whatever his issue is with me."

"Well, have you met him before?" Steve asked.

"No…but it's fine. Who am I to complain, ya know?" Maddie flashed him a small smile. _Perfect segue!_ she thought. _Now I can ask about his dad_. "But hey, enough about me.…talk to me…Steve what happened?" The concern for him evident on her face. "When did your dad pass away?"

"Maddie, I am so sorry you found out the way you did. I wanted you to hear it from me. I know how close you two were," he told her.

"Steve, I know. It was my own fault anyway. I'm sure that's something you were going to tell me one of the times you called. But don't worry about me. Tell me what happened? Was it a heart attack? A stroke?" Maddie asked.

The look on his face and the silence made her stomach churn. "He was murdered, Mads."

Shock filled her face as her jaw dropped and eyes welled up with tears, "What? By whom?"

_How much should I tell her? Do I tell her about Hess? The toolbox I found? My dad's investigation? Do I even mention Wo Fat? That my mom was actually murdered? I mean how much should I divulge? _Steve wondered. Deciding to tell her just about his father's murder and how he came to run the Five-0 task force he answered, "Victor Hess…"

Maddie knew about the Hess brothers. Steve always kept her updated on everything he did, well everything he could tell her. "What? Steve? Oh my God! Can you tell me more?"

He decided not to tell her about Wo Fat, ending up in jail, his father's investigation, and definitely not the tape he found of his father with the governor and Wo Fat. He knew she was in a fragile state. Consumed by something that was bothering and worrying her. It was keeping her from taking care of herself. He didn't want to add to her worry and he knew telling her all that would really upset her. So, Steve filled her in only on what had happened four months ago when his father was murdered and how he came to be at Five-0. When he finished she was speechless. "Steve I'm so sorry I wasn't there for you. You know I would have dropped everything and come."

"I know," he smiled.

"Did you get to see him before…? Did you see him in the last 2 years?" Maddie asked praying the answer would be yes knowing the last time they spoke Steve hadn't seen his dad since he left Hawaii as a teenager.

Steve paused and looked away, his eyes becoming glassy. He didn't need to say anything, she knew the answer. Maddie immediately scooted closer to him and he wrapped his arms around her pulling her flush against him as she wrapped her arms around his middle. Steve had never been a big crier, the occasional tear here and there. That's about it. Maddie felt a few tears hit her cheek as they hugged, but that's all. They laid like that in each other's arms for a few minutes. Suddenly Steve pulled back from her a bit to look her in the eyes although his arms were still around her. "Maddie?"

"Yeah?" she answered wondering what he was going to say.

"I can't lose you…"

"You won't. Don't worry about that," she assured him as she caressed his cheek with her right hand wiping a stray tear away.

"I need you to care of yourself. I can't lose you."

"I am taking care of myself. I'm fine. Don't worry Steve…"

"No Maddie, you're not. I know something's wrong. I know you're not telling me something…" he told her.

"Steve…that's…" she began, but was interrupted.

"You don't understand…I can't live without you," Steve choked out, his voice no more than a whisper as a tear slipped down his cheek.

"You won't have to," she whispered as she brushed the tear away. He pulled her back against him. About ten minutes later, once she thought Steve had fallen asleep, she whispered, "I do understand…because I can't live without you either. And don't worry, I'm making sure nothing happens to you."

Little did Maddie know he was not asleep and his heart sunk in his chest at her words. _She is protecting me from something. Whatever she's hiding that has to be why she won't tell me, _he thought. _Well, I'm just going to have to figure it out._ The exhaustion became too much and he fell asleep pretty quickly after that, finding it easy to do so with Maddie in his arms.

Snuggled into Steve Maddie's mind raced. _There's no way I'm telling him about whoever's stalking me and threatening to hurt him. He's had way too much happen in a short time. The only thing is…to keep him safe I can't have anything to do with him…. I'm sure we're safe in the house, but outside…I'll have to stay away from him. I don't know what else to do. I mean at least while I'm here in Hawaii, I know he'll be around. There's no way he's not going to leave me alone, especially because he knows something is wrong…I guess I'll just have to play it by ear…kind of wing it_, she thought to herself. Sighing her mind wandered back to what Steve had just told her. His father being murdered and it suddenly hit her like a ton of bricks. _Thank God Steve is asleep right now_, she thought as tears began to roll down her face.

John McGarrett had been like a father to her. When Steve finally found out that her dad had been abusing her he went straight to his father. Discovering how bad it was John knew they had to get Maddie away from her dad. So, both he and his wife helped her become emancipated. They helped her find an apartment near their home and a job. She ate dinner and did her homework at their place almost everyday. They saved her. Every time she found herself back in Honolulu she'd spend a lot of time with Steve's dad. Thinking back on all the memories and everything he'd done for her Maddie began to cry harder. She was doing her absolute best to hold the sobs in and keep them quiet, but the harder she tried the more she failed. Her breathing was becoming labored and her head had hit a new level of pain. _Maddie, calm down. You don't want to wake Steve_, she tried to soothe herself, but it wasn't working.

For some reason his arms were moving around a lot, which woke him up. Slightly opening his eyes the sight before him broke his heart. He knew she was crying over his dad. Steve pulled her closer to his body and began rubbing soothing circles on her back. "Shhh…it's okay."

"Sorry…..I….woke…..you….up….." she tried to catch her breath in between each word.

"Noo…I would have been upset if you hadn't. I know how close you guys were. It's okay….but this isn't good for your head. Just try and calm down. Take a deep breath."

Maddie did as he said. Eventually she calmed and stopped crying so hard, however tears still slid down her face. She nuzzled in Steve's white t-shirt clad chest breathing in his scent as he continued to rub her back.

After 15 minutes Steve felt her breathing even out and knew she had finally fallen asleep. "Thank God," he whispered. He was desperate to see her get some rest. He didn't want something even worse to happen to her because she was overly exhausted. Relaxing a bit Steve fell asleep quickly still tightly holding Maddie to him where he knew she was safe.

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><p>He'd been watching the screens since she'd arrived to her house. She had no idea he'd placed cameras all over her home and could see every part of the gigantic estate. Not just inside, but outside as well. And she had A LOT of land. Multiple acres of land. He'd watched her strip down and take a shower, something he enjoyed watching very much. He'd seen Steve put her in her pajamas and put her back to bed. Now seeing that Steve had heard her hint a bit at what she was hiding from him, the tall man threw his beer bottle against the wall in frustration, glass shattering to a million pieces. "BITCH!" he yelled. "I'll keep to my plan to make you think I'm not going to hurt him, but that doesn't mean I can't have a little fun with you," he laughed at the new plan forming in his mind.<p>

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><p>Again...please <strong>REVIEW<strong>!

THANKS!

xoxo


	11. Chapter 11

**DISCLAIMER:** I do not own "Hawaii Five-0" or any of its characters. However, I do own Maddie! :o)

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><p><strong>AUTHOR'S NOTE<strong>_: _Thank you to those of you that left reviews! I really appreciate it! I'm really excited for the next chapter. You'll start to see Maddie's stubbornness more and that she's a lot like Steve in many ways.

As always, thoughts are in _italics__. _Also, you'll see Malia refer to an "**ENT**", which stands for an "ear, nose, and throat" doctor. I wanted to make sure you know what that meant. Singers all have ENT's that take care of them and are constantly checking on their vocal chords. Even when they're just sick with a cold.

Anyway, I would LOVE to hear more from you guys! Really want to know your thoughts on the story! Good or bad! It makes me update soooo much faster!

I just wanted to give some shout outs to some really awesome people!

PEACHES2010 - You and I are so similar...I want them to kiss too, but it has to be the perfect moment. You have to remember they've been best friends since they were 4 years old. They've always been there for one another. Been each other's rocks. To have more of a romantic relationship is a very scary decision for them to make. So it makes sense they'd be in denial over their feelings for one another. They just don't want to lose their friendship. I really love how excited you are! Thanks for your reviews!

OSCAR - I love seeing badass, macho Steve, but like anyone he has to have a vulnerable side. That's one of my favorite things about their relationship...Maddie is the one person that he can be that way with. Even then, it's not a ton, but it's there and it humanizes Steve, which I like. I had to write the story that way. I'm really glad you're on the same page with me there! Thanks!

KATIEMOOSE - You made my day with what you said! I'm so glad you love the story and the characters are coming alive for you. I work really hard at trying to make that happen when I'm writing the story, so it's nice to hear that it's working! Anxious to know what you think of everything since Chapter 8! I can't wait for you to find out who the creeper stalker is...I love that you enjoy the story enough to try and guess! It's a good guess, but of course...I don't want to ruin it for you and tell you who it is! :o) Thanks again for your kind words!

TEWKSGIRL - I agree! I think it's nice that Steve has someone he cares so deeply about! I mean Danny has Gracie and Rachael...why can't Steve have someone?

NCIS42 - I'm glad you're dying to figure out what's going on...I think as more things start happening and Maddie keeps trying to hide it all only to make things worse and dig herself a hole it'll have you really wanting to know what's going on! Anxious to know what you think of the new chapter!

EVE - I'm really REALLY glad you decided to leave me a review! It was awesome! I'm glad you're as invested in the story as I am...wanting to see how everything unfolds. I don't think you'll be disappointed! Please let me know what you think of this chapter!

ADAYUKI - Thanks for all your sweet reviews! I'm really glad you're enjoying the story!

FRANCIS2 - Thanks for always leaving me a review! It's so sweet! I agree, her stalker is a totally nutball whack-a-doo! You asked me how he got in her place in the first place...you'll find out the specifics, but I'll tell you one thing. Maddie hasn't been home in Hawaii in 6 months, which means her house has been empty. She does have someone that checks on it here and there, but that's it. When Steve moved back he started checking on it too and that will come up in either the next chapter or chapter 13. But that is part of the answer to your question. I won't tell you the other part because I don't want to ruin who the stalker is. I'm glad you're excited about the story and asking me questions about it! Feel free to any time! And please continue to let me know your thoughts on it!

NICLABELLE - Like I said in my private message to you, you really helped me out! I was kind of doubting myself...wondering if I was taking too long...so your review was just what I needed! THANK YOU! Please continue to let me know your thoughts on the story! Good or bad!

LIDIL - Thanks for all your sweet words! I can see why you'd think Maddie and Steve might not be a great couple...however, when you really get to know her...you might change your mind. I'm really anxious to see if you do. I love your honesty and miss your reviews! Where you at? haha Thanks again!

Anyway, I just wanted to respond to some of you! Let you know how much your words and thoughts mean to me! Enough rambling on my part...here's chapter 11!

Enjoy!

xo,

Laura

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><p><strong>CHAPTER 11<strong>

An hour later Steve still had Maddie pulled tightly against him, her face buried in his chest when Pete walked into her bedroom. Smiling, he shook his head, staring at his two friends. "Friends my ass," Pete whispered. _I wonder when they're going to figure out they're in love with one another? I mean, look at them! If they could only see how they are together_, he thought to himself. Having an idea, he whipped out his phone, taking a picture of the two of them as he chuckled quietly, "Maybe seeing this will help McG face the truth." Before putting his phone back in his pocket he glanced at the time, remembering what Steve had told him about the conversation he'd had with Malia. Maddie still needed to be woken up, but not as often. _I wonder if it's been an hour since they fell asleep?_ _Probably pretty close to it….He's so tired, I'll wake her briefly_, he decided.

Pete walked to the side of the bed Maddie was on, and took a seat on the edge. Reaching towards the middle of the bed – where they were snuggled together – he lightly shook her shoulder and leaned in towards her ear whispering, "Maddie…" He was doing his best to not wake Steve up, something difficult in this situation. He was sure Steve would be an incredibly light sleeper when next to Maddie, especially since he was so worried about her. At the sound of her name Maddie snuggled closer to Steve, making little sighing stretching noises in her sleep. Pete tried again and this time her eyes slowly opened. "Maddie, right here," he said to her. Turning her head to the right she came face to face with Pete. Feeling her move in his arms Steve's grip tightened on her in his sleep.

"Hey," Maddie smiled through sleepy eyes, her voice barely there. It was obvious she'd been in a pretty deep sleep leaving her incredibly groggy.

"I just needed to wake you up quickly. Dr.'s orders."

"Oh, ok."

"Since you're awake…I wanted to tell you your purse must still be at Five-0. I'll go run and get it really quickly."

"Okay," Maddie mumbled as her eyes began drifting closed and she turned back towards Steve. "Thanks Petey…"

"No problem. Be back soon Shorty," Pete whispered as he gently brushed his hand against the back of her head as he stood up. Walking towards the door he turned back to see Maddie snuggle into Steve, her head against his chest. In his sleep Steve felt her nestle against him and pulled her closer. Walking out he rolled his eyes grinning like a schoolboy. "Just friends, my ass. Just friends, my ass," he whispered.

PAGE BREAK

As Pete climbed into the black SUV, one of the cars they'd rented yesterday, he called Danny. "Hey Pete! Everything okay?" he answered.

"Yeah. Everything's fine," Pete replied.

"Does Steve still have aneurism face?" Danny joked.

Pete chuckled at the description of Steve's upset, irritated, and angry face. "I give you props for that description. It's definitely accurate!" Pete smiled before continuing on. "No, he can't stay mad at her for long. He did finally got her to sleep, which is a miracle in it's own. I've been trying for months now and nothing."

"That's good! So, there is someone in this world that can turn ninja boy into goo," Danny laughed.

"Yes, you do see a side of him when he's with her that you'll never see any other time. Anyway, yesterday in all the confusion Maddie's bag got left behind at your headquarters. I'm on my way to grab it…and I was hoping I could ask you for a favor?"

"Anything! What's up?" Danny replied.

"Well, this black SUV is a rental we used yesterday. I want to return it. Was hoping after I stop by HQ you could follow me while I drop this off and then take me back to the house?" Pete asked as he pulled to a red light not to far from Five-0 headquarters.

"Yeah! No problem, babe!" Danny answered. "I'm just pulling up to work. I'll see you when you get here and then we'll go."

"Great, thanks man! See you shortly," Pete thanked him.

"Alright, bye!"

Once the two new friends hung up, Pete began smirking. "Wait till I show them the photo I took of McG."

* * *

><p>Ten minutes later Pete found himself staring at the marble floor of Five-0 headquarters flashbacks of the day before running through his mind. He was unable to see anything but the look on Maddie's face as she realized they'd set her up, only for her to drop to the floor 15 seconds later. He felt bad about the situation and he knew the second she was feeling better, he'd get an earful from her.<p>

"You can't shake it from your head either?"

At the sound of the voice Pete glanced next to him seeing none other than Chin Ho Kelly standing beside him, arms crossed. "Yeah…the look on her face…"

"Yeah…I can't shake it either. But, we did the right thing, ya know…" Chin met his eyes nodding.

"No, I know…. It's just…. I've been with her practically every day for nearly 4 years. Sure, we argue here and there, but she's never looked at me like that before. She looked so hurt, so betrayed when she realized what we'd done."

"I know… " Chin paused. "How is she? She coherent? Alert?" Chin asked. Pete started laughing as he shook his head. A smile broke out on Chin's face. "Let me guess? She's driving him crazy?"

"Yeah, that's an understatement," Pete rolled his eyes grinning from ear to ear.

"What's an understatement?" Kono asked as she walked up to the two men, Lori beside her.

"Maddie…being…well, Maddie," Chin answered his cousin.

"So she's better today?" Kono asked, her eyes wide with concern.

"Yeah, she's better today. Not great, but better. Trying to convince everyone she's perfectly fine!" Pete answered.

"That's good…that she's doing better," Lori added, hoping that that would mean Steve would be coming in today.

"I'm sure boss LOVES that!" Kono sarcastically joked.

"Yeah, not so much!" Danny joined in. "You guys should have seen it. I dropped by there this morning and he had aneurism face like I've never seen before. He was sooo mad at her!"

"Why? What'd she do?" Lori asked, happy inside that maybe she was wrong about Maddie and Steve. If Steve was mad at her, they wouldn't be spending much time with one another.

"She had a work call this morning. So, while Steve was downstairs making coffee, she ripped her bandages off, pulled her IV out of her arm, took a shower and got dressed. She walked into the kitchen looking…well terrible. I mean she looked awful, which scared the hell out of Steve. He lost it," Pete relayed, rolling his eyes as he remembered the morning's events.

Chin and Kono laughed, knowing how stubborn Maddie could be. "And let me guess?" Chin said, "She didn't push his buttons at all."

Pete grinned. "No not at all," he answered sarcastically. "She does know the exact buttons to push with him and the perfect time to do it."

"So what happened once he took her upstairs?" Danny asked, curious to know how it all played out.

Lori's heart ached a little at the thought of Steve "taking her upstairs". _He's just being a good friend Lori. Relax. He showed interest in you. Steve's not the kind of guy who would do that if he didn't really feel something, _she told herself as she waited for Pete to answer.

"He bandaged her wounds up again and got her back in bed. That's all I know," Pete told them remembering how gentle his buddy had been with Maddie as he wrapped her hand up. That had been the only part he'd seen.

"But she's at least getting rest now right? I mean, from what it looked like yesterday, she needed to sleep like nobody I've ever seen before," Danny asked concerned. Pete only nodded, smiling as if he knew something he wasn't sharing. "What? What aren't you telling us?" Danny asked picking up on something.

Pete took out his phone, pulled up the picture of the two sleeping, and handed it to Danny.

Danny only shook his head smiling before passing it to Chin. "McGarrett…" Chin mumbled as he stared down at the picture. _He is head over heels for her_, he thought to himself as he smiled remembering how John McGarrett used to tell him how the two were soul mates.

Kono grabbed the phone from Chin wanting to see what was causing such a reaction from her teammates. Looking down at the photo, Kono smiled, inwardly cheering for her friend and boss. "Let me see," Lori said from her spot near Kono. Suddenly Chin and Danny's heads shot up as they made eye contact with one another. _This is not gonna be good_, they thought. Kono knew it as well, but what could she do? Not let her see the phone? That would be rude, not to mention look really suspicious, so she showed her the picture.

Lori did a good job acting as if it didn't bother her when her heart was breaking, although her teammates knew she was upset. "What a cute photo!" she lied before handing the phone back to Pete.

An uncomfortable silence fell over the group before Danny finally broke it. "Here's her bag," I found it when I came in." He handed it to Pete. "You ready to go?"

Not exactly sure what had just happened and why there was a sudden awkward tension, Pete shrugged and nodded. "Thanks!"

As the two walked out of headquarters Chin and Kono went back to work while Lori walked to the women's restroom. Once she was safe inside a stall, she let the tears roll down her face.

* * *

><p>Pete had been gone about an hour when Danny pulled up to the estate. "Thanks again for the help!"<p>

"No problem," he smiled as Pete got out of the car. "Tell Steve I'll be by later to see how things are."

"Alright. Definitely!" And with that he shut the door and walked to the front door as Danny drove off.

Just as Pete grabbed a water from the refrigerator he heard a knock at the door. Brows furrowed in confusion he thought, _I don't remember anyone supposed to come over right now. _Reaching for the sidearm he kept as his waist he unsnapped the holster and walked to the front door. Peering out the window he smiled at Malia, shaking his head at his paranoia and opened the door. Noticing him snap his holster closed, Malia said, "Expecting someone else?"

Embarrassed, Pete shook his head, motioning for her to come in. "No. Just…she's been so weird the last few months she's got me kind of jumpy. Plus, it's my job to always expect the worst. There's some real weirdos out there."

"I totally understand." As they entered the kitchen she set her bag on the counter. "So, how are things? Where's Steve?"

"Things are…alright. They've settled down since this morning….Steve's upstairs with Maddie."

Malia smiled brightly, "Let me guess? He hasn't let her out of his sight?"

Pete laughed. "You know him well." Pete looked at his watch. "It's perfect you're here actually. It's about time to wake her up for a second anyway. You wanted every hour, right?"

"Yeah….Well then, I'll head up there." Malia reached for her bag, but ever the gentleman Pete got to it first.

"I got it."

"Thanks Pete!"

As they entered Maddie's room Pete saw the two hadn't moved at all. Malia saw the sight before her and glanced over, meeting his eyes they shared a knowing look. "I know Malia. I know."

As Pete set the bag down next to the side of Maddie's bed it made a small noise. Steve woke up and instinctively reached for his weapon on the nightstand pointing it in the direction of the noise, not realizing who it was. "Relax McG! It's just us!" Pete hissed.

McGarrett immediately put the gun back on the nightstand. "I'm sorry. You scared me."

"Sorry," Malia muttered trying to recover from the fact she'd just had a gun pointed at her.

"No don't be. I'm a little jumpy. Anyway, thanks for coming," Steve said before leaning down to Maddie. "Hey…Mads…wake up." He gently shook her, which was what got her to open her eyes.

"Hmmm?" Maddie groaned.

"Malia's here. Gonna check you over," Steve whispered to her.

"Hey girlie! How are you feeling?" Malia asked her friend.

Taking a second to respond Maddie rubbed her eyes before turning over on to her back so she could see the doctor. "Honestly? Pretty crappy…"

Noticing the IV was no longer hooked to her she looked at Steve with a questioning look. Shaking his and rolling his eyes he said, "Yeah, someone decided to try and be a badass and pull it out of her arm. Unwrapped her bandages, took a shower, got dressed, and strolled downstairs.

"Yeah, and you overreacted, tattletale!" Maddie added.

"Hey!" Steve cried, mouth open as he stared at her.

The look on his face was too cute, she couldn't keep the small smile at bay. "Well, you seem to be a little more like your old self, so that's a good sign. However, I can still tell you're dehydrated. I can see it in your lips especially. You pretty much finished the one bag of saline from yesterday. Did you pee?"

Maddie's eyebrows furrowed. This was weird to answer in front of the boys. Understanding her reluctance, Malia looked towards the men. Shoulders slumped, Steve said, "We'll be downstairs." He looked to Maddie, "I'll be right back."

Once they were gone, Malia looked back to her friend. "So…"

"No, I didn't pee. What a weird question, Malia."

"Well, it just tells me how bad you needed the fluid. It's a good sign when you finally pee. I got your test results this morning. You are really dehydrated. I'm going to give you another bag of fluid. Also, a lot of your levels are low. Like your vitamin B, vitamin D, etc. Just need to get more rest and eat a little better. The biggest thing was just the dehydration. Everything else can be attributed to the exhaustion."

"Okay, thanks Malia."

"I'd stay either in bed or on the couch for the next 3 or 4 days. Get some fresh air starting tomorrow, but just a bit. Maybe go out for a good lunch, but then go back home."

"Three or four days, huh?" Maddie repeated.

"Yeah." Noticing the funny look on her face, Malia asked, "Why? Is that a problem?"

"Nope. Not at all," she lied. _There's no sense in telling her right now that that's not gonna happen. She'll just tell Steve and he'll get upset and just worry about me more. I'll make sure to get a ton of rest before tomorrow afternoon. That way when he does find out about the deal I made this morning, I'll be much more rested and looking better_, Maddie thought to herself.

"Okay, great. Because it's imperative you rest for AT LEAST that length of time, probably longer. Anyway…I'm going to look at the cuts. Make sure nothing's looking infected after your little stunt this morning. But first I'm going to do some easy neurological tests on you. The same ones I did yesterday, if you remember?"

To be honest, Maddie only remembered bits and pieces from the day before and most of it was foggy anyway. "No, but that's alright," she said wincing a bit as Malia helped her sit up, a movement that caused the nausea to increase. Closing her eyes she breathed in and out, hoping it would pass without her throwing up.

Seeing how terrible Maddie still felt, Malia said, "I'll be quick about all this. That way you can get back to sleep and sleep through this discomfort."

* * *

><p>Steve was getting antsy and anxious in the kitchen waiting for Malia to be done. "It's been a while. Do you think maybe something's wrong with Maddie?" he asked his longtime friend.<p>

Hearing McGarrett's concerns as she descended the stairs Malia answered for Pete. "She's doing better. Still really dehydrated. I put a new IV in. I was forced to use a different vein, which took me awhile to find, because she blew that one when she pulled the IV out herself. That's why it's bothering her so much. If it seems to really be giving her discomfort you can put some ice on it."

"Okay, great!" Steve replied, listening intently to Malia.

"I checked all the cuts. Not just the bad ones on her hand and foot. She definitely irritated them, but the ones on her legs are probably the worst. They aren't infected, which is good. Now, her hand and foot…you cleaned them really well. Which was a good thing. Again, they look irritated, but aren't infected. She shouldn't walk too much on her foot. That one is the one that could get infected the easiest because of sweat and stuff. I told her to not have a sock on her right foot all the time."

"Okay, we'll make sure she stays off it," Pete said.

"I got her blood results back this morning. Things weren't terrible, except the dehydration. It's really good we got her here when we did. In another day, she probably would have needed to be hospitalized for it. But as long as she keeps that IV in, things will be fine. Also, I know she's still really nauseous, but it'd be good to start trying to get some food and liquids in her. Maybe start with some 7up or Gatorade. See how she tolerates that. The electrolytes will help with everything."

"Do we even have either of those in the house?" Pete asked.

"Yeah, I got both 7up and red Gatorade, her favorite flavor, at the store the other day," Steve answered. "Anything else? How's her head?" he asked Malia.

"Um, it's better than yesterday. I mean she's able to have a conversation with you, which is a vast improvement from yesterday. She did suffer a pretty serious concussion, so she still needs to be woken up. For the next 12 hours, wake her every hour. If things are still improving at the end of the 12 hours you can go to every 2 hours for the next 12 hours. At around noon tomorrow, if she hasn't vomited for 12 hours then you can stop waking her up. It's okay if she's still nauseous, just as long as she isn't still throwing up. If she is, you need to keep waking her up or if it hasn't been 12 hours, you need to wake her up until it has been. Does that make sense?" Malia asked.

"Yes, it does. It just keeps her from getting really good sleep because just as she's falling into a deep sleep, I have to wake her up," Steve expressed his concern.

"I understand, and that is true. But she still is getting a little rest. As soon as she hasn't vomited for 12 hours, you can leave her be."

"Okay," Steve sighed.

"There were some other things that were low in her blood test…" Steve's eyes immediately widened in worry. "Don't worry, nothing too serious. She just needs to eat a bit better. Healthier. A lot of the abnormalities are because of her exhaustion. She needs to rest for AT LEAST 3-4 days. However, I think a good 5 days, would be the best for her. She doesn't have to be in bed the entire time. Even if she's laying on the couch watching a movie. I did tell her she should get a little fresh air each day, but starting tomorrow. Maybe go for a nice lunch and then come right back and rest."

"Yeah, don't worry. She's getting that rest. At least a week's worth," Steve assured her.

"Great!" Malia smiled at him. _It's so sweet how much he cares about her_, she thought.

"She's been in a lot of pain. Her body hurts from the fall and the glass. Is there anything you can give her for that?" Steve asked, hating to see Maddie in any kind of discomfort.

"Yeah," Malia pulled out a bottle of pain pills she'd had filled for Maddie and handed them to Steve. "However, she can't take these until you don't need to wake her up anymore. Until the vomiting has been gone for 12 hours. But until that point, you can give her some Tylenol or Advil. I don't know how much of a difference that'll make for her, but you can definitely try it. You might want to try and get her to eat a little something before taking it though. And she should definitely take the pain pills with food or they'll upset her stomach."

"Okay, thanks Malia," Steve smiled already feeling much more relaxed about Maddie's current state.

"Oh and one other thing. I noticed how she barely has a voice, so I checked it out a bit. Of course I'm not an ENT, but I could tell that her loss of voice is just from the exhaustion and overuse."

"Okay great! The last thing Maddie needs right now is to have something go wrong with her vocal chords," Steve sighed.

"Yeah, definitely! Well I have to get back to the hospital. I'm glad she's doing better. You're taking excellent care of her, Steve. She's lucky to have you! Both of you! " Steve's face flushed a bit at the compliment. He began walking her to the front door and out to her car, carrying her supply bag for her. "I'll call you later to check in. Please don't hesitate to call me with any questions. And again, if she doesn't wake up when you try, call 9-1-1 first and then me."

"Okay. I will!" Steve set her bag in the backseat of her car before pulling her into a hug and thanking her. "Thanks so much for everything Malia! I really appreciate this, and I know Maddie does too."

"Maddie and I have become good friends. I'm happy I could help!" She told him. "I'll talk to you later!" Malia said as she climbed in the drivers seat.

"Great! Thanks again! Drive safe!" And with that she closed the door and drove off.

* * *

><p>Steve had grabbed a baby can of 7up from the fridge before heading upstairs to Maddie, Pete right behind him.<p>

It had been more than thirty minutes since Malia had left Maddie alone in her room and both men figured she'd be asleep. As they neared her door they heard strange noises coming from her bedroom. Pete immediately recognized them, however Steve had no idea what was going on. He hurried into the room, the worry Malia had eased away with her assurance that Maddie would be okay now returning.

Steve's heart broke at the sight before him. Asleep, Maddie was tossing and turning, her blankets thrown every which way as tears streamed down her face. Steve turned to Pete, "nightmare?" he whispered. Pete sadly nodded.

"Nooo…don't," Maddie whimpered in her sleep. Both knew they should wake her up. In fact, Steve was fighting not to run to her and hold her, but he was hoping she'd reveal something that could help him figure out what she was hiding. What she was protecting him from.

Turning to Pete he asked, "It's always like this?"

"Yeah, sometimes worse."

"How often?" Steve wondered.

"Every time she goes to sleep."

"It hasn't happened once since yesterday. That's not normal?"

"No, but it was probably because of the trauma yesterday. She's more alert today," Pete guessed. "Or maybe," However Pete didn't get to finish as Maddie let out a scream.

"That's it!" Steve cried, placing the soda on her nightstand before he sat on the bed and reached for her. "Maddie, shhh…wake up baby!" He rubbed the side of her head soothingly as he pulled her to him. Maddie's eyes flew open, wide with fear as tears fell from them. "Hey baby! It's me. You're safe!" She grabbed his t-shirt in her fists and burrowed into his chest. Rubbing her back, Steve continued to tell her everything was okay. That it was just a nightmare.

Pete had gone into the bathroom, grabbed a washcloth, and run it under cold water. By the time he came out Maddie had calmed down and was no longer burrowed in Steve's chest. "Here McG!" he said handing it to his buddy. Steve immediately placed it on Maddie's forehead as she stared at him, tears still falling from her eyes.

"Sorry guys," Maddie mumbled embarrassed Steve had seen her have one of the nightmares she knew Pete had told him about. _Great! He's just getting more and more worried and concerned. I can see it in his face. Way to go Maddie!_ she thought, annoyed with herself.

"No, don't ever apologize for something like this Mads," Steve told her. "What happened? What had you so scared?"

Knowing she was embarrassed and didn't want to talk about it right then, Pete changed the subject. "Sorry to interrupt, but Shorty, I'm gonna go unload the plane before it heads out. But I just wanted to give you your purse before I left," he smiled placing her big, black Balenciaga bag on the bed next to her.

Pulling out of Steve's embrace Maddie leaned forward giving Pete a big hug. "Thanks so much Petey."

"No problemo," he replied as they pulled out of the hug. "Alright, I better get going." Turning to Steve he said, "Call me if you need anything. Anything at all."

"Great! Thanks P!" Steve answered, anxious to be alone with Maddie and see what he could find out about the nightmare.

Once Pete left, he reached for the abandoned 7up and opened it. "Here baby…" Shaking her head Maddie crinkled her nose and made a face. "Come on…just a sip or two. It'll help you, I promise!" Knowing he wasn't going to take no for an answer she took 3 small sips and then handed it back to him. "See, was that so hard?" Steve asked, smiling at her.

Maddie shook her head slightly, a movement that caused it to throb, not to mention make her a bit dizzy. Seeing the changed expression on her face and knowing she didn't feel well he said, "Let's get you all snuggly again, so you can get back to sleep." Her only response was getting out of the sitting position in bed and lying back down. Maddie still hadn't said anything since Pete left. She was too distracted by the nightmare she'd had. _Why do they have to be so realistic?_ she wondered. _Steve always looks like he's dead in them. And the man is so creepy. _

As Maddie laid in bed unable to think of anything except the nightmare, Steve got out of bed walking from side to side fixing the sheets and blankets that were twisted and falling off the bed from Maddie thrashing about. Finally getting her all tucked in he reached for her right arm to make sure she hadn't accidentally pulled the IV out when she was tossing and turning. Seeing all was well, Steve walked to the other side of the bed and climbed in. Once he had gotten comfortable on his right side he reached for Maddie, pulling her close to him. Seeing her so bothered and distracted he asked, "Wanna talk about it? What was it about?"

For the first time since Pete left Maddie spoke, "It's nothing. No big deal." However, he knew she was lying.

Knowing it was a terrible idea to push her right now, Steve sighed rubbing her back in a soothing manner. "Let's get some rest. Everything's okay. I'm right here…" Maddie listened and closed here gorgeous blue eyes. A few tears would escape from them every so often and run down her face. Although he couldn't see them when her face was snuggled into his chest, he could feel his white t-shirt slowly getting wet. After a few minutes he could feel her breathing begin to even out as she started to drift off. Bending his head down he kissed the top of her head whispering, "Everything's okay baby. You're safe."

Feeling his own eyes getting heavy Steve reached for his phone and set an alarm to go off every hour so he could wake her up.

* * *

><p>Thanks for reading! Again, please, PLEASE, <strong>PLEASE<strong>... **REVIEW**!

Looking forward to hearing from each and every one of you!

xoxo


	12. Chapter 12

**DISCLAIMER:** I don't own "Hawaii Five-0" or any of its characters. However, Maddie's mine! :o)

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><p><strong>AUTHOR'S NOTE:<strong> HI Everyone! Thanks to all of you that are reading my story and extra thanks to those that have reviewed! I expect a bunch of reviews this week, because I'm giving you a little of what you want. Anyway, please please review!

Like always, thoughts are in _italics. _However, something new has been added! Flashbacks are in **BOLD**!

Also, you'll see a glimpse of why the story was given the rating that it has.

I really am looking forward to hearing what you guys think!

SO REVIEWWWW! This is a crucial chapter, so the more you review the faster I update. Seriously!

ENJOY!

xo,

Laura

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><p>CHAPTER 12<p>

Commander Steve McGarrett was awoken by a body wiggling around in his arms. Slowly opening his eyes he found himself looking into the crystal blue eyes of his best friend. "Sorry," Maddie whispered.

Trying to use his hand to rub the sleepiness from his face he used his other hand and reached for his cell phone glancing at the time: 6:15pm. "Why are you awake? Still have another 20 minutes before I have to wake you up," he asked her.

"I can't lay in this bed anymore…I'm gonna go crazy," she admitted.

Sighing he closed his eyes. "Well…how do you feel?"

"Honestly?"

Opening his eyes Steve looked at her, brows furrowed. "No Maddie. Please lie to me."

"Someone's grumpy. You always did turn grouchy when you didn't get enough sleep," she wrinkled her nose at him as she bit her bottom lip.

_Her silly facial expressions are so cute. I really missed them_, he thought as the corners of his mouth began to turn up leaving behind a small smile. "Sorry…anyway, back to the question. Yes, honest answer Mads."

Glancing out of the corner of her eyes she made a sort of kissy face with her lips and squished them to the side, something she sometimes did when she was thinking, but being silly at the same time. She stopped making the face and looked at him. "Pretty crappy. I feel a little better. My head's killing me still, same with my body. I just…," her eyes widened for effect, "I've been in bed all day." Steve's eyes widened a bit and his eyebrows arched up at this statement. Rolling her eyes she threw in, "Well, for the most part."

"Yeah, minus your little stunt this morning," Steve countered.

Narrowing her eyes at him Maddie asked, "You gonna let that go anytime soon?"

"Depends….why'd you do it?"

Sighing loudly she glimpsed at him with an unsure and shy look on her face, piquing his interest. "I just hate it when you worry about me….and…" She stopped, unsure if she wanted to tell him the rest.

Rubbing his hand up and down her shoulder in encouragement Steve said, "And what Mads?" the grouchy, biting tone now replaced with a soothing, gentle one.

She could feel the sting behind her eyes, _Damn it! Don't be such a girl Maddie! Don't cry! You've done enough crying in the past 24 hours to last YEARS with Steve. He's just going to think you're weak and fragile. Get your emotions under control!_ She told herself, hoping her little pep talk would do the trick. Pushing the tears back, Maddie looked down. Worried that if she made eye contact with him when she answered his question she'd start crying. "Well…it's just…here you've taken such good care of me…and…I wasn't there for you when you needed me. I…just…I suck. I'm a terrible friend. I don't deserve you right now…"

As she spoke, Steve sat up, surprised by what she was saying. It was obvious she felt awful about the last few months, really guilty, as she stumbled through her explanation. "Hey! ….Look at me baby," he instructed, his voice caring and concerned, but serious, letting her know that whatever he was about to say was important. Steve waited a moment for her to look at him, but when she didn't do as he asked he reached forward, carefully forcing her head up so they could make eye contact. _I need her to understand this. See it in my eyes that I'm telling the truth and completely serious_, he told himself. "Maddie, that is absolutely NOT true. I mean it couldn't be further from the truth. You are a great friend and you do deserve being taken care of whether you called me back or not. Mads, you had your reasons for not calling me back. I'm not upset with you. And hey, I didn't reach out to you for 2 years! No need to feel guilty. I promise. It's the past. Please stop feeling guilty," he paused letting what he'd said settle in as he tucked a few run away pieces of hair behind her ear that had been hanging in her face. "Oh and by the way…I'm always going to worry about you. It's just how it is. How it's always been. However, if you want me to worry about you less or not have us in a situation like we are in right now, you can take better care of yourself," he added sounding annoyed with her. He hadn't said anything about the fact she was hiding something from him, something he knew in his gut was bad. It didn't feel like the right moment, however he decided it was okay to add it as an afterthought. "Also, if you don't want me to worry like crazy about you, you can stop hiding things from me."

"I don't want to get into this again." Taking a deep breath, she continued. "I am taking care of myself Steven. And I'm not hiding anything from you!" Maddie lied, irritation laced her voice. _Ouch! Full first name…she's mad_, Steve thought. _But at least she's fighting me a bit and her stubbornness is coming back...she's starting to feel better._

She continued. "It's obvious we aren't going to agree on this, so let's just drop it! Anyway, it doesn't matter. I'm going to get out of this room or I'm going to go crazy." With that Maddie pulled herself into a sitting position groaning from the pain and soreness she felt in her body. She had noticed that every time she went from laying or sitting down to sitting or standing up she became dizzy. This time was no different. The second she sat up the dizziness began. Ignoring it she continued her tone gentler and less irritated and angry than before, "I know you're tired, you can stay here if you want and get some sleep, but I'm heading downstairs."

Inwardly sighing Maddie swung her legs over the edge of the bed preparing to stand. _I really hope I don't throw up. I hate it so much! Plus it just worries Steve. And as soon as I haven't vomited for 12 hours, I don't have to be woken up anymore…which means Steve can go home where he'll be safe…..away from me_, she thought. Feeling her mouth begin to water and her stomach begin to churn, she thought, _Come on Madeline! Don't throw up! You're fine! No puking!_

Maddie was doing her best to act as if the change in position wasn't making her feel worse, however she wasn't fooling Steve. Watching her intently from his spot on the bed, he slowly began to rise. Scooting closer to the edge so her feet would touch the ground Maddie closed her eyes, taking in a deep breath before she began to stand.

Once standing, Maddie wished she wasn't. Her whole body ached, her head was pounding as if it was going to explode, and her right foot hurt so bad from the cut on it that she couldn't put much weight on it. Her inability to stand on her right food mixed with the worsening dizziness she began to wobble. Just slightly at first, but more so by the second. Maddie had made such a stink to him about how she was fine that she couldn't ask for his help or just get back in bed. She was too stubborn.

Shaking his head he watched her wobble and wince as she tried to figure out what her next move was. Steve could practically see the internal battle waging within her over what to do. Suddenly Maddie was a blur of flailing body parts as she tried to run to the bathroom obviously panicked. Steve was up immediately and at her side. _Uh oh_, Maddie thought as she made a weird noise and her hand flew to cover her mouth. Before she even knew what was happening Steve picked her up and had her in the bathroom, sitting in front of the toilet just in time for the dry heaving to begin. He sat behind her holding her hair and rubbing her back.

After gagging and dry heaving for a few minutes Maddie collapsed against Steve. "You're okay. I'm right here…"he murmured as he kissed the top of her head his arms around her pulling her close to his pajama clad body. After a few minutes Maddie spoke up, "I still wanna go downstairs…"

Steve chuckled softly, shaking his head. "I wouldn't have expected anything else."

Annoyed with her body at the moment Maddie continued while slightly rubbing his forearm as she spoke, "Every time I sit and stand I get dizzy and nauseous. I want it to go away!"

"It will…with time and…REST!" Steve replied enunciating the last word.

"I want it to be gone NOW!" Maddie pouted.

"I know," Steve smiled at her stubbornness and the cute little face she was making. Staring at her he felt a tingling low in his belly. _Uh oh…what is that? I only feel like that when I have feelings for someone…_ Steve thought. _No! I just missed her. I mean, it's been 2 years since I've seen her, a little less than that since I spoke to her last. This is just my body reacting to that, _he tried convincing himself.

They sat like that, Steve holding Maddie, for a few minutes, completely comfortable with the silence, before she spoke up, "Steve…" She turned her head and looked up at him. Peering down at her he saw the puppy dog face she was giving him.

"Yes?" he asked biting his bottom lip and staring at her, trying incredibly hard not to smile at the cute look on her face. _Man, I missed her!_ he admitted.

"Will you help me get downstairs?" Maddie asked, her beautiful blue eyes pleading with him.

_God, those eyes…_Steve thought as he stared into them completely missing what she'd asked him.

"Hello?" Maddie called and still he said nothing, only stared at her. "Steve?" she called, this time lightly hitting his chest.

"Hey! Why'd you do that?" he asked in mock hurt rubbing his chest.

"Where were you? I was calling your name!"

Embarrassed Steve looked away. "No where…Anyway, what was it? What'd you say?"

"Will you help me downstairs?" Maddie asked again wondering what he could have been lost in thought over. _That's weird…he had a funny look on his face…like…_ not wanting to go there she shook her head effectiviely pushing the thought out of her mind.

"Of course! You never have to ask!" he smiled, glad she was up front about needing help. He carefully began to stand all the while helping her up as well. Once both were up Steve bent over slightly, scooping her up in his arms.

"You don't have to carry me Steve! I can walk!" Maddie cried. This was not what she meant by help. She was thinking she could lean on him and he could put his arm around her and just help keep her from falling. However, she didn't mind this form of help that much. She felt safe when she was in his arms. Sure she felt safe with Pete, but it was different. She wasn't sure why or how, she just knew it was.

"I don't want you on that foot very much Maddie and neither does Malia. So…this is the only kind of help you're getting from me," Steve told her as he walked out of her bathroom and into her room.

"At some point you need to eat something. What do you want? Anything sound good?" Maddie only rolled her eyes and shook her head.

"I'm okay right now."

"Mads you haven't eaten anything today. Actually nothing since lunch yesterday and I'm pretty sure you threw all that up," Steve told her as they arrived in the kitchen.

"Steve, I just threw up. Really, I don't want anything right now. Give me a little bit, okay? Maybe that'll change."

Hesitant, he conceded. "Okay, but…you're eating something a little later. I'm not going to take no for an answer." Looking around the kitchen, living room, and informal dining room he asked, " By the way…we're downstairs. Where are we going? Living room?"

"No, the media room!" She answered. Smiling he walked through one of the most popular areas of the house. As he exited out of the kitchen he headed down the hall, passing Maddie's office, on his way to the media room.

* * *

><p>Entering the large room, Steve asked, "Where do you wanna sit?"<p>

"Here," Maddie answered, pointing towards the front row.

Walking to the plush couch in front of him, Steve carefully set Maddie down, immediately missing the contact with her. Catching her slightly shiver he glanced around the amazing room. "Blankets?"

"Over there."

Beelining to the closed shelving system Maddie had pointed to, Steve opened the cabinet doors, pulling out a stack of blankets. As he turned around to make his way back to her she called out, "Oh, wait! Grab the remote while you're at it." Watching him glance around he walked back to the cabinet feeling and looking around on the shelves. "Yeah, that one!" Seeing the huge object he grabbed it and returned to Maddie. Once he handed the remote to her, Steve unfolded one of the blankets and placed it on her before doing the same thing with another one. "What's with all the blankets? You trying to smother me to death?" Maddie questioned smiling at him.

"You're funny," he glared at her taking a place next to her. "I don't want you to be cold. I don't want you catching a bug. I know you well enough to know that when you get exhausted you get sick."

Maddie grew serious as she made eye contact with him. " Steve…" she reached up placing her hand on his chest, "Stop worrying so much. I'm okay. I promise! I'm a big girl, ya know?"

"I know…I can't help it. You really scared me…" he murmured pulling her against him.

As she began taking the blankets Steve had put on her and placed them on both of them she responded, "I know… I'm really sorry about that." Finally having both of them covered she looked up at him meeting his blue eyes, "It was a one time thing…seriously. A freak thing. Okay?"

Chewing the inside of his lip Steve stared at her. He wanted to believe her, that everything was fine. That it was a one-time thing, but he just couldn't. He knew something was wrong, that she was hiding something huge from him and he knew as long as she kept whatever it was to herself he had need to worry. Steve could've said all that to her, but instead he lied, "Okay." He knew she wasn't going to tell him what he needed to know. Bringing it up would just upset Maddie causing her to push him further away. So he pretended to believe her, knowing he'd have to figure out what was going on himself.

She smiled at him before leaning her head back against his chest. Steve pulled her closer to him with an arm around her back and asked, "What should we watch?"

"Hmm…" Maddie thought. "What about….a TV show?"

"Okay. I'm good with that."

"You're going to hate the idea, but I think you might like the show. I've wanted to see the series 'Once Upon A Time'. Willing to give it a try?" she asked him.

"Yeah, sure!" he answered stifling a yawn. _Man, I am so exhausted and I've gotten more sleep than her. How is she not passing out right now?_ he thought to himself.

"Okay! Once Upon A Time it is!" Maddie smiled as she turned the entertainment system on. The projector hummed to a start as she switched over to her apple TV so she could rent the TV show. As she did so she noticed Steve looking around the room. Finishing what she needed to do Maddie set the remote down and looked at her best friend. "That's right! You haven't been to the house before!"

"Well, sort of…when I came back to Hawaii I used the key you'd given me when the house was done. I've been checking on it about once a week since I got back," he admitted. "I've seen the house as I wander it making sure everything's fine, but I haven't really taken it all in. Figured you'd want to give me the grand tour when we saw one another."

"Thanks for doing that Steve….Well, what do you think of this room?" Maddie asked, a huge grin on her face.

Steve surveyed the room, observing every minute detail. The floor was covered in plush wine colored carpet with a gold flourish design on it, giving it a very regal feel. There were four rows of seating, each row a bit higher than the last creating a movie theater feel. Most of the seats were massive reclining dark leather chairs each with a cup holder, however there was a reclining couch thrown in here and there matching the chairs. Each row sat about 6 people. The custom cabinet system surrounding the projector screen was made of dark red wood. It added to the royal feeling of the room. Along the left and right side of the room were columns of the same wood. In between the columns a wine colored wallpaper covered the walls. The wallpaper had a simple flourish design of a darker red on it, keeping with the same theme and feel of the room. The light sconces perfectly placed on the columns on the same walls looked as if they belonged in a castle and lit the room in such a way that it was never fully bright, but always a bit darker. On certain spots along the walls and on the sides of the screen were lavish, wine colored, velvet curtains tied back with gorgeous gold rope with tassels at the end.

Although he'd seen the room plenty of times, it was his first time really taking it in and it was exquisite. Steve was speechless, so he pulled Maddie tighter to him letting her know he loved it.

Maddie had been watching him as he examined their surroundings. Seeing he was done she asked, "Did you notice something?" Steve gave the room another once over before turning to her eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"It's amazing Mads…truly! I love it!"

Looking down at the big, thick, square touch screen remote measuring approximately 6 inches by 6 inches on her lap, she touched the screen a couple times before all the lights on the sides of the room went out and lights appeared on the domed ceiling. Unable to hide her gigantic smile Maddie watched her best friend look up. "Oh my God, Maddie! You didn't!" he cried as he stared at the thousands of tiny sparkling white fiber optic lights in the ceiling. "I can't believe you remembered! How old were we? 8?"

"Yeah, we were 8…but we talked about it again when we were teenagers," she replied as they both stared at the ceiling remembering a time when they were young.

**FLASHBACK...**

**An 8 year old Steve and Maddie laid on the beach outside his house staring at the stars, their hands intertwined. They'd named as many constellations as they could find, real and made up ones. "Wouldn't it be so cool to be able to see the stars any time you wanted, inside the house too?" he asked.**

**"They have those glow in the dark sticker stars you can put in your room Stevie," Maddie suggested.**

**"Yeah, but they look fake. I want it to look real."**

**"One day we'll have it in our house…stars."**

**Fast forward 8 years when the two were 16. Maddie had just signed her record deal and was flying to New York the following day to begin recording her debut album. The friends were sad. They'd never been apart longer than 5 days since they were 4 years old. They were lying on the sand outside his house staring up at the stars, Maddie's head on his chest and his arm around her. She had tears rolling down her face as Steve held her, gently rubbing her back while trying to remain strong for her. "Mads…with all the money you're going to make you can finally build your own home. It'll be yours. No more apartment."**

**"Yeah…"**

**Trying to cheer her up and distract her he asked, "What would it look like?"**

**She began describing her dream home to him. He'd throw ideas in as she went along. "What about a movie theater inside?" Steve said excited at the idea. "With a huge screen TV! Video games…everything!"**

**Maddie laughed, "You're such a boy sometimes, Stevie."**

**"The best part though?" he asked. "Stars on the ceiling, just like we always wanted."**

**"Definitely!" she smiled at the thought.**

**END FLASHBACK...**

"I can't believe you remembered Maddie!" Steve happily said.

"How could I forget? But, you haven't seen the best part…" she told him as she touched the remote screen. Suddenly the stars changed patterns. "Do you see anything?"

Studying the stars for a minute, Steve looked down at her a huge grin on his face. "You made it so we can find constellations! You're the best, Mads!" Before he knew what he was doing he kissed her forehead, then her nose, and just as he was hovering at her mouth about to kiss her the moment was interrupted by the ringing of his cell phone. _What the hell were you going to do Steve? Talk about getting caught up in the moment! _Steve berated himself as he pulled his cell from his pocket and answered. "McGarrett ... Hi! …. Yeah, sure. Come on over… No, she's awake ... No, we are downstairs in the movie theatre … Okay, yeah. See you soon, bye!"

While he was on the phone Maddie was trying to get her breathing under control and bring her heart rate down. _He was going to kiss me! Oh my God! And I wanted him to. What the hell does that mean? _She wondered, completely confused by her feelings. Hearing him hang up the phone she turned her attention to him secretly hoping he'd pcikup where he'd left off.

Unable to look at her Steve awkwardly asked, "So, the show?"

Her heart ached and her face fell at his question. _Maddie, it doesn't matter. Just turn the show on_, she thought. "Yeah…" Using the remote she started the first episode. Unsure if she should lean her weight back into Steve, she awkwardly sat next to him, sitting completely straight with her back not against the couch, their thighs touching. Picking up on it, Steve took a deep breath telling himself _Everything's fine. You just got wrapped up in the moment. Act like you were before_, and then pulled her tight against him. It took her a second to snuggle into him, but she eventually did.

* * *

><p>After 15 minutes of the pilot episode he felt Maddie completely relax against him as she fell asleep. Glancing at the time on his phone he set an alarm for 1 hour from then, so he could wake her up.<p>

Steve was thankful for the show on TV. It was actually surprisingly interesting and was distracting him from his thoughts, which was exactly what he needed right then.

Approximately 15 minutes after Maddie had fallen asleep against him, his partner strolled in the room. "Holy shit! This is amazing!" he cried as his eyes scanned the room.

"Shhhh..." Steve shushed him as he pointed to the sleeping woman in his arms.

"Oh! Sorry!" Danny whispered. For the first time since entering the room he noticed his partner holding Maddie tight against him, her face on his chest, her right hand laying across his stomach. The couch they were on was reclined so their legs were out in front of them completely intertwined. "Steven, Steven, Steven," he smirked.

"Hold on…I don't want to wake her up," Steve whispered. "Can you grab a pillow from the cabinet there?" He pointed to the place where he'd gotten the blankets they were using. Doing as he was asked, Danny walked to him with a plush pillow in hand. "Here…set it right there and then help me."

Setting it to the right of Maddie, where Steve had pointed, Danny helped his partner untangle the star from him. She whimpered and made soft little whimpers as Danny lowered her onto the pillow. "What was that?" he softly asked trying his best to hold in his laughter.

Chuckling himself, Steve couldn't stifle the smile her noises caused, "She makes them in her sleep. Either when she's really comfortable or when she's been moved. She has since we were little kids. I remember her making them at nap time in preschool. It's pretty cute, huh?"

Danny furrowed his eyebrows and stared at his partner.

"What?" Steve whispered now standing next to the couch as he lifted Maddie's legs from the reclined part to the actual couch.

"You have it bad for her!" Danny whispered to his partner.

"You don't know what you're talking about! We are friends!" Steve countered in an irritated whisper.

"You two were all cuddled together and don't think I don't know how you were holding her as you guys slept. I saw the picture!"

Taking the first blanket and covering her with it, Steve replied, "What are you talking about? What picture?"

"The picture Pete took of the two of you this morning. The one he showed us at the precinct. To the team. The entire team. Lori included," Danny disclosed.

At the mention of Lori and that she saw the picture Steve froze, the second blanket falling in place on Maddie. "Yeah?" he finally asked.

"Yeah."

"And?" Steve wondered.

"She played it off like it was no big deal, but she was upset. And as long as we're talking about Lori…she seemed hurt at your concern for Maddie yesterday," Danny reported.

"Ok, I'll call her," Steve decided. Not wanting to talk on the phone and possibly wake Maddie, he looked to Danny. "Can you sit here with her for a minute?"

"Really Steven? You want me to wait in this home movie theater? How awful!" Danny joked sarcastically. "Yeah, no problem. Go do what you gotta do."

Worried to leave Maddie even for a minute, Steve hesitated before walking out.

A few minutes into Steve being gone, Maddie started moving around on the couch next to Danny, whimpering as she tossed and turned. Tears began rolling down her face as she whispered, "No, don't! Please don't hurt him! I'll listen to you. Please just leave him alone."

Wondering if he should go get Steve, but also not wanting to leave her, Danny stared at the singer. Before he could decide, her eyes flew open as more tears fell from them. Confused and groggy from her nightmare, she glanced around for Steve. Not seeing him she began to panic as her breathing quickened and she met eyes with Danny. He gasped at the complete fear and terror he saw in her eyes.

"Maddie, it's okay. You just had a nightmare. You're fine. It's me Danny. Steve's partner. He'll be right back. Don't worry, you're safe." Danny soothingly whispered. Kneeling down in front of the couch near her head he began rubbing his hand down her hair. "This always helps my daughter Grace when she's had a nightmare. "Wanna talk about it? Might help?"

Tears still streaming down her face, she hesitated. Had she not been so groggy and out of it she would never have told him what she did. "He was hurting him."

"Who was hurting him? Hurting Steve?" Danny whispered.

Just thinking about it made her start crying harder as she nodded. "It's okay. You're fine," Danny whispered still running his hand down her hair an act that seemed to be calming her down.

Coming out of the groggy, confused state Maddie realized what she'd just admitted to Danny. _Dammit Maddie! You have got to be more careful! This is just another perfect example why you can't be around Steve or his friends as long as you have to keep this to yourself_, she thought. Burying her emotions and holding her tears back, she whispered, "Where's Steve?"

"He's on the phone with Lori. Want me to go get him?"

Her heart dropped at the mention of Lori's name. _Guess she is his girlfriend. I bet she's upset he's been here with me and not with her_, she thought disappointed. _Maybe this is a way to get him away from me…where he is safe, _she thought. As much as the idea bugged her she knew it was what needed to happen. "No, let him be," Maddie finally answered.

"Are you sure? I know if he knew what just happened he'd be upset he wasn't here with you," Danny told her.

"I know! But he'll just worry more."

"He has every right to worry about you. I don't really know you, but I'm worried about you," Danny admitted.

"I know, but I don't want him distracted because he's worried about me and then something happens to him." Pausing, she continued., "In fact, can you not say anything to him about what just happened?"

"Ummm… I don't know if I'm comfortable with that," Danny admitted.

"I understand. Can you at least just wait until an opportune time?"

Thinking it over, he decided he could at least do that. "Sure." Danny didn't feel comfortable lying to his partner, but he also wanted to earn Maddie's trust so that he could help Steve find out whatever she was hiding.

She moaned and grabbed her head as she pushed herself into a sitting position, the dizziness returning along with the nausea. Once sitting Maddie briefly closed her eyes, wishing the nausea away.

Carefully watching her face as he got off the floor and sat beside her, Danny asked, "Are you okay? Sure you don't want me to get Steve?"

Opening her eyes, she replied, "Yeah. I'm fine. Let's just watch the show."

Another 10 minutes later Steve walked into the room expecting to see Maddie still sound asleep. However that was not the case. "Danno! Did you wake her up?" he accused slightly annoyed.

"Hey! Why do you think I did it?" Danny asked defensively. "For your information she…" he paused trying to decide what he was going to tell Steve.

Luckily Maddie was quick and finished his sentence, "woke up on my own. I heard the TV."

Steve squinted at Maddie and the fact she wouldn't look at him then glanced at Danny sending him a questioning look. He just shrugged standing up from his spot next to her, "I better get home. It's getting late and I don't want to miss Grace calling me to say goodnight."

"Nice to see you Danny," Maddie said meeting his eyes as the two shared a look.

"I'll walk you out, Danno," Steve said.

Not thinking it was a good idea to leave Maddie alone right now Danny said, "No I'm fine. Just stay here. I'll talk to you tomorrow."

"Alright, night."

Once Danny was out of the room Steve sat on the couch next to Maddie, however, he left a big space between them and didn't pull her to him. What he didn't realize was in that moment that's exactly what she needed. The nightmare she'd just had had been one of the worst ones she'd experienced and she was rattled to the bone. _Why is he acting weird all of a sudden? It must be because of his girlfriend, Lori. Oh well, Maddie, you don't need him to tell you everything will be okay. You haven't for the last few months. You were just fine_, she told herself still sniffling from crying.

Sitting on the couch Steve stared straight ahead at the screen, however the show was the last thing from his mind. He would have felt strange if he had pulled Maddie to him and cuddled after his conversation with Lori. He wasn't dating her, but he had sort of started something with her the other night. He didn't even really know how he felt about her, but he did have some feelings. At least he thought he did. To be honest he was wondering if what he felt was only the fact that he was tired of being alone. _Did I get the two confused_, he wondered. _I wasn't confused before Maddie got here. There's just so much going on. I should have waited before starting anything with Lori. I don't want to be an ass and pretend nothing happened the other night. I mean it was just a kiss, but I told her I wanted to see her again. If I pretend nothing happened it could upset the team. What if she screws us over with the governor? Would she do that? No, she's not that kind of person. Then there's the fact that I almost kissed Maddie. I mean, what the hell is going on with me? _His mind was moving a million miles a minute. However, it was the sniffling beside him that finally pulled him from his thoughts for a second. _Is she crying? Why is she crying? What did Danny do? Did he say something? I got the feeling something was going on when I first walked in. What the hell happened? _Steve turned his head towards Maddie staring at her.

Since he'd come back in the room it was obvious his mind was somewhere else, so it surprised her when she felt his eyes on her. "Maddie?"

"Hm?" she answered not looking anywhere but straight ahead. She was sure there were probably traces of her earlier tears and she wanted to keep that to herself.

"You okay?" he asked. He sounded different to her. She could still hear the concern in his voice, but he sounded distracted.

"Yeah, just watching the show," Maddie answered, hoping he couldn't hear the tears she was holding in.

_She sounds a little funny,_ Steve thought as he continued to stare at her. "Look at me," he instructed.

Hesitating she did as he wanted. Seeing her glassy eyes he immediately felt bad for leaving the room. "Were you crying?" he asked.

"No," Maddie lied turning back to watch TV. "It's just the TV. When it's so dark in here like this and I'm watching TV sometimes it makes my eyes water."

"Oh, okay," Steve said believing her answer. _Wow, he must be distracted if he didn't know I was lying. Must really have Lori on the mind_, she thought. After another 10 minutes of the two sitting so far apart, Maddie laid down to her right lying on the pillow Danny had put there for her. Since it seemed Steve didn't want any contact with her at the moment, Maddie curled into the fetal position. She felt safe like that , she always did. Feeling the aching in her chest a few tears rolled down her face. _What is wrong with me? Why am I crying? Am I upset he's not holding me? Am I upset he almost kissed me? Or am I upset because he didn't kiss me? I've never cared about any of this stuff before. Or have I? It was inappropriate anyhow. He has a girlfriend. I'm just upset because of the nightmare I had. That's all. Sure, a big hug would have been nice, but I'm a big girl. I don't need him._ She told herself hoping her pep talk would snap her out of it, however it did the opposite. Instead of her tears disappearing, they fell more frequently. _Maybe if I just close my eyes. Sleep through this awkward moment, _Maddie wondered.

After a few minutes she began to drift off. No sooner had she fallen asleep than she saw the haunting image from her nightmare. The one of Steve being tortured and the man laughing as he hurt him. Maddie gasped loudly as her eyes flew open tears cascading down her face. Steve heard the noise, "You okay Maddie? What happened?" Steve immediately questioned looking towards her.

"I'm fine. Just the show," she managed to say through her tears. From her spot curled up on the couch she used the large remote to turn the volume up in hopes of it covering up any noises she might make from crying.

_Something weird's going on,_ Steve thought to himself as he watched Maddie out of the corner of his eye. Reaching over he tugged on her legs, pulling them out of the fetal position and straightening them so they were on his lap a bit. Steve pulling her out of the fetal position made her feel more exposed and less safe, although she tried not to think about it. Another five minutes passed and although upset and scared, Maddie was so exhausted she dozed off again only for her to reenter the nightmare. Her feet kicked a couple times causing him to turn and look at her. Just as soon as she entered the nightmare she awoke terrified. Her body jumped a bit as her eyes flew open and mini sob escaped her body. Besides that she kept it hidden well, however he wasn't an idiot. He was no longer distracted or thinking of Lori, all his focus was on Maddie.

Now positive that she was upset, Steve scooted towards her and then laid behind her placing his head on her pillow. Wrapping his arms around her stomach he pulled her back against his middle. Wanting to make sure he had enough room behind her Maddie moved herself giving him a bit more room. However she froze, when she heard a low moan escape Steve's mouth. _What was that? _She thought_. _Wracking her brain she realized what happened. Or at least what she thought happened. When she was trying to give him more space she had sort of been wiggling around. She had rubbed her butt right against Steve's groin. _No, that couldn't be it. Could it? Did I turn him on? Maybe it was a "I'm in pain" kind of moan and not a sexual one, _Maddie thought.

_I can't believe that slipped out_, Steve chastised himself. _Maybe she didn't hear me. But...ugh...her rubbing against me like felt amazing._

Knowing it would bother her if she didn't figure out what it was Maddie decided to repeat her actions to see if she was right. _Do I want to be right? _She wondered. She couldn't remember the last time she'd felt this conflicted. In fact it was making her head hurt worse.

_Here goes nothing_, Maddie told herself. Taking a deep breath Maddie began moving around. Starting with her head and arms and slowly bringing the rest of her body into it. Closing her eyes she lightly brushed her little bubble butt against Steve. She didn't hear him moan, but she felt his grip on her tighten a bit and she wasn't sure but she could have sworn she felt his manhood a bit, but he would have had to be a little turned on for that to be the case. Panicked she decided to keep wiggling around, as if she was trying to get comfortable. _What the hell are you doing Maddie? Why do you wanna know so bad? What are you going to do if he is in fact turned on? Won't it be weird? _She asked herself. There were so many reasons she should knock it off, but for some reason she didn't.

When he little butt got him the second time he was able to stifle the groan, however he felt his grip tighten on her. _Oh man, what's going on right now? Is she doing this on purpose?_ he wondered.

Maddie continued to wiggle around and finally moved her butt again. This time, however, she brushed against him a few times in a row each time putting more pressure on his groin. The first time he didn't seem to react. _Yeah, now she's definitely doing this on purpose, _Steve thought. _Well then, she seems to want to see my reaction, so I'll give it to her._ The second time he sighed and began lightly caressing the skin between the top of her leggings and the bottom of his NAVY SEAL t-shirt. The shirt had risen a bit as she moved around baring the skin. _Oh my God, what the hell are we doing? _Maddie asked herself, but for some reason she just didn't stop. The next time she rubbed against him she used more pressure. She froze as she heard Steve moan.

_Oh my God,_ he thought_. She's turning me on on purpose! I want to hear her moan now! _Wanting nothing more than to feel her skin and to hear her moan Steve leaned towards her ear and whispered, "Maddie…turn around." He was so close she felt a bit of his soft lips against her ear sending goose bumps up and down her body and a tingling in her lower stomach. _Oh my God…that was hot,_ She thought. Although her head was telling her not to, she turned around anyway. As she flipped over and laid her head back down on the pillow she realized there faces were inches apart and their bodies were flush against one another. _Yeah, that was a definite "I'm turned on" moan_, she told herself as she felt the hardness of him against her groin. Suddenly nervous she looked down.

"Look at me, Madeline," Steve ordered, his voice husky. He gave her a minute before he lifted her chin up to meet his eyes. He saw the tears not yet dried on her face. "Why are you crying?" he asked eyebrows furrowed.

_I'm not crying, I mean I was a couple minutes ago_, she thought. Taking a second to find her voice, Maddie finally answered. "I'm not."

Raising his eyebrows he reached a thumb to her face, "Then what are these?" he asked as he slowly wiped a tear away.

"Nothing," she lied unable to pull her eyes away from his. She'd never seen him looking at her like this. His eyes were not only full concern and caring, but full of lust and passion.

"Maddie….the truth." Knowing she couldn't get out of this made her nervous and when she got nervous she got antsy and moved around. Without thinking she began wiggling about only becoming aware when Steve's eyes closed for a second and he sighed and groaned at the same time as her groin rubbed against his hardening package. "Damn it Maddie, you're killing me right now."

Her eyes grew wide surprised he'd acknowledged what was going on. "Sorry," she whispered and began pulling away, although she really didn't want to. However his arms tightened around her and his eyes flew open meeting hers.

"Where are you going? Did I tell you to stop?" Wanting to see if she had any reaction when he did something to her he lightly dragged his fingertips against the bare skin on her side, but only on the small part her shirt was exposing, while at the same time pressed his hardening manhood to her pelvis. Sighing her eyes immediately fluttered closed as she automatically pressed herself into him more. Loving the reaction he got he continued both actions. Every time he'd press against her, she'd do the same.

"Maddie?" Steve growled.

"Hm?" she answered opening her eyes.

"What are we doing right now?" he asked her as he looked back and forth between her eyes and her lips. She softly moaned at the small amount of pressure he'd added when he pressed against her that time. Loving the fact he'd made her make that cute, sexy noise he almost lost control, but knew he had to be careful. They were messing with fire.

"I dunno," she admitted as she too looked from his eyes to his lips. She sighed as she watched him lick his lips in yearning.

He inched closer to her, their lips nearly touching. "Is this a good idea?" she could feel his warm breath on her.

"Probably not," she whispered.

"Why were you crying?" he wondered as they continued to slightly rock into one another. However, he wasn't sure how long he could keep everything so gentle and subdued. He was hard as a rock and found himself increasingly curious as to what she tasted like as every second passed.

"Steevvveee…" she whispered. "Don't worry about it. I'm not anymore. And I wouldn't call it crying."

"But, I would. What happened?" he asked, gently tucking a couple strands of escaped hair behind her ear. Loving how whenever he did that Maddie's eyes would flutter closed. "Madeline…please tell me."

Eyes closed enjoying the feeling of his package against her, even though their clothes were between them, she muttered, "This is a terrible time to talk about it."

"Talk to me…or…" Steve stopped pressing against her causing her eyes to fly open.

"Steven, you're impossible," she whispered, their lips nearly touching.

"Tell me," he demanded, his voice low and gravelly turning her on even more. Knowing he didn't have much self control left he was getting antsy. "Did I upset you? Is that what was wrong?"

Maddie's face flushed and she looked down, "Nightmare."

"Again?" Steve asked, his heart sinking knowing they had to be absolutely terrible for them to affect her in the way they did. She nodded in response as she rubbed her pelvis over the bulge in his sweats. "Ughh. Jesus Maddie," he moaned pressing against her. They easily found their rhythm again, barely rubbing against each other. Trying to get his mind back to the question at hand, he asked, "Is it the same nightmare every time?"

"Steve…this isn't the time. But yes, pretty much. The same basis. Can we please talk about this later?"

He chuckled at her impatience with him. "You won't tell me later."

"I promise I will," Maddie whispered watching him stare at her lips. Sure they'd never done anything remotely like this before, but he seemed to be barely hanging on to his self control. Biting her bottom lip she met his eyes.

Sighing, he whispered, "What are you thinking right now?"

Continuing to stare at him that way she reached down with her right hand and rubbed his hard shaft through his sweats. That was all it took. "Ugh…" he growled as Steve's lips met hers for the first time since they met at 4 years old. Although they were both worked up, they were also hesitant and scared. They didn't want to ruin their friendship. He was gentle and sweet as he kissed her. Their thrusts against one another became harder, but still not out of control. Her hands rubbed up and down his back, while his did the same. Maddie felt his tongue slide against her lips asking for entrance. She obliged opening her mouth.

The more he touched her the more turned on he became and soon he easily slid her over towards him more and climbed on top of her. Pulling away for a second Steve looked down on her, "You okay? Am I hurting you? How do you feel?"

Smiling at his sweetness, Maddie answered him by tugging him back down to her by his shirt. He laughed against her mouth before continuing to kiss her.

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><p>Pete had had a long day running errands. He was hoping to see the girl he'd spent time with the night before, the one he'd met the last time he was in Hawaii with Maddie, but got a text from Steve asking if he'd come back. That was 20 minutes ago.<p>

"I wonder if he knows about tomorrow?" Pete wondered aloud as he drove through the gate to the estate. "He's going to be really upset."

Pushing one of the three black buttons next to the ceiling lights of the car the garage door sprung to life. Once open all the way Pete pulled in, pushing the same button to close it behind him.

After 25 years the two best friends had kissed for the first time. There they were making out in the media room, Steve on top of Maddie. Both were enjoying themselves, not wanting to stop, but they were also hesitant, not knowing what this meant or how they felt it. But they pushed those thoughts from their minds at the moment as Steve thrust harder against Maddie, causing her to moan loudly. He wanted to touch her skin in some way or another, so his right hand began slowly making it's way up her shirt. He was just below her breasts when they heard it. "What was that?" Steve questioned as they both stopped what they were doing.

"I don't know," Maddie murmured, head cloudy from the sensations she'd been experiencing the last 10 minutes or so.

Concerned for Maddie's safety he reached for his gun on his waist, before realizing he wasn't armed. That he'd left his gun in Maddie's bedroom. "Shit! My gun's upstairs." Climbing the rest of the way off her, Steve quickly pulled her to her feet, however in the moment he forgotten about Maddie's concussion and the fall and everything.

"Steve…" she muttered as her eyes began fluttering closed and her legs gave out on her. Luckily he'd already had his arms around her, so she didn't hit the floor.

Picking her up and laying her back on the couch he whispered, "Sorry Mads, I forgot. Pulled you up too fast, didn't I? You okay?"

"Yeah," she mumbled.

Steve brushed hair off her forehead as he listened for another noise. Not a minute later he heard the door leading from the garage to the house open and close. Knowing where they were was close to that door Steve prepared himself to go "ninja" on the intruder.

"Steve? Where are you? I'm back!" Pete called out, but not too loud in case Maddie was asleep.

Sighing, Steve immediately calmed. _That's right, I texted Pete_, he thought to himself incredibly relieved. Hearing Maddie giggle next to him he turned his attention to her smiling at the sound of her genuine laugh. _Man it's good to hear that sound_, he thought. "What's so funny?" he asked her. She was laughing so hard that all she could do was point. Looking down in the direction she pointed he saw what she was laughing at. "Look what you did to me!" he chuckled, his cheeks turning red from embarrassment as he stared at his huge boner. There was no way someone wouldn't notice. Panicking that Pete would be stepping foot in the room at any moment, he sat down on the couch pulling a blanket over himself before reaching for Maddie's feet and placing them on his lap. The other blanket he used to cover Maddie. Once he felt everything was in place and looked as if they'd been watching TV he relaxed. That is until he felt Maddie's foot rubbing against his groin. "Ugh…Maddie. That is mean."

"What's mean?" Pete asked as he entered the room.

Flustered, Steve had no idea what to say. Maddie wished she could take a picture of the look on his face as she barely rubbed her foot against him one more time. "Just making fun of him for his lack of knowledge about TV shows," she lied covering up for Steve.

"True, he doesn't know any TV shows. Anyway," Pete glanced at his watch. "You should get going McG. You said you were meeting Lori at 8:45?"

Maddie's heart dropped and she suddenly felt incredibly nauseous. _Duh, Maddie! Did you forget about his girlfriend when you two were fooling around?_ She berated herself. She immediately stilled her foot and started to pull it away from Steve's lap, but he tightened his grip not letting her pull away from him. However, she pulled hard and managed to pry her legs from his arms.

_I forgot about meeting Lori. Damn it, I must look like such an ass. Making out with my best friend for the first time ever only to go meet a girl right after_, he thought. His heart ached when he felt Maddie stop rubbing her feet against him, but his stomach dropped when Maddie pryed her feet from his grip. _She's upset_, he thought. _Dammit Steve!_ "You know, I'm sorry for texting you, but I'm gonna stay here…with Maddie."

From her spot on the couch she spoke up, "No Steve. Go out! You've been stuck here with me for over 24 hours. Get some fresh air. Don't stand her up."

"But Maddie," Steve tried, "I don't want to go."

"Yes you do. Go ahead Steve! Seriously!" Maddie pushed.

"Yeah, go on McG. I got her. She's safe with me."

Steve looked over at Maddie trying to catch her eye, but she wouldn't look at him. She suddenly looked really pale. Unless it was just because the lights were on in the room. Hesitantly he stood up, "Well then I guess I better get dressed." _Thank God my boner is gone_, he thought. It had disappeared the second he felt Maddie pull away from him, physically and emotionally.

Walking out of the room, Steve headed upstairs to the guest bedroom closest to Maddie's room. The one his bag was in.

Once Steve was gone, Pete looked at Maddie funny. _Something happened between them. I can just tell_, he thought. "You okay Shorty?" he asked his voice sympathetic.

"Of course! Why wouldn't I be?" she answered as perky as she could given her nauseous stomach ache.

"I don't know. You tell me…"

Groaning in pain as she pulled herself into a sitting position she looked at Pete. "Will you help me upstairs? I don't feel very well."

"Of course!" Reaching for Maddie he asked, "How do you want to do this? Want me to carry you?"

"No, just hold on to me."

Once she was standing he wrapped an arm around her as she did the same and she began to walk. She was having a hell of a time standing on her right foot because the cut on her heel was excruciatingly painful.

It took about 10 minutes to get her upstairs. Just as they made it to the door of her room she started to get hot and sweaty and her mouth began to water. "Pete? Bathroom…"

Knowing exactly what she was trying to tell him he picked her up and rushed her into her bathroom. "Is she throwing up again?" Steve wondered, hearing the commotion from her room in his. Rushing to her room and into her bathroom he saw her small frame hunched over the toilet. Rushing to her he took his spot behind her as she vomited, a few tears escaping from her eyes. Steve was getting worried about the vomiting. She hadn't eaten anything for over 24 hours and that last meal hadn't even been digested. She kept vomiting, but nothing would come up because there was nothing left in her stomach. She slumped back against him when she was done. Kissing her forehead he promised her everything was going to get better. Picking her up and tucking her in bed he looked down at her pale face worry filling him. "I'm not gonna go," he said aloud.

"Seriously McG, just go. Leave her with me. I'll take great care of her. It's just going to upset her having you cancel plans because of her."

"He's right," Maddie mumbled.

"Okay…Fine. Well, just make sure you wake her up every hour. And call me if something goes wrong or seems weird," Steve nervously instructed.

"I'm fine, DAD!" Maddie snapped.

Sighing, Steve's stomach sunk. "Can you give us a second, Pete?" he asked. Nodding Pete walked out, leaving the two friends.

Sitting on the edge of her bed, Steve asked, "What's up Maddie? Why are you upset?"

"I'm fine," she answered.

"No you're not. Is it because I'm going out with Lori? It's not what…"

Turning to look at him, Maddie interrupted, "Steve, seriously I'm not upset about any of this. I just don't feel good. It hit me all of a sudden. It seems to do that. Stupid concussions. Anyway, about Lori…she seems like a nice woman. You should go for it!"

His heart broke at her words, "So then…"

Knowing what he was going to say she cut him off. "We were just seeing what it would be like. No big deal, Steve. It was fun, sure, but go on your date. It didn't mean anything," Maddie convincingly lied to him. Unwilling to watch the look of relief on his face she was sure would be there, she rolled over turning her back on him.

His heart ached at her words. _Fine then. I will go out with Lori!_ He thought. "Good night Maddie. I'll be back in a little while." And with that he walked out of the room closing the door behind him. He stopped dead in his tracks thinking he heard her crying, but when he listened he heard nothing. "Wishful thinking, Steve," he told himself as he left the house and got in his car.

Little did he know Maddie lay sobbing in her bed.

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><p>Thanks for reading! Please let me know what you think by leaving me a review! I'm dying to know what you thought!<p>

Please, PLEASE, PLEASE **REVIEW**!

xoxo


	13. Chapter 13

**DISCLAIMER: **I do not own the show "Hawaii Five-0" or any of it's characters. I do now

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><p><strong>AUTHOR'S NOTE:<strong>  THE REASONS I'VE REPOSTED THIS CHAPTER IS BECAUSE I NEEDED TO EDIT A FEW THINGS! IT WAS A MESS! 

Thank you so much for all your awesome reviews! Things are picking up now and will be getting good! Anyway, I hope you like this chapter. It took me 2 all nighters to write. To say I'm tired is an understatement. It's a long one! I probably should have made it 2 chapters. Oh well!

Again, the more reviews I get, the faster I'll update!

Like always, thoughts are in _italics_.

Thanks so much!

xo

Laura

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><p><strong>CHAPTER 13<strong>

Lieutenant Commander Steven McGarrett's was mixed up and hurt, not to mention angry. "If only I hadn't called Lori earlier…I should have just waited to talk to her at work Monday," he told himself as he drove to meet her at a local bar._ I didn't even call her to get together or anything. I just wanted to suss out how she seemed on the phone. If she seemed upset like Danny thought. But she didn't really. She actually seemed cool. Even asked how Maddie was doing. We spoke for a few minutes, easily falling into that comfortable banter from the other night. So, when she asked me if I wanted to meet tonight I said yes without really thinking. The second the word was out of my mouth I tried to take it back, but she wouldn't go for it. She said we'd just go for a quick drink. I mean, how the hell was I supposed to know what was going to happen between Maddie and me after I hung up_, he thought. Steve smiled as he remembered what it felt like kissing Maddie. _Indescribable_, he thought, which scared him. Then he thought about how she said it didn't mean anything. Remembering her exact words, Steve's heart began to ache. If he was being honest, he felt like he'd just had his heart broken by someone he was in love with. That's how it felt. "But how could that be? I'm not in love with Maddie! I mean sure, I love her…but I'm not IN LOVE with her," he rambled to himself alone in the car. Scratching his head as he sat at a red light, Steve said, "Why am I dwelling on it? Maddie doesn't seem into it at all, except for fun I guess. So, no big deal!" However, that was easier said than done. As he pulled up to the bar, Steve inhaled a deep breath. "Just enjoy your night. Forget about Maddie. Forget about everything regarding Maddie for the next few hours. Forget that she's in trouble and hiding something. Forget she's injured right now. Forget that she was sick as you left. Forget the look on her face when you were on top of her." Pausing he literally had to shake the image from his head. Just thinking about it caused his pants to tighten at the excitement he was feeling. "Stop it Steve. She said it meant nothing. Plus why do you care? You don't like her like that anyway. Just go have fun with Lori." With that he nodded to himself, and exited his truck, walking to the front door of the bar.

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><p>He saw the whole scene between them in her home movie theater and to say he was furious was an understatement. "You stupid girl! I told you to stay away from him!...Fine, I'll start my little plan for Steve a little early, but it's going to take a couple weeks to unfold. Maddie will understand the warning when she sees it. He always was predictable, especially when it came to her. I'll throw him a bone, let him follow it," he grinned at the thought of playing puppet master. "I don't start messing with Maddie until Sunday. It'll make her think twice about crossing me." He laughed as he envisioned his plans. "She needs to learn to obey me. As soon as she does we will have no problem being happy together! She'll see! I'm much better for her than Steve. I'll show her that tonight."<p>

Jumping in the shower quickly he washed up and got dressed. He didn't want to stick out when he followed Steve, but instead, wanted to blend in.

By the time he was ready to go he looked on the screens of Maddie's house and saw Steve leaving. He'd overheard him tell Pete where he was meeting Lori, so he jumped in his car and made his way in that direction.

The bar was a little closer to him, so he had arrived before Steve. He sat in his parked car in a space where he knew he wouldn't be seen, but where he'd be able to see everything. Watching as Steve arrived, he laughed. "Pathetic," he said observing him sitting in his car torn. Finally he saw him get out and walk in the bar where his date was waiting.

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><p>Maddie lay in her bed trying to go to sleep, but her heart felt like it was in her stomach. "I can't believe he actually went," she told herself. "But why do I care? We are just friends….right?" Her thoughts were interrupted as a wave of nausea overtook her. Pete was downstairs on the phone with Tina, her assistant, making sure her schedule for the next few days was completed. "Oh crap," Maddie muttered pushing the covers off her and getting out of bed. However the dizziness was so bad she sunk to the floor and crawled to the toilet in the bathroom, making it just in time to dry heave a bunch. Once she was finished she crawled toward her bed, grabbing the trashcan in her bathroom as she went. Setting it next to her bed she climbed back in.<p>

All she could think about as she lay in bed was what happened between them. Although they just made out a little like teenagers it was amazing. _I can't remember the last time I felt like that when just kissing someone. Actually….I've never felt like that,_ she thought. She scratched the inside of her right arm, where her IV was. "God this thing's annoying." Steve had figured she'd try and pull it out again, so when her bag of fluid had finished he'd unhooked it hoping it would keep her from ripping it out. _He's so sweet…very good to me_, she thought. _Great! Now I'm thinking about it again!... _Sighing she flipped onto her left side. _I can't believe I helped him cheat on his girlfriend! I hate those people and here I am one of them! He KNOWS that! _She was mad at herself. When her mom had been diagnosed with cancer it was already really advanced. It was as if one day her mom was fine and the next she was dying. It was hard on her, but really hard on her dad. While her mom was trying to fight the disease with radiation and chemotherapy, her dad decided to deal with his sadness and grief by having an affair. Just a sexual one. No emotions involved. He loved her mom very much, but just couldn't deal with what was happening. Maddie had caught her dad one day. Being so very young at the time it really scarred her. So, she couldn't believe she had become "the other woman"! And Steve knew how she felt about it. How could he go through with it? _I'm a grown woman, I shouldn't have egged him on. I don't know what got into me? _she thought, blaming herself._ Of course I told him it didn't mean anything! In reality, DUH! It did mean something…meant something huge…at least I think it did! I don't even know? I mean, here we've been best friends since we were four years old. We never kissed before.. Never experimented when we were teenagers or anything. Did I think about it? YES! Have I always kind of wondered if he'd be a good kisser? YES! Wondered if he was good in bed? YES! But we never went there! Not until today…so of course it meant something. But he's in a relationship. Though I only met her briefly, she seems like a wonderful person. So, why did I help Steve do that to her? I mean, it could have been worse. We could have slept together. But it's no excuse. I mean who knows how far we would have taken it had Pete not come back! I don't think we would've slept together, but I do think it would have gone farther. I mean…I wasn't ready to stop. I wanted him to touch me…everywhere. I wanted to touch him…. _her mind moved a million miles an hour. _Crap! Don't go there Maddie!_ she told herself, already getting riled up. _You can't do that with him again! It was a one time thing_, Maddie told herself.

Both physically and emotionally exhausted, she began to doze. As soon as she was asleep, Maddie found herself in a long, dark hallway. Looking around, it seemed like she was underground. The walls and floor were cement with puddles of water here and there. Shivering in the cold, she began to rub her arms hoping to warm herself even just a little bit. Hearing noises further down the hall she began to walk towards them. The longer she walked the more she realized it sounded as if someone was hurt. Someone familiar. Her blood ran cold at the possibility. No longer walking Maddie ran and ran looking for the source of the noises, but there were no rooms leading off the hall and no one in the hallway itself. All she could do was keep running hoping to eventually find whoever was hurt. After what felt like hours of running she saw him on his knees hunched over at the end of the hallway holding his stomach as blood oozed from it. "Maddie? How could you let this happen?" he asked her.

"I'm so sorry Steve…" she sobbed as she ran towards him. However no matter how long she ran she couldn't reach him. The entire time Steve called out to her for help, begging her to save him. Although she could see him there at the end of the hallway, she just couldn't get to him. She finally seemed to be getting at least a bit closer when the man stepped out of the shadows laughing maniacally.

"Please, let him go! You can have me! I'll stay with you. Isn't that what you've wanted this entire time? .…just let him go," Maddie begged the man.

"You don't get it! I already have you! I always have!" He smiled evilly as he lifted a gun to Steve's head.

"NO! Please don't!" Maddie screamed at the man, crying hysterically.

"Say goodbye to him…" He laughed enjoying the pain he was causing the two.

"Maddie, you'll be okay," Steve coughed, blood pouring from his mouth due to the gunshot wound to his abdomen. "Just know that I always loved you. It was always you. You were the one…Never forget that! I love you…"

Maddie finally made it to Steve. She sobbed as she dropped to her knees in front of him. Reaching out, she caressed his beaten and bloody face. Although he was dying he kissed her. Kissed her like no one had ever kissed her before. He pulled away coughing up more blood. "I love you too Steve. I always did. I'm so sorry for everything! It wasn't supposed to end like this!" she bawled. The next thing she knew the gun went off and Steve slumped to the floor. Covered in his blood she sat next to his lifeless body screaming bloody murder as the man laughed hysterically.

She screamed and screamed and screamed. Eventually he got tired of it. "Stop it! He's dead! I told you to stay away from him! You have no one to blame but yourself! This is all your fault!"

But Maddie couldn't stop screaming. Grabbing her up by the throat he threw her against the wall. Unable to breath as he held her around the neck, she tried reaching out in hopes of hitting him. But she just couldn't reach. She continued gasping for air as he yelled at her, "Maddie!" Although his mouth was moving it wasn't his voice she was hearing.

"Maddie! Wake up!"

* * *

><p>Pete had just hung up with Tina. They'd gone over all the details of the next few days. How Maddie was exactly going to pull off what needed to be done, he wasn't sure. He did know that when Steve found out about it he was going to be upset.<p>

"Speaking of Steve," he mumbled. Not too long after he'd left to go meet Lori, he'd texted him asking Pete if he'd text or call and update him on how things were. Pete could tell he'd been upset when he left. What exactly went on between the two of them in the movie theater he wasn't sure, but he definitely knew something happened. He could really tell Steve didn't want to go meet Lori. That he preferred to stay with Maddie, but she insisted he go, which seemed to hurt him. But what made no sense was that Maddie seemed to be just as upset that he left. "God I hope they figure out they're meant for each other sometime soon," he said aloud. "This is exhausting." Deciding it was as good a time as any to call Steve he picked up the phone and hit speed dial 2. It rang and rang, but he never answered. _I don't know if that's a good or bad sign_, Pete thought, hoping he wasn't doing something stupid. Something that would end up hurting Maddie. _I really hope he's not hooking up with Lori. It's a definite possibility with how he and Maddie left things tonight._ After hearing 6 rings Steve's voicemail message played. "Hi you've reached Lieutenant Commander Steven McGarrett of the Five-0 task force. Please leave your name, number, and a brief message and I'll get back to you as soon as possible. Thank you."

"Hey McG! I'm just calling to give you an update…She got sick again shortly after you left. And I heard her again about 20 minutes ago. She's now in bed asleep. I'll wake her in 45 minu…What the hell?" Pete interrupted himself as a blood-curdling scream filled the house. Keeping the phone in his hand still connected to Steve's voicemail, he ran upstairs, gun in hand. As he got closer to Maddie's room the screams got louder. Just as he reached her door they stopped. Barging in he froze at the sight before him. Maddie was dead asleep thrashing around in bed, gasping for air as tears rolled down her face. Rushing towards her Pete jumped on the bed dropping the phone next to him.

"Maddie!" Pete yelled. She continued to struggle for air.

"Maddie! Wake up!" Freaking out at the blue tint her face was beginning to take he began shaking her. It was the only thing he could think of. "God damn it Shorty!"

Finally her eyes flew open, pure terror in them as she gasped for air. "You're fine…Everything's okay… Just take a deep breath. Calm down. Shhh shh." Rolling to her left she dry heaved in the trashcan next to her bed. "You're okay…You're safe. Everything's fine! Just take a deep breathe!"

As Pete sat there holding Maddie trying to get her to calm down he caught his cell phone out of the corner of his eye. "Shit! Steve…" he mumbled reaching for the phone and putting it to his ear. "Uh...everything's fine. Don't worry. See you later." And with that he hung up. _Yeah, that's not going to freak him out or anything_, he thought. _Well, at least we know he'll be back as soon as he listens to that message._

Pete sat there holding a gasping, sobbing Maddie for about 45 minutes before she'd calmed down. Pulling back from her he said, "Shorty you need your rest. You've got a big week coming up. Wanna try and go back to sleep?"

Just the thought terrified her so much she began gasping for air again as she violently shook her head causing pain. "Okay, okay. No sleeping. What do you wanna do? Watch TV?"

Maddie nodded. Pete reached for the remote on the nightstand and hit a couple buttons. A flat screen TV appeared out of a cabinet type thing that was attached to the bottom of her bed. However, the way it was built made it look like it was just part of her bed. They sat and watched TV with her pulled tightly against him as tears continued to stream down her face. _Great, where is Steve when you need him_, he thought. It's not that he didn't mind hanging with Maddie, he just hated to see her so upset. She was like a little sister to him and as much as he wished he could make her feel better right now he knew the only person who could calm her down was Steve.

* * *

><p>The bar was incredibly loud and after two hours of being there it was getting old. Not the company, just the inability to hear one's thoughts let alone what the other person was saying. "I'm over the volume in here…do you wanna get out of here and maybe come over to my place for a drink? We can actually talk then."<p>

Looking at his watch he saw it was about 10:40pm. _I really want to get back to Maddie, but…she told me to go out and have fun. That what happened between us didn't mean anything. So…why not?_ He thought, just remembering what she said upset him. Made him want to get back at her. Why? He wasn't sure. "Sure, that sounds great! Although I can't be there too long," he told Lori.

Standing he grabbed Lori's sweater, helping her into it before taking her hand and leading them outside. "I'll follow you there, okay?" he said.

"I actually walked. My place is only a couple minutes from here," she told him.

"Oh! Well then, hop in," Steve smiled at her as he held open the passenger door to his truck. Once she was inside he closed the door behind her and jumped in the driver's seat. He was too busy following Lori's directions that he didn't notice the car four vehicles behind following him.

Pulling up to her place he parked and got out. Eyeing the condo and the surrounding neighborhood Steve commented, "Nice place!"

"Thanks! I like it! It's close to headquarters and there are a ton of cool restaurants and bars within walking distance," Lori explained as she unlocked her front door. As Steve followed her inside she turned, smiling broadly at him, "Welcome to my home!"

Glancing around he noticed the modern way it was decorated. It was put together well, just didn't feel very comfortable. Not like his place. And definitely not like Maddie's. He didn't feel he could lay on her sofa and snuggle with her. It seemed hard and uncomfortable. Looking around the condo he thought, _this is kind of a turn off….I miss Maddie. I want to go home to her. I wonder what she's doing right now? Hopefully sleeping, but knowing her she's not._

"Do you want a beer or anything to drink?" Lori interrupted his thoughts.

"Um…sure I'll take a beer."

"Great! I'll be right back! Feel free to make yourself at home," she mentioned as she walked down a hall and out of sight, he assumed to the kitchen.

"Yeah, make myself at home…right," Steve mumbled under his breath as he glared at the uncomfortable looking red couch. Not wanting to be rude he sat on it and immediately missed Maddie's couch. It felt as if he was sitting on a cement slab. _Who would pay money for something like this,_ he wondered.

"Here you go!" Lori announced handing him his beer as she sat next to him. A little too close to him.

"Thanks!"

"So, it was so hard to hear over the crowd. I wanted to see how your friend is. Everything okay?" Lori asked trying to sound as genuine as possible. In reality, she wanted to find out as much as she could about the two of them. Make sure Maddie was no competition for her.

"Um…she's alright. I mean she'll be fine…just not quite there yet. She just has a bad concussion. I mean it could've been worse. But yeah…thanks for asking," Steve awkwardly said feeling strange talking about Maddie to Lori. It wasn't just because he'd been on top of her making out with her hours before. Because of who Maddie was people were always curious about her. The public wanted to know anything and everything about her. He was overprotective of her before she became a huge star, but he only got more so as the years went by. That was one of the reasons he didn't tell people he knew her let alone was so close to her. Not until he knew they could be trusted. He didn't want just anybody around her.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Lori asked.

"Not right now I don't think, but I'll definitely let you know if anything comes up. Thanks Lori!"

"If she ever wants a girl friend to hang out with, I'd be more than happy to get together. You can never have enough girl friends," she smiled.

"I imagine that's the case, however I wouldn't know," Steve joked.

As Steve set his beer down on her strange shaped glass coffee table he suddenly realized Lori had gotten very close to him. _When did that happen? And how did I not notice?_ He wondered. _Because although you promised you wouldn't think about her tonight, you're mind is all about Maddie. You're distracted_, he told himself.

Now that his hands were free she leaned into him, "You are such an amazing friend Steve. You're a great guy!" With that said she bent forward and kissed him. He wasn't really sure what he wanted to do, so he went with it for a minute, kissing her back however he never used his tongue even when she tried to get him to. Her hands were all over him where as his stayed on her upper back.

As they kissed Lori straddled Steve's lap and began to grind into him. He tried getting into it, but he just wasn't up for this, even with Maddie's words still echoing in his head, 'It didn't mean anything'. _I should have no problem doing this! Especially because of what she said! What the hell is going on with me?_ he wondered to himself. Steve was too busy thinking to notice the guy outside taking pictures of him through the window as he suddenly remembered the look Danny and Maddie shared right before Danny left. Realization suddenly hit him. He stopped kissing Lori. "Everything okay Steve?" she asked.

"Yeah…can I use your restroom?" he asked.

"Of course!" Lori answered. "It's the 2nd door on your left," she instructed pointing down the hall.

"Thanks!" As soon as Steve entered the restroom he pulled his phone out and called Danny, not bothering to look at the display.

"Hello sunshine!" Danny greeted.

"Danny, I need to ask you a question.'

"What? No hi? Hello? How are you?" Danny joked.

"HI!" he growled. "Anyway, back to my question," Steve responded.

"What is it?"

"Did you say anything to Maddie about me talking to Lori on the phone? I mean did she know where I was?"

Thinking back to their conversation, he answered, "Yeah."

"What happened? What did you tell her? What did she say?"

"Just…," Danny thought back to earlier that evening. "Well, Maddie woke up upset and,"

Steve immediately interrupted. "Why? What happened?"

"She asked me not to tell you."

"Spit it out Danno," Steve barked anxious.

"She had a nightmare. She was crying and moving around a lot. She was begging someone not to hurt someone else. She said, 'I'll listen to you, just leave him alone.'"

"Then what happened?"

"She woke up terrified. I mean it was all very real to her. She was confused. Maddie looked for you and when she didn't see you she panicked. It was like she thought something had happened to you."

"Did she say anything to you about what happened in the nightmare?" Steve asked, not liking what he was hearing at all.

"Yeah…she said "he was hurting him." And I asked her, 'Who was hurting him? Hurting Steve?' and she nodded. You were being hurt in the nightmare. She was begging someone to leave you alone."

Sighing he closed his eyes. "Yeah, I had a feeling. So then what happened? You told her where I was?"

Danny thought back to the conversation with Maddie, "Yeah, she asked me where you were and I said you were on the phone talking to Lori."

"This is important Danny. What was her reaction?" Steve asked closing his eyes hoping he was right because it would explain a lot and he'd be able to fix things with her.

Closing his eyes Danny tried to picture Maddie's face. Remembering he answered his partner, "She kind of looked as if I told her you were on the phone with your girlfriend."

Breathing out a sigh of relief, Steve shook his head a small smile on his face. "Thank you Danny!"

"Did I help you out? Was that the answer you were looking for?"

"Yes. It was. I gotta go! See you tomorrow!" And with that Steve hung up the phone, flushed the toilet and let the sink run for a second. He wanted Lori to believe he had actually used the bathroom. Sliding his phone in his pocket he didn't notice the missed calls or voicemails from Pete.

Now understanding why Maddie had pulled away from him physically and emotionally when she found out he was meeting Lori, he felt less upset and just wanted to get home to her. He had to clear the air. Walking into the living room where Lori sat on the couch waiting for him he apologized for taking so long.

"No problem!" she smiled as he sat down next to her. "Where were we?" she whispered as she began to kiss his neck._ If I wasn't in the mood before, I'm definitely not now_, he thought as he pulled away. "Ya know, I am so exhausted. I haven't gotten much sleep. Because of Maddie's concussion I've had to wake her up every 30 minutes, which means I'm up every 30 minutes. Would it be okay if we picked this up another time?" he explained.

Disappointed, but not wanting to make a big deal out of it because she could tell he really was tired, Lori said, "Of course! I can't even imagine how tired you must be! Yes, we can definitely pick this up another time! Just let me know when."

"Great! Thank you for understanding, Lori!" Steve smiled at her as he walked to the door. She followed him and he reached down and gave her a hug. However her stomach sunk as she noticed it wasn't the same kind he'd given her the other night when they went out. This was more of a 'just friends' hug. She waited to see if he'd kiss her like he did the other night too, but he didn't. _Damn it!_ she thought. _There is something going on between that slut and him_!

As he walked down the path to his car he glanced at his watch: 11:20pm. He would be home before midnight.

* * *

><p>At 10:30pm Pete still sat with Maddie in his arms on her bed as they watched TV. Although they'd been sitting that way for almost an hour tears still coursed down her face. Worrying about becoming even more dehydrated than she already was he said, "I'll be right back." Maddie's eyes bulged a little and her grip tightened on him, but she eventually let go. "Seriously, right back," he assured her.<p>

Just as he left the room, she heard her cell phone chime letting her know she had a new text message. Reaching for the object off her nightstand she glanced at it, immediately feeling sick. On the screen was a picture of Lori straddling Steve as they kissed. The message "You should have listened to me. I'm only protecting you!" written below. Feeling the nausea return she got off the bed and limped to the restroom making it in time to throw up for the 4th time since Steve left.

Knowing it had to be from the creeper who'd been threatening her, Maddie's mind began to run a million miles an hour. _Why did he text me to my real phone? He's never done that before. He only ever contacts me on the phone he left me. The pre-paid cell. What the hell is going on? _she wondered. Suddenly the reality of the situation hit her_. If he took that picture, then he's here in Hawaii. Is he going after Steve right now? _"Steve…" she cried as she began to panic. Everything suddenly became so real to her. This creep was never going away. He was never going to let them be together as friends. She didn't know if she could handle that. Before she figured it was just going to be for a while. That he'd lose interest or whatever, but it all began to sink in. _I can't live without Steve. Not forever! For a few months, okay. But not forever. I love him_, she froze at the realization. She loved him. Better yet, she was in love with him. "Oh no," Maddie groaned as she vomited a 5th time. He was with someone else and this creep was going to make sure they would never be together. It was becoming more and more difficult to breath as she panicked. She looked at the photo again, and her heart broke. _Two hours after kissing me, he's already with someone else? Way to go, Maddie! You are obviously only a friend to him! That's all I'm ever going to be to him, _she sobbed. _Even if he wanted to, it can't happen for his safety. _Feeling as if her world was closing in around her she began pacing her bathroom, sobbing and trying to get air in, her cell phone clutched in her hand.

As Pete walked into her room, toast and a 7up in hand, he heard the hysterical sobs coming from her bathroom. Finding her beside herself as she hobbled around the bathroom looking a bit crazy he asked, "Maddie? What happened?"

She couldn't answer him. She had to keep it a secret to keep Steve safe, but if she kept it a secret forever she'd lose him. No matter what, she was going to lose him. A realization that made her cry harder, if that was even possible. Picking Maddie up he put her back on the bed and climbed up there with her. He tried to get her to calm down, but she was just becoming more upset by the second. She grabbed her throbbing head, the sobbing making it worse, as she kept trying to get air in her lungs.

After trying to calm her down for 15 minutes with absolutely no luck, he decided he better call for some help. Grabbing his phone Pete called Steve hoping and praying he would answer this time. "Damn it! Voicemail!" This caused Maddie to cry harder knowing the reason Steve wasn't answering was because he was probably having sex with Lori..._or dead_, she thought gasping for air. "Hi you've reached Lieutenant Commander Steven McGarrett, head of the Five-0 task force. Please leave your name, number, and a brief message and I'll get back to you as soon as possible. Thank you."

"Hey Steve! Um…come back as soon as possible. I just, uh…hurry up," Pete said loudly having to talk over Maddie's sobbing and hyperventilating. Seeing Maddie's breathing become even more labored he did what he felt he had to. Dialing the local number he waited for her to answer.

"Hello?"

"Malia?" Pete asked.

"Yes! Pete is that you? Is that Maddie in the background?" she asked incredibly concerned.

"Yes, I was hoping you could come help me. I can't get her to calm down. She's been crying for hours."

"We are on our way! See you soon! Bye!" She hung up quickly.

"Everything's going to be fine! Malia's on her way over…Just try and relax. Take a deep breath in," Pete coaxed, wanting to cry himself because he felt so bad and wished he could help her.

Steve climbed in his truck anxious to get back home. _Funny how I refer to her house as home_, he thought. Checking the time again, he glanced at his watch. Thinking about how long he'd been gone he suddenly realized that it was odd he hadn't heard from Pete at least once during that time. He'd promised after all to update him in some way. Grabbing his phone he looked at it. "Crap!" Steve growled. "I must not have been able to hear my phone in the bar!" Pressing play on the first message he listened. "Hey McG! I'm just calling to give you an update…She got sick again shortly after you left. And I heard her again about 20 minutes ago," _Damn it! I'm worried about h er vomiting. I need to get food in her_, he thought. The message continued, "She's now in bed asleep. I'll wake her in 45 minu…What the hell?" Steve's eyes bulged out and his blood ran cold at the sounds that came next. Flipping on the siren on his truck he put the petal to the metal. When the message was done he listened to the next one asking him to come home as soon as possible with Maddie hysterical in the background.

"Oh my God! What the hell is going on back home?" he wondered. He was so worried that he thought he might actually be sick. All he could think of was Maddie.

What should have been a 20-minute drive to her house ended up only taking him 10 minutes. As he came squealing to a halt in her driveway he noticed Malia's car already there. Barely getting the car in drive before he got out of it, he ran into the house.

* * *

><p>Chin and Malia had arrived 20 minutes after hanging up with Pete. As soon as they pulled into the driveway they rushed in the house. Hearing Maddie's sobbing immediately they rushed up to her bedroom.<p>

"Hey Maddie!" Malia greeted hustling over to her bed and sitting up on it. The first thing she needed to do was get her to calm down even just a little bit for her breathing. She was barely getting oxygen. "What happened? Did you hurt yourself? Are you crying out of pain?"

Maddie's only answer was a shake of the head.

"Are you in any pain?" she asked reaching into her bag, grabbing a blood pressure cuff.

Nodding, Maddie held her head.

"That's from your crying and the lack of oxygen you're getting. Just try and take a deep breath," Malia instructed as she attached the cuff to Maddie's arm and began taking her blood pressure while at the same time she used her stethoscope to take her pulse.

"Maddie!" Steve yelled from the bottom of the stairs. He came barreling in her room, rushing to her left the opposite of where Malia was. "Hey, hey. What's going on?" he asked climbing on the bed. His heart broke at the sight of her. Her lips were shriveled up and dry, not to mention tinted blue at the lack of oxygen she was getting. Her face splotchy from crying for so long. Her voice was even more hoarse than it had been all day, something he didn't think was possible. All Steve wanted to do was pull her to him, but Malia was taking her blood pressure and pulse.

Finished with her tests, she looked at the results. "Woah..." Malia expressed. "We have got to get these down. Both are wayyyy too high."

Steve didn't like this. "Baby…what is it? Come on now…just breath. You are so safe…We are all here. Nothing's going to happen," he assured her as he reached out, brushing some hair from her face. As his hand made contact with her skin she pulled away from him.

Steve's heart crumbled. "Maddie?" he whispered eye brows furrowed. Maddie closed her eyes, unable to look at his heartbroken face.

_I don't want him here, but I do. I can't believe he was with Lori right after we made out. Damn it! Why did I have to realize I love him? I can't let anything happen to him_, she thought, her mind jumping all over the place. In reality, all she wanted was for him to hold her and tell her everything was going to be okay.

Steve looked over at Malia for help. "What do we do?"

"First thing we have to do is try and get her to take some deep breaths. Here hold this over her nose and mouth," Malia said handing Steve an oxygen mask. Immediately grabbing it from her he held it over Maddie's nose and mouth.

"Shhh…you're okay. Everything's fine! Take a deep breath. I'm right here." She wasn't really calming down in fact she was actually fighting Steve a little bit. Seeing her squeezing her cell phone in her left hand he said, "Here, let's put that over here. You don't need it right now. I don't want you hurting your cuts." He pulled it from her hand however she put up a big fight.

Pushing the mask off her face Maddie reached towards Steve, "NO!...don't….mine….give…it…back…" she gasped for air in between each word.

Realizing something was off, Steve backed off the bed still holding the cell phone as he stared between Maddie and the object. Feeling bad about invading her privacy he unlocked the iPhone, her password easy for him to guess. The picture immediately popped up, however he didn't get a good look at it as he heard Maddie's breathing worsen, distracting him from it.

"Steve! Stop!" she gasped jumping off the bed and barreling into him. The hand holding the phone shot in the air where she couldn't reach it. She briefly grabbed her head, having moved too fast, however she didn't care. She had to get that phone. Maddie jumped up trying to grab her phone, which he held in the air, but nearly fell as her weight came down on her cut up and sore foot. She cried out in pain. Steve used his other arm to catch her and pull her to him. Knowing he had to get Maddie to calm down before he could even think about what was on that phone he looked across the room catching his coworker's eye. "Chin! Catch!" he called as he tossed the phone to him. Catching it, Chin put it in his pocket. There had to be a good reason for Steve to invade her privacy like this, but without knowing what it was he wasn't going to look at the phone. He'd let Steve do that.

"No! Stop!" Maddie sobbed trying to pull away from Steve and go to Chin however he was too strong and wouldn't let her go.

"Maddie, calm down…Please…" Steve whispered, his mouth touching her right ear sending shivers down her body.

Knowing Maddie wouldn't let it go as long as she could see Chin he motioned towards the door. "I'll just leave you guys up here," Chin announced catching on.

Realizing at this point there was nothing she could do, Maddie stopped fighting against Steve. _He has my phone, which means he'll see the message, _she thought, worried over what would happen. Would her stalker find out? She stopped fighting him as she felt him lift her up and place her back on her bed. As soon as he set her down Steve grabbed the oxygen mask and held it to her face. While he held it there she just stared at him, eyes wild and terrified as she cried and gasped for air.

_What the hell happened while I was gone?_ He wondered. _Something is NOT right here! _He sat on the edge of the bed holding the oxygen mask to Maddie's face, while tucking hair behind her ears that was stuck to her tear streaked face. "You're okay Mads….just breath. Shh…. You're okay, baby. Everything's fine…" The traumatic look on her face was breaking his heart. All he wanted to do was fix whatever was wrong, but how could he do that if she wouldn't tell him what it was? _There's a clue on that phone_, he thought. _There was a photo on the screen. I wonder if that was what it was. I didn't get a chance to really see it. I'll look at it later, once I get her calmed down. But at least she's not fighting or pulling away from me anymore._

"Is there anything you can do to help calm her down?" Steve asked looking over at Malia while still holding the mask to Maddie's face. Seeing her like this was destroying him. Malia was busying herself with the IV on Maddie's arm. Malia looked up at Steve. "Yeah."

"What about all the throwing up?" Steve asked her.

"I think most of that is emotional. At least when she has tonight. At this point I have to make a judgement call. Not give her any medication because of her concussion and let her keep freaking out and get no sleep. Or give her some so she can calm down and get some sleep.

"Shh…baby. Breath...you're freaking me out," he whispered to Maddie who reached out and grabbed onto Steve's forearm of the hand not holding the mask. Staring down in confusion, he looked back up at her. "I'm not going anywhere. I'm staying right here with you," he told her shaking his head. Her grip loosened but her hands still stayed there. Turning back to Malia, Steve asked, "Why wouldn't you give her medication because of her concussion?"

"We generally don't give any medication that alters consciousness to someone who's had a head trauma. But there are time we will," she answered.

"So what are you going to do?"

"She was alert with you before you left, right?"

Thinking back to the movie theater he couldn't help the smirk that briefly appeared on his face. However as soon as it appeared, it was gone. Malia might not have caught it, but Pete did. "Yeah, she was. Still in pain, but alert."

"And has she been alert the last couple hours?" Malia asked, turning to the bottom of the bed where Pete sat.

"Yeah, she was," he answered.

"Great!" She reached into her bag and grabbed a little vial. Using a new syringe she measured a dose out and stuck it in Maddie's IV. "This should help."

"You're sure she'll be okay? With the concussion and everything? I don't know if you know this, but she's sensitive to medication. I mean you give her half a vicodin and she's loopy."

"I know. She'll be okay Steve. No need to worry," she smiled at him. _He is so in love with her_, she thought. "We need to calm her down. Her pulse is racing and her blood pressure is through the roof. I wouldn't do this if I thought it would harm her," Malia told him as she pushed the syringe into her IV depositing the medication in it. Maddie cringed as the liquid went into her veins. "Sorry Mads, I should have warned you that it burns for a second."

Steve kept his eyes glued to Maddie, watching to see if it worked. "Everything's going to be fine, baby. Just breathe." Suddenly Maddie's eyes fluttered closed only to open up slowly. She stared at him with half open eyes as he watched her face and body relax. He even felt her hands that were still holding his forearm relax. Steve smiled at her, "There it is, " he chuckled, leaning in and kissing her forehead.

As Steve continued to watch a sobbing Maddie, waiting for the medication to help calm her down, Malia hooked a new bag of saline to her IV.

"Can you hold this for a second?" Steve asked Malia when she was done.

"Sure!" she replied as she held the mask to Maddie.

As Steve started to get off the bed Maddie gripped his arm tighter. "It's okay Mads. I'm not going anywhere. I just want to get on the bed more. Let go for just a second." Seeing she wasn't letting go he tried again, "I promise." Reluctantly Maddie released his arm. Quickly Steve pulled his shoes off and then slid up next to Maddie placing his right arm around her back as he pulled her against him. "Can you hand me that blanket at the bottom of the bed?" he asked Pete.

"Sure," Pete grabbed the big heavy blanket she kept at the foot of her bed. One side was cream colored fuzz while the other side was pale blue knit. Not only did it match the master suite perfectly, but it was nice and warm. Handing one side to Steve, Pete helped lay it on the two of them.

"Ok, I can take it," Steve said to Malia as he took over holding the mask on her face with his right hand, the one that was wrapped behind her back. This kept his left hand free. Maddie got comfortable against Steve. He immediately felt her begin to calm down. Under the blanket he grabbed for her hand and laced their fingers together. "Told you I wasn't going anywhere," Steve whispered to Maddie as he kissed the top of her head causing her to snuggle closer to him.

Malia noticed that Maddie had seemed to have calmed down a bit. Sure she was still crying but not so uncontrollably and yes, she was still hyperventilating, but it was more from the crying rather than from panicking. Wanting to know if she had actually calmed down or if she was just hiding it better, she wrapped the blood pressure cuff around Maddie's arm and began taking her blood pressure.

Once Malia was done, Steve asked, "Any better?"

"A little bit, still pretty high though," she answered looking at Maddie. "Look," Malia pointed to her. "I think she's asleep, looks like the valium did it's job."

"Yeah, sort of. She's not quite asleep yet thought," Steve answered. At Malia and Pete's furrowed brows, he smiled, "You'll see."

After a couple minutes Steve felt her breathing even out and her body sagged into him more. Carefully pulling the mask away from her face he handed it to Malia. "She's asleep. Watch." He moved the teensiest bit and Maddie clung to him. He immediately stopped and watched as she moved her head around on his chest. Once she was comfortable he smiled as she made little sighing noises ending with two soft sort of clicking noises in her throat.

"Is that what that is? She does that on the bus or in the car sometimes when we're driving?" Pete asked laughing.

Steve smiled. He'd always loved her sleeping noises. "Yeah. She's done it ever since I've known her. She does it at 2 different times. When she's comfortable or when she's mad, like when someone or something's waking her up."

Malia shook her head slightly as she grinned. _Yeah, men don't notice things like that about people in their lives unless their head over heels for them. He's hopeless, _she thought. _If only he'd figure it out! They're perfect for one another!_

"Are you sure she's asleep McG? She's still crying," Pete asked.

"Yeah, she's asleep. I don't know about the tears, but she's definitely asleep," Steve answered watching tears fall down Maddie's face. He hated seeing her like this. It broke his heart. In fact, he'd never seen her like this before. He'd never seen her cry this hard. And he'd definitely never seen her hyperventilate, even a small amount. The amount of crying she'd done in front of him in the last 24 hours was more than he'd seen her do in 10 years, telling him something wasn't right. That reminded him of the phone. "Hey, let's get Chin back in here. I want that phone."

Pete left calling down to Chin. A minute later they both walked into Maddie's room. Seeing Maddie asleep against Steve, Chin sighed smiling. "Thank God! She okay? What happened?"

Steve had wanted to wait and ask Pete when he wasn't with Maddie, but he didn't think he'd be leaving her anytime soon, even if she wanted him to. At least she was asleep, which made him feel less weird about asking in front of her. "Yeah, what happened? I mean she was upset at me when I left, but she wasn't like this."

Pete shrugged his shoulders. "Everything was fine until she fell asleep. I called you to give you an update and the next thing I know she's screaming. I mean, screaming!"

Closing his eyes briefly as he remembered the message and the sound of Maddie screaming, he said, "Yeah, I know."

Noticing how upset Steve got at the memory of hearing her scream on the message, he said nothing more about it and continued, "Like I told you on the phone the other day, there's been times where she wakes me up screaming on the bus. Anyway, when I came up here she was no longer screaming, but instead couldn't breathe. It's like whatever was happening to her in the nightmare, she was actually experiencing it. It was so scary. She was turning blue. To be honest, I thought I was going to have to give her CPR. Because of a dream! What the hell? Anyway, I finally got her to wake up. It took a long time to calm her down. And even then she never stopped crying."

"If she calmed down, what happened to make her so upset?" Malia asked.

"I don't know. We sat and watched TV for 45 minutes or so. I tried to get her to go back to sleep but she refused. She was afraid to. I was getting worried about her becoming more dehydrated from crying so much, so I ran downstairs to grab that," he pointed to the abandoned toast and 7up. "When I came upstairs she was in her bathroom hysterical, hobbling about as she paced. What happened in those couple minutes…I don't know."

"When you came upstairs and saw her in the bathroom, did she have her phone in her hand?" Chin asked.

Thinking back, Pete paused before answering. "Yeah."

"Let me see it," Steve said to Chin. Carefully letting go of Maddie's hand under the blankets he brought his out and took the phone from Chin. "Thanks." Although asleep, Maddie definitely noticed the loss in contact with Steve. She cuddle closer to him wrapper injured left hand in his shirt, while her right hand laid on his lower stomach. Feeling her press her little hiccuping body against his caused his insides to warm. _I love how she's such a snuggle bug! The feel of her in my arms where I know she's safe!_ he thought.

Chin stood next to Steve as he waited for him to unlock it. Taking a deep breath, Steve typed the password in. The phone came to life, the picture appearing. "What the?" Steve brought the phone closer to his face. Seeing Lori straddled on him as they kissed, his cheeks reddened out of embarrassment and anger.

"Woah…is that? Seriously?" Chin exclaimed looking at the photo. "So if that upset her…what do you think that means McGarrett?" He pointedly asked him, obviously pissed. "We warned you to be careful."

"Wait, I know Maddie…this wouldn't make her fall apart like this. Plus, who the hell took it and sent it to her?" Steve asked ignoring Chin's questions and assumptions.

"If she was in love with you it would," Chin retorted, shaking his head in irritation.

Wanting to see what the two were arguing about, Pete walked over and glanced at the picture. "Come on McG! You seriously did that? After what happened with Maddie today?"

"What happened with Maddie today?" Chin asked.

Malia thought it was better if she just kept quiet, but she was enjoying listening to the guys give Steve love advice. It was like they suddenly were a group of girls. _If only Danny was here_, she thought smiling.

_How does he know something happened with us?_ Steve wondered. "Nothing. Can we please focus on the matter at hand?"

"I know you're private about things like this, but I think if you want to figure out what's going on you're gonna have to get over it. I mean, it's not just why this was sent to her, but why is it a picture of you and Lori?" Chin tried to reason with him. "So, Steve, what happened with Maddie today?"

Sighing, Steve knew his coworker and friend was right, as much as he wished he wasn't. Looking down at Maddie, he watched her sleep, tears still running down her face, breaking his heart. He turned to Chin and Pete. "Fine, we kissed. No big deal."

"Steven, Steven, Steven," came Danny's voice as he walked through the door. "Just one kiss?"

Chin and Pete stifled back their laughter as Steve rolled his eyes. "Okay who called Danny?"

The room became silent as Steve glanced around. "Sorry bra. I did. When I was downstairs. I filled him in. I mean figuring out what's going on…that's all of us. We're a team. I would've called Kono, but she's on a date. I'll fill her in tomorrow."

"So back to the kissing. What was it Steve?" Danny got back to the topic at hand.

If he hadn't been holding Maddie he would have walked away, but Chin was right he had to be honest. Shaking his head he answered his partner. "We…made out," he mumbled through clenched teeth.

The three men along with Malia smiled. "Took you long enough Steve!" Malia joined in causing the guys to erupt in laughter as they tried to high five Steve who refused. Maddie stirred at the noise causing them to freeze as Steve glared at them.

"Sorry," they mumbled.

"So was it just the picture? Or was there a message with it?" Chin asked.

"What picture? Message? Ok, what'd I miss?" Danny questioned. Chin handed him the phone. Looking at the picture he said nothing. Walking over to Steve he smacked him in the back of the head.

"What the hell Danno?" Steve growled rubbing the back of his head. "You're lucky I'm holding Maddie! You'd be on the way to the hospital! What is wrong with you?"

"NO! What is wrong with you? You're gonna mess things up with her," Danny pointed to Maddie. "That is if you didn't already. I mean, she already saw the picture and it obviously upset her. And I told you not to call me that!"

"I know Maddie. She wasn't upset by the picture. It was something else about it. I just don't know what," Steve tried to convince them, however even he wasn't buying it. _Was she upset I was kissing Lori? _he wondered, slightly hoping she was.

"Answer me this. How did she react when you got here? Was she happy to see you?"

Steve froze. _Crap! _he thought. "She pulled away when I tried to touch her."

"Yeah…," Danny replied shaking his head. "Seriously Steve, what were you thinking?"

Mad at the fact that Danny was giving him a lecture, and worried that he was in fact right, Steve snapped at him. "You weren't here. You have no idea what you're talking about!"

"So explain it to me! I mean why would you go out with Lori anyway? I mean, do you wanna screw things up with Maddie?"

"Maddie told me to go! I tried to argue with her, but she wouldn't have it!"

"Steven, Steven, Steven…she was ly-ing!" Danny told him, his voice rising as he broke up the word 'lying' as if he was speaking to an idiot.

Steve rolled his eyes. "How would you know?" he scoffed.

Danny, Pete, and Chin looked at a quiet Malia. "I don't want to get in the middle of this. Maddie's a good friend!" she told them.

"All the better!" Danny replied. "So, was she lying?"

Malia bit her lip before looking directly at Steve. "Sorry Steve…yeah, she was lying. In a situation like that girls don't want to have to ask you to stay. They want you to stay because you want to."

"I did want to! I told her that!"

"I'm sure she thought you were just saying that,"

"I wasn't…" Steve paused. "But anyway, it doesn't matter…she said it didn't mean anything. So I know she wasn't upset by the photo." This statement earned him another smack on the back of the hand from Danny. "Seriously. Don't do that again!" Steve growled, his eyes flashing with anger.

"Steve…" Malia said from her spot on the right side of the bed. Turning to look at her, Malia continued. "She was lying."

Steve's heart dropped as he unconsciously pulled Maddie closer. "You sure?" he asked voice quiet.

"Yeah, I'm sure."

The room was silent for a minute as they let this information sink in with Steve. Finally he sighed and said, "Can I have the phone?" Danny handed it to him. Unlocking the screen again the picture popped up. Going back to the actual text message screen he saw that it came from a number not saved in her phone. As his eyes scanned the screen he froze. Suddenly the room felt very small and he pulled at his collar.

Noticing the change in demeanor, Pete said, "McG? What is it?"

Clearing his throat, Steve read the message, "You should have listened to me! I'm only protecting you!"

All eyes grew wide as he read the message. "Looks like she's got another stalker," Chin said referring to the one she had years earlier, right before Pete was hired on.

Steve was so furious he couldn't say anything. He was mad at whoever was bothering Maddie, but he was also upset with Maddie for not coming to him with this. _I mean how long has this been going on?_ he wondered. "Damn it…." Steve whispered. "Damn it," he said louder. "Damn it!" he shouted as he prepared to throw the phone, however Danny grabbed it from him before he could.

At the yelling Maddie began making her noises. Looking as if she might wake up Danny spoke, "I'm gonna head home, get some rest. But we'll get to the bottom of this Steve. I promise."

"Thanks," he muttered.

"I'm gonna head to bed, unless you need my help with anything," Pete told him.

"No, I'm fine. Good night." Just as Pete was about to walk out the door, Steve called to him, "Actually, my bag is in my room next door. Would you mind grabbing it for me?" Nodding, Pete walked out.

"We are actually going to stay here tonight. Just in case," Malia informed him. "Any particular room we should use?"

His mind running a million miles an hour he softly said, "No. Anywhere is good. Thanks for coming."

"No problem! I'll come and check on her in a few hours. Night!" Malia left the room to go grab their overnight bag.

Chin stayed behind for a minute. "Steve…everything will be fine. At least you have some sort of idea about what's going on now. The faster we find this creep, the sooner she'll get back to normal."

"Yeah, I know," Steve mumbled.

"And in regards to the other stuff…just talk to her. Explain. She's always been very rational."

Steve nodded before saying, "Good night Chin. Thanks for everything."

Now that it was just the two of them in the room he pulled her tighter against himself, laying his head on top of hers. "Maddie…why didn't you just tell me what was going on?"

After sitting like that a few minutes Steve decided he better actually get her in the bed. Plus, he wanted to change out of his jeans and polo shirt. Carefully detangling himself from Maddie, he stood up, gently laying her head on the pillow as he did.

Changing quickly he went into the bathroom to brush his teeth. Just as he was finishing up he heard soft crying. Flipping the light off he walked into her bedroom to see her moving around in her sleep while crying. "I bet it's another nightmare," he whispered.

Not wanting it to get to the point that it did earlier, he climbed on the bed. Lying on his stomach, weight on his elbows and his head near hers, he gently shook her. "Maddie? Baby…wake up."

He brushed hair to the side of her face as she opened her beautiful blue eyes. He could tell by looking at her that she was loopy from the Valium Malia had given her. He smiled at her as he brushed some tears from her face since she still hadn't stopped crying from earlier. "Hey you…"

Watching him for a minute, she finally greeted him back, a slight slur to her voice. "Hi."

"Don't cry baby…" he told her, his bottom lip pushed out in a sad face.

She smiled a little bit. "Sorry I ruined your date. That you came home early because I freaked out."

_She's so cute when she slurs like that_, he thought referring to the way the Valium was making her talk. Unable to wipe the cute smile still plastered on his face he played with her hair, "No! You didn't ruin anything! I was already on my way home to come see you. I missed you too much."

He chuckled a bit as she blushed at his comment, averting her eyes. Suddenly serious Steve said, "Mads, I shouldn't have gone in the first place. I'm sorry."

Turning back to him she said, "It was fine Steve. You should be able to go out with your girlfriend any time. I mean, she's your girlfriend."

"I knew it!" he cried, causing her to look at him in confusion. Wanting to clear the misunderstanding up immediately Steve began, "I figured out why you were upset earlier. Of course I should've picked up on it immediately. Maddie, she's not my girlfriend. I went out to dinner with her the other night as friends. I gave her a small kiss goodnight and told her we should do it again sometime. Then I met her for a drink tonight. That's all it was."

"Steve, you don't owe me any explanation. It's your love life," Maddie told him, however inside she couldn't be happier they weren't together. _It still doesn't explain why he was all over her tonight. That's not just friends. I mean I saw the photo, _she thought.

"Maddie, don't. Don't push me away. Don't put your walls up. You don't have to protect yourself. Not from me…Not ever..." Pausing he continued. "Anyway, my point is she is NOT my girlfriend…so, you didn't help me cheat on anyone today."

She looked away from him. _He did figure it out. At least part of it. I mean that's all I thought was bothering me at the time…before I realized I'm in love with him_, she told herself. "Look at me Madeline," he said. The use of her full first name made her turn to him. "I had no idea you thought she was my girlfriend. Plus, I can't believe you thought I'd cheat on someone! Let alone have you involved in it! I know how you feel about that, where you stand."

"Sorry…" she mumbled, unsure of what else to say.

They laid there staring at one another. Steve fought the urge to kiss her and found himself wondering if she was thinking the same. "Can I ask you something?"

"Hm?"

"Earlier you told me to go. To go out with Lori. Did you really want me to leave?"

Maddie debated telling him the truth or not. Finally deciding how to answer him she said, "No,"

"Crap…I screwed up. You know I didn't want to leave. I wanted to stay with you. If I had stayed you wouldn't have had such a rough night."

"You don't know that."

Steve's heart was pounding as he prepared himself to ask her the next question. "Did you really mean it when you told me it meant nothing to you?"

Maddie paused wiping the tears that were till occasionally falling. _Should I tell him the truth? _She wondered. Had she not been given a big dose of Valium she would have lied to him. "No," she slurred slightly.

Steve let out a breath he didn't even realize he was holding. "Would you be telling me the truth if you weren't all loopy and drugged?"

Maddie shook her head, "Probably not."

"Why'd you lie?" he asked.

"Ummmm…." she began. "A few reasons."

"Like what?" Steve questioned.

"Does it matter? You know the truth."

"Does it matter? What kind of question is that? Of course it does! Seriously Maddie?" he scoffed.

"Well, I'm not gonna tell you," she told him staring directly into his eyes, not realizing he had been moving closer and closer as they spoke.

"Seriously?" he was suddenly very close to her.

"A girl's gotta have some secrets…" Maddie whispered.

"I think I know one we can have together…" he mumbled right before he pressed his lips to hers. She sighed as they kissed. _I love kissing her_, he thought as he touched his tongue to her lips. She obliged and opened her mouth. Earlier when they had kissed it had been slow, unsure. This time it was still unsure, but more urgent. He slid on top of her and lightly thrust against her causing her to moan. Steve smiled at the sound he'd elicited from her and began tracing kisses down her chin then to her neck. Meanwhile she'd opened her legs so the bottom half of his body could lay there. He continued to thrust against her each time supplying more pressure as her hands found their way under his shirt and they rubbed his back. "Mads?" he asked in between kisses on her neck.

"Hmmm?" she moaned, loving the feeling of his scruff against her skin.

"Why haven't we ever done this before now?" he murmured making his way back up to her lips. He kissed them.

Suddenly the reasons why they shouldn't be doing this popped into her mind. _Maddie, pull away. This is too dangerous,_ she told herself. _That was proven tonight. He's here in Hawaii._ Maddie's eyes flew open as she turned her face to the side, his lips meeting her cheek instead of her mouth. "Maddie?" Steve asked, his heart pounding. "You okay? What's wrong?"

"I'm fine…" she mumbled.

"Look at me," he demanded. When she didn't he gently pulled her head around to face him. "What's going on?"

"We just can't do this," she whispered. It was taking everything she had to keep her tears at bay.

"Why not? I thought you said it meant something to you…" Steve asked the hurt evident on his face. _I know she was enjoying it. What changed?_ He thought.

_Lie Maddie. Well, tell him a half truth. That's what works best when you lie to him or else he knows you're lying_, she told herself. Squeezing her eyes shut for a minute she prepared herself for what she was sure was going to be a poor reaction. "Steve, an hour after you were making out with me you were all over some other girl. At first I thought it was your girlfriend, but you told me that's not the case. I just…" she struggled to find her words. "You went from me to her then back to me. I just…can't do that. It makes me feel cheap."

Steve was hurt, he'd just been rejected by the one person that meant the world to him. Instead of showing his hurt, he got angry trying to cover up his bruised ego. "Fine Maddie, whatever! Speaking of that picture…you've been lying to me. Someone's been threatening you. You can't trust me enough to tell me something huge like that?"

"Steve, I don't know who sent me that! I've never gotten anything like that on my phone before! I swear!" She told him, finding it hard to hold the tears in. _Do not cry Maddie! Do not cry!_ She told herself.

Steve could tell she was being honest with him. "Then what are you so afraid of? What are the nightmares about?" he asked, already knowing the answer.

"They're stupid. I don't know why they get to me."

"Who are they about Maddie?"

_If you tell him the truth he might start to put everything together. You can't afford that_, she told herself. Not knowing what to say, but knowing she couldn't tell him the truth, she lied, "Pete. They're about Pete."

Steve's heart dropped at her answer. "You're lying. I talked to Danny," he told her. Maddie's face dropped as a tear made its way down her cheek. "Let me ask you a question? When did you stop trusting me? Was it because I didn't call?"

"Steve…you don't understand," she started, but he interrupted her.

"Yes, I do," he paused, knowing he didn't mean a single word he was saying, but unable to help himself because she'd hurt him. "You don't need me here with you."

"Yes I do!" she cried, a few more tears slipping down her face. But he either didn't hear her or didn't care, because he walked out. At first she thought he just went to another room to sleep, until she heard the front door slam. Walking to her window she watched him get in his truck and drive away. It was then that she let the tears fall freely. Maddie slid down the wall falling in a heap sobbing her heart out.

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><p>As he watched Steve storm off he smiled. "Well, that was easy. He is so predictable."<p>

He laughed at his easy victory. "She should have listened to me…."

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><p>As always, REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW!<p>

xoxo


	14. Chapter 14

**DISCLAIMER_:_**I do not own "Hawaii Five-0" or any of it's characters. I also do not own nor did I write the lyrics from the song used in this chapter, Katy Perry's "Part of Me".

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><p><strong>AUTHOR'S NOTE: <strong>HI! So...here is Chapter 14! YAY! Chapter 15 is pretty much completed as well, so I'll be posting it either tonight or in the morning. The more reviews I get on this one, the sooner I'll post Ch.15, which is a good one because Steve and Maddie talk.

As always, thoughts are in _italics_. In this chapter...I put the words in **bold** that Maddie sings. I thought about writing my own lyrics for her to sing, which I will do at times. But other times I'll use songs that are already out there. So, just use your imagination. In this chapter Maddie's singing a couple lines from Katy Perry's "Part of Me". So just imagine it's a song she's writing...that it isn't Katy Perry's. Okay? haha. I wanted you guys to be able to hear a melody to the songs. If I wrote the lyrics myself and you wouldn't hear that. However, there will be times I'll write the songs for her. Just not this time! If what I just explained is confusing, message me!

Anyway, I hope you like the chapter! Things will start moving quicker from here on out.

Don't forget to REVIEW!

Thanks!

xo

Laura

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><p><span>CHAPTER 14<span>

Chin and Malia had heard Steve bolt down the stairs and slam the front door. "What do you think happened?" she asked him.

"Maddie's hiding something from him and it's getting to him. That and they're head over heels for one another and can't just admit it because they're too scared," Chin answered.

"I'm going to go check on her," she told him.

"Good idea. Danny and I will find Steve in the morning. He needs time to cool off right now."

With that she got out of bed and headed to her friends room.

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><p>Peaking her head in the door Malia saw Maddie sitting on the floor next to the window. "You saw him leave I take it?" She nodded trying to wipe her tears away. "You've had a shitty night…" Malia walked over and sat next to her on the floor.<p>

"Yeah," Maddie said. A sob escaped and Malia reached over and held her friend.

"You realized you're in love with him didn't you? Don't worry, doctor-patient confidentiality," she smiled.

"Yeah…" Maddie's sobbing increased.

"Here let's watch a funny movie or something. I'll stay with you," Malia stood, reaching for her friend's hand.

"Chin?"

"He's a big boy," Malia laughed. Finally Maddie took the extended hand and Malia pulled her to her feet.

"You guys will figure it out…" she assured.

"No we won't," Maddie told her as she climbed in her bed.

"What makes you say that?" Malia asked stopping to hear the answer.

Just thinking about it made her feel like the walls were closing in on her. Maddie's breathing became labored and the sobs wracked her body as she looked Malia in the eye. "Because we can't. It can't happen for us."

_Something is not right. What is that supposed to mean? _Malia thought. She watched as her friend became hysterical. _I imagine it was this train of thought that made her panic before._ Reaching in her bag she filled another syringe with Valium, but only a quarter dose. "I want to get you to calm down. I don't want it reaching the level it did earlier. It's so hard on your body especially when you're exhausted." Maddie nodded and Malia injected the medication in her IV. Once finished she climbed in the other side of the bed. "A mini sleepover!" she said causing Maddie to chuckle.

"Thanks Malia…" Maddie told her friend.

"No problem!" she patted Maddie's shoulder in comfort. Turning to the TV, "So, what are we going to watch?" Surfing the channels, she saw there were 'Three's Company" reruns on TV Land. "How about 'Three's Company'?"

Maddie nodded, her eyes feeling heavy. _Woah, that is some powerful stuff she gave me. I feel heavy. Like heavy jello_, she thought feeling the effects of the medication. Unable to get comfortable Maddie rose from bed, grabbed her IV bag, and stumbled to the duffel Steve had left behind in his haste. She dug around inside until she found a shirt he'd worn. She buried her face in it breathing in his scent as she stumbled back to bed. Standing next to the bed she slipped the other shirt off and pulled this one over her head. Once she was comfortable in bed Malia chuckled. Before she could say anything Maddie said, "Don't even… let it go." Malia did as her friend asked knowing it'd been a rough 36 hours.

With Steve's scent surrounding her, Maddie was asleep in minutes thanks to the help of the medication Malia had given her. Malia waited 15 minutes before turning off the TV and heading back to her room, figuring she'd stay asleep the rest of the night.

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><p>The second he was in his car Steve knew he'd made a mistake. He knew that he should go back to her, pull her to him, and apologize. But his pride was getting in the way. He didn't know why it'd hurt so much when she'd pushed him away as they made out, but it did. He wasn't just hurt by that. It was the fact she wouldn't tell him what was going on. <em>Why doesn't she trust me anymore? <em>He thought as he drove towards his house. _I don't get it. I know she doesn't like to tell me when something bad happens or when something's wrong, but she told me the last time she had a stalker. Thank God she did because it was someone on her security team. That's why I brought Pete in, that's why we filled it with guys we knew and trusted. I don't understand what's going on with her._

Steve pulled up to his house and as he exited his car he realized he was barefoot. "Smooth, Steve. Leave your shoes behind." He suddenly remembered his bag was still in Maddie's room. "And your bag!" He shook his head and entered his house, heading right upstairs to bed. He climbed right in, but as he tossed and turned he couldn't get Maddie's face out of his mind. _What if she's hysterical again? Freaking out?_ he wondered. Knowing he wouldn't sleep until he knew she was okay, he reached for his phone he'd just set on his nightstand. After a few rings Chin's voice came on the line, "You're an ass, did you know that?"

Malia turned to her boyfriend when she realized whom he was talking about. "Tell him to come back," she whispered.

Steve sighed. "Yeah, I know. I messed up."

"And not the first time today. Just come back," Chin replied.

"I'm already home in bed. I just couldn't go to sleep until I knew she was okay. Is she okay?"

"What do you think?" Chin angrily said. "McGarrett, swallow your pride and just come back."

"Just tell me! Is she okay?" Steve growled, irritated that he knew Chin was right.

"I don't know. Malia went in there after you left. Was in there awhile and now she's back." Chin hit the speakerphone button on his iPhone.

"Can you ask her?"

"Ask me what?" Malia asked coldly.

Shocked at her tone, Steve paused before continuing. "Hey Malia….How's Maddie? She okay?"

"No. I had to give her more Valium. I left her asleep, but I don't know how long she'll stay that way."

"More?" he asked, concern in his voice. "But if she's asleep that's okay. That's actually good," Steve said.

"Yeah, for now," she replied, attitude very apparent. Malia reached over and hit the speakerphone button as she looked at Chin shaking her head.

"Thanks Malia," Steve said.

"Yeah, she took you off speakerphone. Anyway, you've gotta get it together. She's already a mess. Don't be there for her one second and gone the next. Either be there for her completely or not at all. Good night McGarrett." Chin didn't even wait for a response, he just hung up.

"Yeah, good night," Steve whispered to dead air as he chucked his phone onto his nightstand. Lying on his back he placed both hands on his head in exasperation. "Chin's right. I gotta get it together. What is going on with me? Why am I so out of sorts? It's not helping Maddie," he berated himself.

Deciding that tomorrow would be different, he closed his eyes, hoping to get a good night's rest because he definitely was in need of one.

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><p>Nearly 2 hours after Malia had gone back to her room, Maddie jolted awake, sweat covering her body. She'd had another nightmare. She laid on her back hands on her face as she took deep breaths hoping her heart would stop pounding and her breathing would normalize. "Pull yourself together Maddie…things are getting out of control. And everyone starts arriving tonight and in the morning. Rehearsals start tomorrow. Steve's upset. He'll be even more so when he finds out what you had to agree to with the label. So pull yourself together. And if you can't figure out a way to do that, then pretend you're fine. That everything's okay," she told herself. Feeling a bit more confident like she had a bit more control over her life Maddie rose from bed. "There's no way you're going to be able to sleep, so get ready and go work. Do something. You always work well when you're upset." Standing up she walked to the bathroom and undressed, pausing to smell Steve's shirt one more time. Her eyes closed as she inhaled his scent, her heart aching as a sadness washed over her. Clad only in her underwear she set the shirt down and sat on the stone stair surrounding her huge bathtub. As she began unwrapping her hand and foot she thought about Steve. <em>It's not that I didn't want to continue with what we were doing….because God I did! It's just…I don't want anything to happen to him. I'm sure we are safe here, I mean, how can he see inside my house. But then again, when this creeper first appeared in my life and gave me that phone he knew I was about to call Steve. And I was on my bus. Unless it was a coincidence. I don't know, but why take a chance? I just…if anything happened to him I don't know what I'd do. I can't live without him. But I'm going to have to figure out a way to. But at least if I know he's alive and well, it will be easier.<em> Her injuries now unwrapped Maddie glanced down at her IV. Malia had put a special seal on it and said she could shower with it. "She obviously didn't want me pulling it out again," she smiled. She unhooked the now half bag of fluid from the IV, leaving it on her bathroom counter to reattach when she was finished. Maddie climbed in the warm shower immediately hissing at the stinging she felt all over her body. Her head was still throbbing and she hoped that maybe the warm water pouring over her would decrease the pain. In fact, she hoped that would also be the case for her aching body. If not, she was just going to have to suck it up.

Although the cuts on her body continued to sting Maddie took her time in the shower. In fact she was in there for 45 minutes. By the time she had finished up, brushed her teeth, put a bit of makeup on (nothing crazy just a bit of foundation, natural eye shadow, mascara, and blush), and dressed herself it was almost 4:30am. Just as she was going to head downstairs she realized she needed to reattach the IV bag. She would have re wrapped her foot and hand, but she wanted to give them a bit of air. Maddie hoped Malia would help her with them in the morning before she went off to work at the hospital.

Because of discomfort she was walking slow and a bit oddly, but she knew she'd figure out a way to walk where it didn't look like she was in so much pain. Like she had decided, if she couldn't be okay, she'd pretend to. Grabbing one of her favorite sweaters, a large baggy grey cable knit boyfriend sweater by Vince, she slipped it on and headed out the sliding glass door off the living room and kitchen. As she exited the door she turned right, passing the pool and outside seating and lounge area. Walking along a stone path she approached what looked to be a large house, completely separate from her main house. She unlocked the thick glass door with the set of keys she'd pulled from a drawer in the kitchen and entered. Stopping just inside the door she closed her eyes, breathing in the scent of her little slice of heaven. Walking down the hall lined with her album plaques Maddie eventually turned left into a spacious room. In the middle stood one of her custom Steinway grand pianos. This particular one was six feet long and made of dark east Indian rosewood. As she entered the room she pulled her shoes off leaving them at the door. She loved squishing her toes in the plush white carpet, not to mention her shoe was killing the cut on her foot. As she sauntered around the beautiful piano, Maddie lightly dragged her fingers along it, eventually ending up on the pristine keys. Pulling out the seriously comfortable and padded matching bench she plopped down and began to play.

She sat there for hours playing and scribbling on a pad of lined music paper, a digital recorder next to her recording everything she was doing so she could go back and listen to it.

* * *

><p>Stretching, Pete yawned, his eyes glancing to the right at his alarm clock. <em>7am<em>, he thought. He was an easy riser. It never took him long to get out of bed. Hopping up he trudged into the bathroom and hopped in the shower. Fifteen minutes later he was dressed and ready to start his day, groaning at a day that what would most likely have some hard moments, Pete quickly made his bed. Once a Navy man, always a Navy man.

Before heading downstairs to make a quick bite, he tiptoed down the hall to check on Maddie and Steve. _I really hope they aren't naked or something like that,_ he joked. As he neared the master bedroom he noticed the door was open. "Hmmm." Peering in he saw the bed was made and no one was anywhere in site. "That's weird…I'm sure Steve would have tried to keep her asleep as long as possible. Plus, Maddie's never up before me…unless she never goes to bed."

"Please tell me she slept last night," Pete whispered to himself as he took the stairs to the kitchen. He wandered the bottom floor looking for her. _I'll check the studio_, he decided as he walked out the door off the kitchen and living room. Staring at the studio building he squinted trying to see if there were any lights on inside, but now that it was day he couldn't tell. Walking to the studio he hoped that if she was in there she hadn't been there all night, but only for a short time. "Yep, she's here," Pete mumbled noticing the door was unlocked. He walked down the hall following the music. Stopping in the doorway he saw her busy working on a song, lost in her own world. He didn't want to scare her so toeing his shoes off at the door he walked across the plush, squishy carpet to her.

Although Maddie saw him out of the corner of her eye she said nothing, wanting to finish her train of thought. He'd been working with her long enough to know that he should let her finish her thought before interrupting her. He listened as she sang and played.

"**Throw your sticks and stones **

**Throw your bombs and your blows**,"

Maddie stopped and resang and played the same line again, emphasizing the words differently.

"**Throw your sticks and stones **

**Throw your bombs and your blows**,"

She sighed, annoyed, and sang it once more. Again, a bit differently than before.

"**Throw your sticks and stones **

**Throw your bombs and your blows**,"

Pete could tell she was happy with the outcome as she smiled and immediately grabbed her pencil and began writing the notes on the staff. Stopping she double-checked the melody by hitting the individual notes on the piano. Once Maddie was sure it was properly written down she hit pause on the recorder and looked at her friend and head of security. "Morning," she smiled at Pete.

"How long ya been in here?" he asked, praying the answer wasn't all night.

"A little bit," she exaggerated.

"Hm…let's rephrase. How much sleep did you get?" Pete looked at her, his brown eyes boring into her, his bushy eyebrows raised.

Maddie had decided to not hide so much from Pete. That maybe that would help all the worrying over her. It was starting to bug her and it was making it difficult to keep Steve safe because he didn't want her out of his sight. _Except last night_, she thought. So she was honest with him. "2 hours. I came down here around 4:30."

He sighed. "Maddie, you're burnt out. You've got a full day of press and a show on Wednesday. And to boot the set list for Wednesday isn't all the same. You've been required to change it up. Add in at least 4 new songs. That's 4 completely new choreographed and staged numbers that have to be learned by Wednesday. Not just learned, but they have to be second nature. And from what I understand changes are being made to some of the old choreography and staging for some of the other songs? And the show has to be amazing. If not…who knows what that new asshole head of the label will do. He made it very clear. He was going to give you 2 months off if you did this. You need those 2 months. But I have to be honest…I don't know how you're going to pull this off. And let's throw into the mix the fact you have a serious concussion and your foot and hand are cut up. I mean how are you supposed to dance on that foot? I think the only way you stand a chance of pulling this off and not hurting yourself is if you rest all day and all night. And even then…"

Maddie knew he was right, but his lecture annoyed her. She could do this. She had to do this. "I couldn't sleep P! I'm sorry that I couldn't, but I thought I'd make use of that time and get started on writing a new song. I have most of the others done. I'll use some of the ones I've written in the last few weeks. It will be fine! I promise! There's no need to worry! My headache is so much better today. It's almost gone. And I don't feel like I was hit by a truck anymore. I promise. I'll be good. The show will be good. And I'll get my 2 months of uninterrupted, completely work-free vacation time," she told him. However, she was lying about her head being better and about not feeling like she'd been hit by a truck. She was still very uncomfortable. But if she told him the truth it would lead to nothing good.

"Alright." He paused awkwardly, unsure of how to broach the next subject. "By the way…where is Steve?" Pete asked hoping things were good between them.

"Who knows?" Maddie answered looking down at her fingers playing with the piano keys. She was obviously upset and angry, but attempting to hide it. She was trying to act indifferent, like she didn't care, but Pete knew the truth.

Sighing Pete shook his head and rolled his eyes. "Okay…what happened?"

"I don't know. He got upset and left last night," she replied not wanting to go into specifics.

_Damn it Steve! This is YOUR fault she got NO rest!_ he thought. He could kick his friend's ass right now. Sensing that she wasn't wanting to talk about it Pete rubbed her upper back in a supportive way as he said, "Well…you know if you want to talk about it I'm here."

"Nothing to talk about, but thanks P!" No longer staring at her hands on the piano she looked over to him smiling. "You're the best, ya know that? What would I do without you?"

He chuckled, rolling his eyes and shaking his head. "Who knows Shorty? Who knows?" Standing up he said, "How about we get ourselves some breakfast? You hungry?"

_No_, she thought. The mere idea of food made her want to gag. However she knew if she didn't eat something they'd just worry about her, so she said, "Umm….yeah. How about an hour? I'm on a roll here and not quite ready to take a break. Don't want to ruin my flow."

Pete would have preferred getting food into her right then, but he was happy that she had at least agreed to eat. So, he took the win. "Yeah, sure! I'll leave you to it. Holler if you need me. I'll flip the system on."

"Okay, but put me on mute in the house," Maddie told him. "I'm not ready for them to be heard."

"Sure thing, Shorty!" he agreed, slipping his shoes back on before walking out.

Now alone, Maddie's back and shoulders slumped forward as her head dropped in her hands. "What am I going to do? How am I going to do this? I feel horrible…" she whispered unaware that Pete was watching from the door. He had left and then tiptoed back to look in on her, see what she did. His gut told him she'd been lying to him. His heart broke for her as he stared at her looking so broken and defeated. As if she was being crushed by the weight of the world.

After a few minutes Maddie straightened, un-paused the recorder on the piano and returned to the song she'd been working on. Shaking his head he walked away, his phone already in his hands calling the familiar number.

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><p>Steve was just leaving Five-0 headquarters when his phone rang. Looking at the caller ID, he prepared himself for the lecture and yelling he was about to receive. "Hello?" he answered.<p>

"What the hell is wrong with you? I brought her back here to you so you could help me figure out what was going on, not so you could make it worse!" Pete yelled as he walked back into the house. As he waited for Steve to say something he opened a small closet door in the hall near Maddie's office. Inside was a floor to ceiling rack filled with different electronic equipment. He flipped a few switches and then closed the door and headed to the kitchen where he powered up a TV on the wall. Grabbing the remote sitting nearby he switched to a specific channel. Suddenly Maddie came on the screen. She was sitting at the piano in her studio. He immediately hit the mute button. This was how he could keep an eye on her without being in her way.

"I screwed up. I'm sorry," Steve mumbled.

"You have no idea what you've done," Pete told him as he sighed. "Where are you? Come fix this!"

_What does he mean I have no idea what I've done? Is something wrong? _ He wondered. "I was just heading over to her. I couldn't sleep last night, so I went to headquarters. Been working on trying to get something from the text message….And what do you mean I don't have any idea what I've done? Is something wrong? She okay?" Looking at his watch, seeing it was about 8am he said, "I mean she's asleep right? She doesn't get up early on days she's not working."

Pete was avoiding telling Steve what was going on the next few days knowing that he was going to freak out. "Did you get anything from the phone? Figure out who sent the text message?"

"No. Still working on it. There wasn't much I could do with the phone itself until I felt comfortable calling in our tech. Couldn't do that in the middle of the night. Bad enough I'm calling him in on his day off. Anyway, he just got in. He pulled what he needed from the phone and then gave it back to me. I'm sure Mads wants her phone back. But I did call Los Angeles. Winston Graves is accounted for. There's no way this is him. I was kind of hoping it was. It would make things easier. I mean, Graves is still completely obsessed with Maddie, but he's still locked up. They sent me over the prison records and no one has visited him. So he didn't put any one up to it. When he stalked her 4.5 years ago, he was so in love with her that he didn't want to share her. He's too jealous. He wouldn't send someone else to watch her. I just don't think it's him, which means it's someone we don't know."

"How much longer does Graves have on his sentence?" Pete wondered, curious.

"About a year, but he's been a model prisoner. He has a parole hearing in 3 months. Looks like he'll most likely be granted early parole at that time."

"Grrrrreaatt…" Pete sighed.

"I know…" Steve mumbled hating the fact. "So what did you mean I have no idea what I've done?" he asked again walking across the Five-0 parking lot and opening his truck door.

"Maddie's awake. She needed the rest last night McG." Pete was stalling.

"Yeah, I know. Well when I talked to Chin last night she was asleep. So she got some right?" Steve hoped.

"2 hours. But…."

"What is it?" Steve was getting worried. He could tell there was something Pete was hesitant to tell him.

"Because her last couple shows weren't as great as they should have been the label wanted her to do a show here the other night."

"Yeah, I remember. Maddie talked to them and fixed it."

"Welll…it depends what your definition of 'fixed' is."

Steve closed his eyes as he sat in his truck. _Crap,_ he thought. "What's going on?"

"She has a show Wednesday."

"Seriously?" he asked, but then he counted the days. _Today's Saturday. That give her a few days. I don't want her to do a show at all, but if she has too…_he thought. "But I guess she still has a few days. So she can rest up until then."

"Yeah….the new head of the label…well he insisted there be at least 4 new songs. Which means…"

"New choreography and staging," Steve interrupted. He knew what went into her tours. It was hard work. "DAMN IT!" Steve yelled.

"Yeah, and there are changes in some of the other songs."

"There's no way she can pull this off!" Steve cried.

"I know, McG! She's exhausted!"

"Where is she now?" he asked starting his car and heading in the direction of Maddie's.

"She's been in her studio for hours already."

"She needs to rest today! Not work!… I'm on my way. I'll be there in ten…" Steve told him.

"Okay. FIX THIS!" Pete emphasized.

"I know! I will!" Steve rose his voice a bit.

"See you soon." With that they both hung up.

Steve felt so guilty as he threw his phone on the passenger seat. _Way to go Steve! How is she going to pull this off on no sleep? _he fumed as he took his anger out on the road before him.

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><p>Please, please, please, <strong>REVIEW<strong>!

ANY feedback is appreciated!

xoxo


	15. Chapter 15

**DISCLAIMER_: _**I do not own "Hawaii Five-0" or any of it's characters. I also do not own nor did I write the lyrics from the song used in this chapter, Miley Cyrus' "Stay".

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><p><strong>AUTHOR'S NOTE: <strong>Thank you all sooooo much for your awesome reviews! YOU GUYS DEFINITELY MADE MY DAY! It has gotten me really into wanting to do nothing but write this story. In fact, I added a lot more to this chapter because you guys did such a great job letting me know what you think! I doubled the size of the chapter, which is why it took me an extra day to post it. It's my little thank you to you guys! I've already got chapter 16 pretty much written in my head. Hopefully I can have it posted either tomorrow night or Tuesday morning!

Anyway, as always, thoughts are in _italics_. And just like the last chapter, whatever Maddie sings is in **bold**. The particular song I am pretending she is writing about Steve in this chapter is a song written by John Shanks and Miley Cyrus titled "Stay". I think it's a gorgeous song melodically and lyrically and thought it fit well in this scene. Maddie's voice does not sound like Miley's or Katy Perry's. So that's not why I chose either one of those songs (I used a bit of a Katy Perry song in the last chapter). Maddie has an amazing voice, very clear sounding and unique. Really amazing. She doesn't sound like anyone else. I just didn't want you thinking that because I used a Miley song, that I was saying that's what her voice sounds like.

Also, I'll repeat what I said in the last chapter. I thought about writing my own lyrics for Maddie to sing, which I will do at times. But other times I'll use songs that already exist. So, just use your imagination. In this chapter Maddie's singing "Stay" by Miley Cyrus. So just imagine it's a song she's writing...that it isn't Miley's. Okay? haha. I wanted you guys to be able to hear a melody to the songs. If I wrote the lyrics myself, you wouldn't hear that. However, there will be times I'll write the songs for her. Just not this time! If what I just explained is confusing, message me!

Anyway, THANKS AGAIN for all the wonderful reviews! Please keep them coming! This week is super crazy for me, so the more I receive the more likely and willing I'll be to pull all nighters and write new chapters! Seriously, this week is insane!

I'll stop rambling and let you guys get to reading the new chapter! ENJOY!

xo,

Laura

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><p><span>CHAPTER 15<span>

Malia and Chin sauntered downstairs at 8 am. Malia didn't have to be at the hospital until 10am and Chin technically had the day off. However, his plan was to find Steve and kick his ass, hopefully with Danny.

"Hey! Maddie still asleep?" Malia asked Pete as she entered the kitchen.

Chin, having spotted the morning paper, sat at the counter opening it up. "Aloha!"

"Aloha," Pete greeted then turned to Malia blowing air out of his mouth while he shook his head. "Unfortunately, no." He tapped on the TV screen to his right.

From her spot across the kitchen at the coffee maker, she looked at the screen Pete was showing her. "Working?"

"mmm hmm."

"Well, I'm going to head out and talk to Steve after breakfast. See if I can't talk some sense in him. Make sure he gets it together. I'm going to call Danny. Have him meet me over there," Chin announced.

"He's on his way. Just hung up with him," Pete announced causing both Malia and Chin to look at him in surprise.

"Hopefully you let him have it!" Malia spoke standing in front of the open fridge. Her voice not hiding her anger towards Steve. "Are you guys hungry?"

"YES! Also, Maddie said she'd eat something in an hour."

"Great! I'll whip us up a good breakfast. Make her something that would be good and mild for a first meal." She began pulling different items out and setting them on the kitchen island. "How does she feel?"

"She said she feels a lot better today, but I think it's an act."

"She just needs to rest for the next few days," Malia replied as she decided what to make.

"Actually…about that…," Pete began. "To make a long story short….Maddie has a show here in Hawaii on Wednesday. The set will be a bit different than usual, so rehearsals start tomorrow and will continue until Tuesday night. After that, she will have at least 2 months off."

For the first time since sitting down Chin looked away from his paper, staring straight at Pete hoping he'd heart incorrectly. Malia stopped what she was doing and looked directly at Pete, completely speechless, her mouth open.

"You find out about the show too?" Steve said walking into the kitchen from the front hallway leading off the foyer.

"For her health, she CANNOT do this!" Malia protested ignoring Steve's presence.

"Unfortunately, she has no choice in the matter. Mads has to do this," Pete sighed.

Walking further into the kitchen McGarrett looked over at Pete, eyebrows raised in a questioning manner. Pete nodded his head to the TV on the wall to their left. Understanding, Steve turned to look in that direction. He fought a smile, his heart fluttering in happiness, but also aching in sadness as he saw Maddie playing and singing. It was obvious she was really feeling whatever she was singing. "That's outside in the other building, right?" he asked Pete.

"Yeah," Pete answered, helping Malia with breakfast. "Bring her in for breakfast, would ya?"

Steve nodded as he walked out of the kitchen, into the living room and over to the sliding glass door leading to the backyard. Chin finally spoke. "Fix it McGarrett...and make sure you're shit is together. No more up and down. Pick one. Seriously."

"I know," Steve replied as he walked out the door, shutting it behind him. Walking away from the house he approached the pool. Having not spent a ton of time back here he took in his surroundings. The pool was large, a set of approximately ten stairs leading up to a Jacuzzi. A big waterfall directly to the right of the Jacuzzi fell into the pool. There was a small cave like cove built underneath the Jacuzzi and waterfall in the pool. _Very romantic_, he thought. Suddenly he had an image of Maddie and him under there kissing, his hands all over her. _Woah….Where'd that come from?_ he wondered shaking his head. _Don't go there, Steve! You can't! That's what's messing you up with her_, he thought as his pants tightened from the immediate reaction his body had at the mere thought of the two of them together. _Think about something else_, he thought as he tried to calm himself down. Steve thought about how worried he was about her and the fact she had to do this show and his pants loosened as the excitement dissipated from his body. _Well, that worked._

Looking to the right of the pool and the surrounding lounging and BBQ areas Steve caught a glimpse of the studio out of the corner of his eyes. A large house, probably at least 6,000 sq. ft, but not as big as the main house, which was around 15,000 square feet. Steve walked towards it following the pathway. Walking through the thick glass door he entered the main hallway. He'd never really been out here. He'd kept it locked and would check to make sure it didn't look like anyone had ever broken in, but he never went inside. He knew Maddie would want to show it to him herself. Steve stopped just inside the doorway and stared around. The floor was the same natural colored tumbled stone she had in the main house. Complimenting it was white wood. The walls were painted a natural color. He smiled, pride overcoming him as he slowly walked down the hall eyes moving left to right as he passed all her album plaques. She'd been doing this over 10 years, so there were a lot. He found himself chuckling at her earlier album covers. _She was so young_, he thought as he lightly touched the plaque of her first album. It was for selling 40 million copies worldwide. Steve was pulled from his thoughts when he heard noise coming from somewhere down the hall. _I'm sure she'll give me the full tour later_, he thought. Eventually he came to an open door on his left. Peering inside he saw Maddie, sitting at a gorgeous grand piano. Steve leaned against the doorway a huge smile on his face as he watched her play. Maddie stopped playing for a minute and at first he thought it was because he was there until she began singing and he realized she had no idea she was no longer alone. _She always writes when she's upset, putting her feelings into the songs. Maybe I can get some clues as to what's going on_? he thought. Although her speaking voice was raspy and froggy from overuse and being exhausted, her singing voice was barely affected. Sure it was a bit gravelly, but not that much.

**Well, it's good to hear your voice…**

She began to play sparse, simple chords as she sang.

**I hope you're doing fine**

**And if you ever wondered**

**I'm lonely here tonight**

**I'm lost here in this moment**

**And time keeps slipping by**

**And if I could have just one wish**

**I'd have you by my side**

**Oh, oh, I miss you**

**Oh, oh, I need you**

Maddie started playing different chords, adding notes in between, making it seem fuller.

**And I love you more than I did before  
>And if today I don't see your face<strong>

**Nothing's changed, no one can take your place**

**It gets harder every day**

Listening to the words Steve wondered if the song was about him. His heart broke at the sadness in her voice.

**Say you love me more than you did before**

**And I'm sorry it's this way**

**But I'm coming home, I'll be coming home**

**And if you ask me, I will stay, I will stay**

**Well I tried to live without you**

**The tears fall from my eyes**

**I'm alone and I feel empty **

**God, I'm torn apart inside**

Steve walked further into the room. Although he was in view Maddie seemed to not see him. He watched as tears fell down her face.

**I look up at the stars**

**Hoping you're doing the same**

**And somehow I feel closer **

****And I can hear you say****

Up until now he was pretty sure she was singing about him, but when he heard the stars line he knew. She had been sad without him, not talking to him. Steve immediately remembered what he'd found when going through her phone earlier. Every voicemail he'd left her was saved. No one else's, just his. And she had a separate picture album titled "3 Stevie 3" filled with photos of the two of them together over the years or just photos of him. When he'd seen them he knew that for some reason whatever she was scared of had to do with him. The text last night with started to make more sense. This was why she wouldn't tell him what was going on and why she had told Pete that she was protecting him. But that's all he knew. He didn't know what was going on. Only that something or someone had her scared for Steve and herself.

**Oh, oh, I miss you**

**Oh, oh, I need you**

**And I love you more than I did before  
>And if today I don't see your face<strong>

**Nothing's changed, no one can take your place**

**It gets harder every day**

**Say you love more than you did before**

**And I'm sorry it's this way**

**But I'm coming home, I'll be coming home**

**And if you ask me, I will stay, I will stay**

More tears began to fall from her eyes, leaving her practically sobbing.

**I never wanna lose you**

**And if I had to, I would choose you**

**So stay, please, always stay**

**You're the one that I hold on to **

**Cause my heart would stop without you**

Steve watched the tears roll down her face. _Yeah, I shouldn't have left when I did. And I shouldn't have told her she obviously didn't need me here_, he thought feeling terrible as she poured her feelings and emotions in the song.

Maddie stopped playing the piano as much. Leaving more space between the chords to give it a softer, more breakdown feel.

**And I love you more than I did before  
>And if today I don't see your face<strong>

**Nothing's changed, no one can take your place**

**It gets harder every day**

He could tell she was completely lost in the song as she played and sang. Her voice got louder and so did her playing.

**Say you love more than you did before**

**And I'm sorry it's this way**

**But I'm coming home, I'll be coming home**

**And if you ask me, I will stay, I will stay**

**And I love you more than I did before**

**And I'm sorry that it's this way**

**But I'm coming home, I'll be coming home**

**And if you ask, I will stay, I will stay, I will stay**

He stood there for a minute unsure of what to say. However he didn't need to say anything. "You're back," Maddie stated as she wiped the tears from her face. Her voice was more hoarse now from singing and she sounded so distant. It broke his heart. "What do you want?" she coldly asked, never once looking at him.

"I'm sorry I left. I'm an ass," Steve confessed walking closer to the piano. He tried to catch her eye, but she refused to look at him.

"Yeah you are," Maddie agreed.

Reaching the piano he sat next to her on the bench, their shoulders touching. "The song is beautiful. New one?" However, he knew the answer already.

Although she could feel his eyes on her she continued to look straight ahead. "Yeah. I started it on the flight here. Finished it just now…." She paused, looking down at the piano keys and her hands. "You weren't supposed to hear it." _I'm professing my love for him…of course I don't want him to hear it! Hopefully he thinks I'm saying I just love him, not I'm in love with him_, she hoped.

Steve didn't know if he should tell her that he knew the song was about him. I mean she knew he knew, but should he voice it? He wasn't sure what to say to her. He cleared his throat. "I'm glad I did Mads."

"Yeah?" she whispered as she began hitting different keys out of nervousness.

He could tell she was getting nervous he just didn't know why. It was out of character for her. Carefully he placed his hands on hers, stilling them. "Look at me…'

_I can't_, she thought. _Not only am I embarrassed he heard the song, but I'm mad at him! He walked out! Because I wouldn't fool around with him. He did that TO ME! To me, of all people! I'm not just some random girl...or I thought I wasn't. Maybe I am. I don't know. I can't think right now! My head is killing me and I'm too exhausted,_ she thought.

"Madeline Lily…look at me," Steve spoke sternly, his voice a bit louder. He nudged her right arm with his left. Finally she did as he asked. "There she is!" he smiled brightly._ God, she looks so cute right now. Even though she looks absolutely exhausted, her cute embarrassed blushing face is killing me_, he thought. "I'm glad I heard it because I now know that although you keep pushing me away when I start getting close to you that's not really what you want. You missed me. And you know what?"

"Hm?"

Steve bit his bottom lip as he smiled slightly at her. "I've missed you so much you have no idea. None. I realized something pretty huge the last few months."

"Hm?"

"I need you, Mads." He leaned to her and kissed her nose. "I'm so sorry about earlier. I don't know what happened. I don't know why I reacted that way. I just…everything got to me all of a sudden." Steve really didn't know what else to say. He felt like such a jerk for what he did and when he did it. "I'm not going anywhere. You're stuck with me," he grinned.

"Okay," she whispered. Maddie didn't know what to say. She wanted him there with her all the time, but she was worried about him getting hurt, or worse. _What am I going to do? _She wondered.

"Maddie…you've never been this way with me. You're pushing me away, like you're scared. What's wrong? You can tell me…Whatever's going on, we can fix it. I promise."

Although all she wanted to do was fall into his arms, sob her heart out, and tell him everything she just couldn't. She had to stop crying around him. It was making things worse. Making him more worried. She needed to start pretending and make him believe everything was fine. "Nothing's wrong Steve. I haven't seen you in two years. Maybe I've just changed."

"You know that's not true." Steve quieted for a minute thinking of how else to get through to her. Breathing in he continued, "Can I just say…I appreciate the fact you didn't rip your IV out when you took a shower and came out here, but instead brought the bag with you. However, I would have preferred you'd stayed in bed sleeping," he smiled looking at the bag of fluid sitting on the piano in front of him.

For the first time since they started the conversation Maddie smiled up at him. "But," he continued, "don't think I didn't notice you pulled the bandage off your hand." She looked to the right out of the corner of her eyes while she moved her lips to the left making a silly "um, I wouldn't do that" face. Steve couldn't keep the smile from his face. He loved her facial expressions. She dropped her forehead against his left bicep. Without realizing what he was doing or saying he kissed the top of her head and said, "You're too cute." Maddie's heart quickened. _He's never said anything like that to me before in this kind of context or situation. As if he's flirting with me. What is going on with us? _she wondered.

_That just slipped out_, he thought. _Where is all this coming from?_ Lifting her head and looking at him she pretended the comment was never said. "It was in my way. I couldn't play with it on," she whispered as if telling him a secret.

He choked back his laughter at the cute and silly facial expressions she kept getting.

Seeing her eyes flutter closed in exhaustion as she began to sag forward his smile was replaced with a severely concerned look. Maddie was definitely fighting the exhaustion as her eyes flew open. _I gotta get her back to bed_, he decided.

Not knowing any good way to bring it up Steve said, "So…I talked to Pete. He told me what's going on."

Maddie's eyes widened as she froze. Not knowing what to say, her only reply was, "hm?"

"Mads…how are you going to pull this off? I mean, not only are you just completely exhausted, but you have a major concussion. You're foot's all cut up as is your hand. Not to mention almost your entire body is covered in little cuts."

She sighed. "Steve, I don't have a choice. I have to do this. Plus, I feel a thousand times better. And I don't even start rehearsals until tomorrow. I'm sure I'll be good to go by then!" she lied.

"Here's how things are going to be…we're going to go inside and eat breakfast. Then, we're going upstairs and you're going to sleep."

"But…" Maddie began, however Steve cut her off.

"No Maddie. I care too much about you. You are sleeping all day. That's it. No arguments. I'm really worried about you and don't want anything bad to happen to you because you pushed yourself too hard."

"I have work to do before tomorrow!" Maddie argued. "Yeah, rehearsals start tomorrow, but the songs need to be finished!"

"You're too tired to work right now. Depending on how things are later in the day, you can come work for a little bit. But…only if I feel you got some good rest. I'm putting my foot down," Steve stated.

She could tell he wasn't going to let up on this. Arguing was going to get her nowhere. And if she didn't go inside he'd just pick her up and take her there himself. _He is sooo annoying sometimes_, she thought as she glared at him. "Don't give me that face! You brought this on yourself!"

"Why? Because I can't sleep? I can't help it!" she cried.

"Tell me what the nightmares are about?" Steve stared directly at her, his gorgeous blue eyes so intense she had to look away.

That was the last thing Maddie was expecting him to say. _I guess I walked right into that one_, she thought. _He already knows they are about him. You were a dummy and let that slip to Danny. You have to be more careful! Keep everyone at arm's length. _

"You told me they are always pretty much the same. Mads…tell me about them. Maybe if you talk about it they'll start to go away?" Steve suggested, his voice taking on a soothing tone. "We have to figure out a way to get rid of these. You have to start sleeping. I don't know how much longer you can go on like this and to be honest, I don't want to find out." His left hand rubbed her upper back as he said this.

Maddie didn't know what to say. She was too embarrassed to tell him about them. _He'll know I'm in love with him_, she thought. Now that she realized she was head over heels for him, she found herself doubting every action and thing she would say to him, thinking he'd realize her true feelings.

Steve could see she was thinking. Whatever she was thinking about he wished she'd stop. Underneath his hand he could feel her back tighten. She didn't have to say anything to him for him to know she was emotionally pushing him away. He could feel the distance between them. "Madeline….don't do this. Relax…don't push me away."

"I don't want to talk about it, Steve. It doesn't matter anyway. They're dumb," Maddie told him wishing he'd just drop it, but she knew better.

"Okay, well if they don't matter, if they're stupid, then tell me about them. It shouldn't make a difference," Steve retorted.

He knew that was going to make her mad, but he hoped she might reveal something to him accidentally. "They're none of your business!" she yelled at him.

"But they're about me!" he argued back. "I don't want to be the reason you're not taking care of yourself!"

"Well you are!" she screamed. Maddie realized what she'd just said too late. The words were already out. She froze, eyes wide, as she stared at Steve.

Steve wasn't expecting that. _I was right…she's scared for me, _he thought, his heart pounding. _Is it Wo Fat? Is he scaring her?_ They stared at one another for a minute, frozen in place. Finally Steve cleared his throat. "What do you mean?" he whispered.

Maddie's face flushed. _You idiot! Stop getting so emotional about everything because it's making everything worse! That's when you let things slip!_ she berated herself. Quickly trying to cover her slip up she said, "Just that, yes, the nightmares about you." Deciding that she now would have to tell him something about them to get him off her back, she took a deep breath, looking down at her hands. "You're dying in them."

_Wow, I wasn't expecting her to tell me anything, _he thought. "Mads…look at me." He pulled her head up to look at him. "Stop doing that. It's not like you to avoid eye contact with me." He smiled at her, tucking a small strand of hair behind her ear. "Is it because of my job? Is it getting to you? Have you ever had them before? I mean back when I was overseas? On assignment with The Seals or with The Company?"

_Oh my God! He just gave me the perfect out! I don't know why I didn't think of it myself! It makes sense to say it's his job. It totally works!_ she thought, happy that Steve's question gave her the lie she needed. "Yeah…it's your job. I just think not hearing from you in so long freaked me out more than I realized. My imagination started to run wild," she completely lied to him.

Steve felt so guilty. "I'm so sorry Mads. But, trust me. Sure, Five-0 can be dangerous, it is absolutely nothing compared to what I was doing. I am fine! Nothing is going to happen, okay? I promise!"

Maddie smiled at him, her white flawless smile giving him butterflies. "Okay," she told him.

"I don't like you keeping stuff to yourself. I know you don't like worrying me, but when you hide things it just makes me worry more about you. So, no more." He tucked a couple more fly away hairs behind her ears as he stared at her. _All I want to do is kiss her_, he thought. _What is going on with me?...But I better not. Not after last night._

After the two stared at one another for a couple minutes Maddie decided she better change the subject. She could feel herself leaning in closer to him and him doing the same. _We can't kiss. As much as I want to, we can't go there! _she told herself. Looking away for just a second before bringing her eyes back to his, Maddie asked, "Do you have my phone?"

Her question snapped him out of his trance. "Yeah," he answered, pulling it from his pocket. Handing it to her he said, "I was at Five-0 pretty much all night checking on the message."

"Yeah?" she asked, her interest piqued. Maddie was hoping he had figured out who was threatening her and then things could go back to normal._ That would be so amazing!_ she thought.

"Yeah. I checked on Winston Graves. He's still in jail. So, it's not him…" Steve decided to leave out the part that he would be getting out soon. "I have our best tech working on tracing the number. Don't worry, I'll take care of it!" he smiled at her. "Mads, you're sure you've never received anything like that on your phone before?"

Her stomach clenched. "Yeah," she lied. Well sort of lied. Maddie hadn't gotten anything on her phone before, just the phone her stalker gave her.

"Okay. Well, the team and I will nip it in the bud. Don't worry!" Steve paused, suddenly looking very uncomfortable. "About the picture…"

Maddie interrupted him. She didn't want to hear about Lori and him. "Steve, it's fine! It's your life! I don't care!" she lied.

"But…well…it's just that Lori and I…"

Again, she cut him off. "Steve, seriously! It's fine!"

"Lori is great and I was…."

Maddie didn't know how much longer she could keep the tears at bay. "Steve. Stop." Something about her voice made him shut up. _Did the photo upset her?_ He wondered. _It kind of seems like it did. _He decided to let it go for now, but he'd definitely try and bring it up again later.

Feeling the sudden tension between them he knew he needed to do something to fix it. So, being silly Steve reached up and tugged on the messy bun she'd thrown her hair into when she'd gotten out of the shower. However, he noticed it was still damp, which only made him worry. "Your hairs wet….still! It's been hours. You should have a sweater on. I don't want you to get sick."

Smiling, she shook her head and rolled her eyes.

"What?" he exclaimed.

"You worry too much. You sound like my…" she froze as his head shot up to look at her. "Sorry…"

Steve put his head in his hands. "I don't want to think about your dad right now Maddie. That is literally the last thing I want on my mind. Are you trying to push me over the edge?"

"No….I'm sorry…" Maddie told him as she rubbed his shoulder. She watched him fight the anger he had for her dad. Finally she took her soft hand and pulled his face to hers. Leaning forward she kissed his forehead. Pulling back she made eye contact with him. He couldn't believe what she had just done. It was a glimpse of the Maddie he knew, not the one hiding from him. As they both stared into one another's eyes they began to lean into one another. Just as their lips were about to touch Maddie tipped her head down. "We can't do this," she whispered, her heart breaking into a million pieces.

"Why?" he murmured, his lips against her forehead as he kissed her.

"It's just not a good idea right now. I think our emotions are running on high. I scared the hell out of you the last couple days and we haven't seen one another in 2 years. Not to mention, I think things are too crazy. There's so much going on. I just…I have to pull this show off, and I can't have this distracting me."

He smiled against her forehead. "This? You mean me."

"Yeah," she mumbled trying her best to keep the tears from falling. She pulled away from him. Steve could feel the distance between them emotionally. He didn't even have a chance to wonder why when she opened her mouth, "You're just confused Steve. You don't think of me like this. It's just everything that's happened. And…it's not fair to Lori. You started something with her for a reason. You should see where it goes."

Steve's heart ached at her words. "Yeah, you're right," he lied, pulling away from her. _I don't think I'm confused. I don't know where these feelings are coming from or what they mean, but I know they are real_, he thought.

Maddie was going to lose it at any second. She was not expecting him to say that. _You were right. He doesn't think of you as anything more than a friend_, she thought. _And he agreed he should see what happens with Lori._

The awkward feeling in the room was driving him crazy. Wanting to escape from the situation he said, "Breakfast is ready, Maddie. Let's go inside."

"Okay. I'll be right in. I just need to finish something before I forget. I need to make sure I write down what I just played," Maddie lied. There was nothing to write down or do. She'd already taken care of it. She just needed a minute to herself.

"Fine, but if you're not inside in 5 minutes…" Steve told her.

"I know," Maddie responded and then turned to her piano and began playing the chords to the song she'd just finished.

Steve watched her for a brief moment before shaking his head and walking out of the room, his heart aching.

When she heard the front door to the studio close, Maddie broke down, no longer able to keep the tears from falling. It was as if they erupted from her. She covered her face with her hands as she sobbed uncontrollably. He'd broken her heart with what he'd said. _You can't be surprised that he'd choose Lori over you. You guys grew up together. You're his best friend. He's never seen you as anything but that, never will. Sure, he cares about you a great deal, worries about you, but is not in love with you_, she told herself. _And even if he was, you know it can't happen!_

Maddie sat there at her piano sobbing for what she would never have.

* * *

><p>The second Steve had walked outside to see Maddie, Chin, Pete, and Malia had gathered around the screen to watch the interaction. They felt guilty for spying, but couldn't help themselves. So, to feel a bit better they left the sound off. They never heard what was said, but it was pretty obvious by their behavior.<p>

"Damn it! Why won't he just realize he's in love with her?" Malia cried.

"He will!" Chin and Pete said at the same moment.

"Yeah, but by then it might be too late!" she responded.

Seeing Steve walk out of the studio they immediately went back to what they were doing. Breakfast was ready, they were just setting the table and adding the finishing touches. While Malia finished Maddie's oatmeal, Chin set the table. Pete stood at the island putting the potatoes in a serving bowl, the TV screen in view. He frowned, shaking his head, as he watched Maddie break down at the piano. _I wish I could do something to help them, but this is something they have to figure out on their own, _he thought. He hated seeing Maddie so upset. _Well, it just means she won't have a problem throwing herself into her work for the next few days. Maybe it's just what she needs emotionally, however physically…it's definitely not. _

Steve walked in and immediately felt all eyes on him. Assuming it was because they were wondering if he fixed things from last night he said, "Don't worry I fixed everything. She'll be in in a second." Meeting Pete's eyes, he could see something wasn't right. He raised his eyebrows in question. Pete responded by nodding his head in the direction of the TV. _Crap! I forgot about the TV! I wonder if they were watching us? _ Steve walked into the kitchen and stood in front of the screen. He froze as he watched Maddie sob. "I don't understand," he whispered to Pete.

"Probably whatever you said before you left," Pete told him, only guessing why she was crying. He knew it had something to do with the fact she loved Steve. He had a feeling Maddie had finally realized it.

Steve replayed their conversation in his head trying to figure out what was going on as he watched her sob. All he wanted to do was run to her and pull her into his arms, but he didn't. He decided to let her cry it out and ask her about it later. Right now he'd focus on getting food into her and getting her to rest. After watching her bawl for about 5 minutes he saw her slowly stand. He straightened as he watched her grab her head and begin to sway, nearly losing her balance. She fought the dizzy feeling, wiped her face, and limped to the door to put her shoes on. He saw her stop at the door. He could tell Maddie was preparing herself: pushing away her emotions and the fact she didn't feel good. Seeing she must have been satisfied she walked out, heading to the main house for breakfast.

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><p>Breakfast had been a bit odd. There was definitely some tension in the room. Maddie could feel all eyes on her as she picked at her food. She thought it was because they were watching to see how much she was eating, but little did she know, it wasn't just that. They had all noticed her bloodshot eyes and were wondering why she had been crying.<p>

Setting her spoon down, Maddie leaned back in her chair. "I'm full."

Steve looked across the table at her shaking his head. "A little more Maddie. The last time you ate was nearly 48 hours ago and you ended up just throwing that up. Plus, you need energy for the next few days."

Leaning forward she grabbed her fork and stabbed at the fruit on her plate. She brought the utensil to her mouth and ate the piece of cantaloupe. She really didn't feel up to eating, but didn't want to fight with Steve right now. She was still incredibly nauseous, and every bite only seemed to make it worse, but she knew if she didn't eat anything it would just worry everyone, especially Steve.

Unable to handle the silence much longer, not to mention all eyes on her she opened her phone and began to play around on it. _They are staring at me like I'm a piece of glass_, she thought as she checked her email and took a bit of oatmeal. _I mean, passing out the other day didn't help, but I'm fine!_ Suddenly she got a brilliant idea. Switching from her email to her text messages she set the spoon down so she could use both thumbs to type the mass text.. Once she finished and sent it, she set her phone down and looked to Pete, her red eyes meeting his brown ones. "Hey, at some point today we need to get a bunch of food."

"Why?" Pete asked suspiciously. "The cupboards are full. I sent Steve before we arrived in Hawaii."

Maddie took a bite of oatmeal as their phones all dinged signaling a new text message. Swallowing she looked up at them, "We're having a BBQ tonight!"

"Madeline Lily!" Steve exclaimed. "Not gonna happen!"

"You don't have to be a part of it if you don't want to. But your co-workers got a terrible first impression of me. Not to mention, I have people coming in tonight. No one's excited about this show, which I understand….trust me! So, I think this is a good way to start the next couple of days! It'll be fun!" Maddie paused as she looked away from a steaming Steve. "I don't have Danny's number or Lori's. So please invite them for me! And tell Danny to bring his daughter and wife."

"He's divorced," Steve mumbled, not thrilled by the idea.

"Well, she can come if she wants to. Or not. Whatever. He can decide!" she said. Pushing her food away from herself, Maddie stood up, "Well, that was absolutely delicious. But I have a ton of work to do, so I'm heading back out to the studio."

"Madeline, freeze. We talked about this," Steve said from his spot across the table. Although he didn't raise his voice, you could tell he was serious and mad. Most people would do exactly what he said when they heard and saw this side of him, but Maddie was different.

Ignoring Steve she said, "Pete, keep the TV mu…" Maddie stopped mid word her stomach dropping as her eyes closed. _The security system was on. I bet Steve saw me crying. DAMN IT!_ she thought. She opened her eyes turning to meet Steve's. He knew exactly what was going on in her head, that she'd just remembered the camera was on in the studio. He stared at her.

By the look on his face Maddie knew he'd seen her cry. Feeling like she was unable to have any private moment she became angry. Turning back around she walked towards the back door. "Maddie, no," Steve said, his tone of voice still the same.

Chin, Pete, and Malia said absolutely nothing as they waited to see what would transpire between the two.

Maddie was nearing the door when she heard Steve's chair slide against the floor followed by his footsteps. "Maddie, you are not going back out there!"

All the moments of having absolutely zero privacy had finally gotten to her, along with the stalker and her heart breaking over Steve and Lori. She picked up her pace however her body and foot hurt so bad that she didn't get as far as she had hoped. Just as her hand touched the metal knob of the door Maddie felt Steve's arms wrap around her waist. "Let me go! I have so much to do!"

"NO! We had a deal! Stop being so stubborn!" he yelled, his voice showing his anger as he held her tight against his body.

"Steven Jonathon McGarrett! LET ME GO!" she cried as she tried to fight him off.

He knew exactly what had set her off. She was mad that she couldn't live life like a "normal person", that her every move was watched. They'd had arguments about it in the past. Realizing he had seen her crying on the screen had embarrassed her and upset her. Knowing Maddie was going to keep fighting him, Steve threw her over his shoulder.

"Put me down! Damn it Steve!" Maddie yelled as he began walking towards the stairs. Out of the corner of his eye he caught the smirks from Pete, Chin, and Malia.

"Calm down Mads!" Steve told her as he walked them upstairs.

"Put me down! I'm not a child! You can't just make me do what you want! Let me go!" Maddie yelled as she banged her fists against his back.

Entering her room he used his foot to slam the door behind him. "Finally! What the he…" she began yelling as he set her down. But as soon as her feet touched the floor a huge wave of dizziness hit her interrupting her. Her eyes rolled back in her head as she fainted.

"Maddie?" Steve whispered at the funny look on her face. Thankfully he was quick and reached out catching her before she hit the floor. "Shit!" he cried as he set her on the bed. "Maddie?" He shook her gently.

Her eyes opened immediately. "You okay?" he asked brushing hair from her face.

"I'm fine," she mumbled. "I have so much to do Steve. I have to go." Maddie tried to get up but gave up because of the dizziness.

Steve kicked his shoes off as he shook his head. "Maddie, what you need more than anything is to get some rest." Lying down on the other side of the bed, he looked over to her. "But how about this? You sleep for a while and then you can go back and work on what you need to do for an hour or so. Then you need to rest again. Okay?"

Maddie knew he was right. Just lying there for a few minutes she could barely keep her eyes open. "Okay, deal….." She paused. "Sorry I got upset."

Steve chuckled. "It's okay. I get it. I know how hard it is for you to feel like you can't just do what you want."

She stared at him, wishing there wasn't so much space between them. "Did I hurt you when I was hitting you?" she asked, feeling guilty.

Smiling he shook his head. "You're teeny Mads. There's now way you hurt me. It was actually pretty cute the way you were hitting me with your teeny fists."

"I don't have teeny fists! And if I wanted to I could've hurt you!" she exclaimed.

"Whatever you say, baby fists!" Steve joked.

Maddie smiled slightly shaking her head a bit before her eyes fluttered closed and then opened again as she fought sleep.

"Hey…I have an idea…" Steve revealed.

"Hm?" she asked.

"What if…no bodyguards for at least a week…"

She interrupted Steve, "Really?" Although the idea made her nervous it also sounded fabulous.

"Wait! Let me finish! I know something has you frightened. Don't think I don't know you hired eight additional new bodyguards, when you absolutely hated having the eight I had already hired you. So…we'll send everyone on vacation for maybe a week…including Pete….after the show Wednesday. But, you get me."

Maddie loved the idea, but what if her stalker didn't. It was as if he could read her mind. "Maddie….I promise you and I hanging out will not cause something bad to happen. Is that what that text message was about? Someone doesn't want us to be around one another?"

Maddie's heart quickened. _He's figuring it out_, she thought. _Just keep lying and playing dumb._ "I don't know what that text was about. Like I told you before, that's the first one I've gotten on my phone…..Anyway, it sounds great! I love the idea!" she lied. She did love the idea, but was worried about something happening to him.

"Okay, it's a deal! Now…why were you crying after I left the studio? Did I say something?" Steve asked reaching out to her hoping to pull her a bit closer to him. However, she wouldn't budge, making his heartache. All he wanted to do was pull her to himself and wrap his arms tightly around her. He wanted her where he knew she was safe.

His question reminded Maddie about their earlier conversation and how he agreed he needed to see what would happen with Lori. "What is it?" Steve asked picking up on the change in her.

"Nothing…I'm just tired…" she whispered closing her eyes and turning over, her back now to Steve. Maddie had left a huge space between them even though deep inside she wanted to be in his arms. But she just thought it would make things harder on herself knowing he was going to pursue things with Lori. Funny thing was she had no idea that all Steve wanted to do was hold her. Lori couldn't have been further from his mind.

Although upset, Steve reached down for the big, thick, fuzzy and knitted blanket she kept at the foot of her bed and covered Maddie with it. Once satisfied she was warm enough he kissed the top of her head. "Goodnight Maddie," Steve whispered sadly before lying down and shutting his eyes. Before long they were both asleep.

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><p>Thank you soooo much for reading my story! Please, please, PLEASE, don't forget to <strong>REVIEW<strong>!

xoxo


	16. Chapter 16

**DISCLAIMER: **I do not own "Hawaii Five-0" or any of its characters. I do own Maddie!

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><p><strong>AUTHOR'S NOTE:<strong> Thank you all sooooo much for the reviews! To show my gratitude...here is a LONG chapter!

As always, thoughts are in _italics_.

Please, Please, PLEASE review! I have a really busy next couple of days, but I'll stay up super late writing, if I get a bunch of reviews. It really inspires me and makes me want to finish the next chapter as soon as possible!

Anyway, ENJOY!

xoxo

Laura

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><p><span>CHAPTER 16<span>

Steve McGarrett did not realize exactly how exhausted he was until he closed his eyes. Although upset with how distant Maddie seemed, he fell asleep very quickly. He was in such a deep sleep that an hour later when Maddie started tossing and turning he didn't wake up. Even when she started to cry in her sleep he didn't stir.

Maddie found herself, yet again, in a world she'd rather not be a part of. Steve was being tortured in front of her as she sobbed, begging the faceless man to leave him alone. Thank God she woke up right before he was killed. It took her a second to realize it had been a nightmare as her eyes became accustomed to the dark. Remembering where she was and how she got there, Maddie turned her head to the left, tears running down her face. Seeing Steve sound asleep next to her, safe and unharmed, should have made her feel better, but it only made her sob harder. Although she was broken hearted about the whole Lori situation, she needed his comfort. _He looks so tired, I don't want to wake him up. I'll just snuggle into him, _she thought. Closing the gap between them, she slid over. However, the closer she got to him the harder she cried. Maddie didn't realize that she slammed herself into him balling her fists in his shirt and burrowing her face in his chest, so desperate for his comfort.

Steve's eyes flew open as he felt someone crash into him. Shaking away the sleepy haze, he realized what was going on and immediately wrapped his strong arms around Maddie as she clung to him. "Hey…hey…what's going on?" he cooed. Her only response were loud sobs.

Knowing she must have had another nightmare Steve said, "Hey, look at me…"

It took Maddie a second to pull her head away and look up at him. The tears streaming down her face and the terror in her eyes broke his heart. "I'm right here with you. I'm safe. I'm alive. I'm not hurt. Everything's okay," he whispered as he wiped some tears away. Steve could tell how upset and scared she was by the heat radiating off her body. He could feel the sweat coming through her shirt and pulled the blanket off her hoping it would help her cool down. _Those nightmares have to be so horrible for her to react like this_, he thought. _I'm going to kill whoever has planted this fear in her._

Maddie buried her head back in his chest as she continued to cry. Steve rubbed her back as he whispered comforting words. After ten minutes he felt her begin to slowly calm down. Soon after, her crying ceased, leaving her with a case of hiccups as she fell asleep. He could tell she was no longer boiling hot, so he reached down and pulled the blanket over them. Once they were both comfortable she nestled further into him making her little "I'm snuggly" noises in her sleep. Steve chuckled quietly as he kissed her head before closing his eyes and falling back asleep.

* * *

><p>Hours later Maddie's eye slowly opened. She smiled when she realized she was safely tucked against Steve as she inhaled his scent deeply. <em>I love the way he smells<em>, she thought. Feeling the intense pressure in her bladder she realized what exactly had woken her up. _Crap, how am I going to get up and go pee AND not wake Steve up? I already woke him up once and he looks so peaceful! _she thought staring at his sleeping face as she unconsciously wiggled around in discomfort.

It took a bit of maneuvering but Maddie was finally able to extricate herself from Steve's tight grasp. As soon as she was free he began reaching for her in his sleep. Not wanting to wake him up she quickly grabbed her body pillow and placed it in his arms. Stifling a laugh she watched him settle pulling the pillow close. _He's pretty cute_, she thought. Since he was asleep and he'd never know, Maddie caressed the side of his face before leaning down and kissing him softly on the lips. "I love you Stevie," she barely whispered as she ran her fingers through his short hair. _I wish he felt the same about me_, she thought as she stared at his sleeping face. _But it doesn't matter. Let it go Maddie, it can NEVER happen…_ The pain in her bladder pulled her from her thoughts as she stood, careful to move slow to keep from getting too dizzy. _I'll never admit it to Steve, but getting some sleep did help me feel a bit better_, she thought as she walked to the bathroom. As soon as the door shut behind her Steve's eyes flew open, his heart pounding. Sure, they had said "I love you" to each other plenty of times before, but she had never kissed him like. And there was something about the tone of her voice. It was different. _Are the guys right? Does she have feelings for me? _The thought made him happy, very happy, which scared the hell out of him. _Why do I feel like I'm floating on a cloud right now just at the thought? Do I have feelings for her? No…Yes?...No… Oh, crap! I don't know. She told me to try things with Lori. She wouldn't have told me that if she had feelings. So…never mind Steve. You're getting worked up for no reason_, he told closed his eyes not wanting Maddie to know he'd been awake when she kissed him and told him she loved him. She'd already gotten upset once today about the lack of privacy. The sudden turmoil in his mind only made him more exhausted and he fell back asleep before she ever exited the bathroom.

After going pee for the first time in 48 hours, Maddie washed her hands, staring at her reflection in the mirror. _Wow, you look like crap_, she thought. Glancing around her spacious bathroom for her makeup bag, it dawned on her that given the drama of the last few days she hadn't unpacked anything. "I have soo much laundry to do!" she mumbled, slumping her shoulders at the thought. She didn't mind so much washing the clothes, it was putting everything away that she despised. And she had A LOT to put away. She hadn't been in Hawaii in six months. She'd been on tour the last four. Before that she had been flying around the world promoting the release of her new record. Maddie would occasionally be home in Los Angeles or New York, but never longer than five days, and she really didn't consider either of those home. This was home to her. It was where she would always call home. Where she would one day live with her husband. Where she would have children and raise them. _That is if I ever find the right guy_, she thought. Steve's face immediately popped into her head. "Madeline! Don't even go there!" she warned herself, freaked out that it was him she thought of when thinking of marriage. _I've never even thought about marrying him before! That was weird…_ A bit unnerved at her thoughts, Maddie shook them from her mind. "I have so much to do and since Steve's sleeping…I'm going to head down and work for a bit."

Quietly opening the bathroom door Maddie peered out, hoping to see Steve asleep. Seeing him passed out she smiled slightly as she pushed out her bottom lip, basically saying "Oh how cute!" without actually saying it. She limped out the bedroom door, shutting it ever so quietly behind her. Blowing out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding, Maddie whispered to herself, "Nicely done." Relieved to have some time to work without Steve worrying over her she descended the stairs.

* * *

><p>Walking through the living room and kitchen area Maddie came across Pete putting groceries away. "Hi Petey!" she smiled at him.<p>

"Feel better?" he smirked, referring to when Steve had thrown her over his shoulder and carried her upstairs.

She squinted at him while shaking her head, feigning annoyance. "I can't believe you didn't help me out!" she cried coming around into the kitchen to help with the groceries.

"Hey, if Steve hadn't done what he did I would have. Feel any better since you got some sleep?"

Putting sodas away in a refrigerator drawer, she nodded to him. "Yeah, but don't tell Steve. Actually, on second thought, don't tell anyone. I have a reputation to uphold!"

He laughed as he grabbed the empty cloth bags they used for groceries and walked towards the hall wanting to put them away. However, seeing her about to pick up a couple cases of beer he turned back. "Hey, you put these away and I'll take care of those." He handed her the cloth bags. Nodding, Maddie walked out of the kitchen and down the hall, passing the movie theater. Not too far down the hall was the door to the garage. Walking into it she put the bags in her black, boxy Mercedes G-Class so they'd already be in the car the next time she went to the store.

Walking back into the kitchen Maddie looked for Pete. Not seeing him she surveyed the surrounding area until she spotted him. There he was in the living room sitting on one of the light tan/cream colored deep, plush couches. His sock covered feet placed on the large, gorgeous, intricately carved, dark wood coffee table, a book in his hand. Laughing, she stood behind the couch. "Well just look at you!"

Pete grinned back at her, teeth showing. "I can't remember the last time I got to chill like this. So great! Don't misunderstand, I LOVE action and everything, but I also love me some chill out time."

Maddie smiled back, glad Pete was getting some relaxation time in. He certainly worked hard and he deserved more time like this to himself. "I just wanted to thank you for running to the store!"

"No prob Shorty! I think it's a little crazy to have a BBQ tonight, when you should probably be getting a solid night's rest, but I get it. I do." He reached out his right hand and Maddie slapped him five laughing.

"Thanks Pete…if you can only get Steve to understand why…" Maddie quietly said, sighing lightly.

"You better get used to Steve in severe protective mode when it comes to you," Pete began. Setting his book down he turned towards her, a serious look on his face. "Maddie, you scared the crap out of him. I mean he is so freaked out right now. Let him be overprotective. Don't give him shit for it. Just go with it. He'll back off a little when he feels everything's okay. Trust me."

"I know. I didn't mean to faint that day. It's just…he was the last thing I was expecting to see. And I was so tired," Maddie confessed. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Shoot," Pete said, already having an idea what she was going to ask.

Maddie furrowed her eyebrows in confusion, "You knew I didn't want to see him…Why did you guys set me up like that?"

"You want the honest truth?" he asked.

She nodded in response.

Pete sighed. "Because Maddie…you haven't been yourself for months now. I was getting worried. And Steve was getting worried because you wouldn't call him back. …I knew something was wrong. Steve knows something's wrong. It's really obvious. When you got so upset that day after I asked you about him, I knew I needed to get you to him. Then after you called him that same day…"

Maddie's face turned red as she remembered how foolish she'd been to do that. _If you had only kept it together Steve would be safer right now and everyone wouldn't be worried about you,_ she told herself embarrassed over her actions.

He continued. "He called me asking me to bring you to him. That something wasn't right."

"So instead of just being honest, you tricked me. All of you…" she said.

"You wouldn't have come if I had told you I was taking you home to Steve," Pete told her.

"Exactly…and you know why? Because, although you disagree, there is a reason I was avoiding Steve. You guys have only made things worse."

He could tell by her voice that she was annoyed and hurt by what they did. "So, then tell me why Maddie."

_It's time to do damage control_, she thought. Convincing Steve everything was fine was going to be difficult and would involve convincing everyone else first. Starting with Pete."I would, but I can't trust you not to say anything to Steve. You told him about my nightmares, not sleeping, the new bodyguards, and who knows what else?"

"Maddie, I'm sorry. I thought I was doing the right thing and I still stand by my decision…but if you tell me not to say anything I won't. I promise," he declared.

_You're going to have to reveal one secret to keep another one safe and hidden_, she told herself. Swallowing, Maddie prepared herself for the confession she was going to make. "Pete, I already told you. I told you that day. When you asked me. You just didn't believe me."

He was quiet as he thought back to their conversation in her dressing room at the beginning of the week. It hit him suddenly. She had told him that she had realized she wanted more from Steve, but knew he'd never give it to her. He smiled. "It took you long enough to realize you have feelings for him."

Maddie shook her head. "Ha! Feelings! If that's what you want to call them. I'd describe it more as being completely head over heels in love with him." Maddie's stomach tightened as her heart pounded. It was the first time she'd actually said she was in love with him. She'd only confirmed her feelings with a simple "yeah" when Malia asked her, but she'd never actually verbalized how she truly felt.

Pete was shocked by her candor and honesty. "You know he feels the same way, right?"

"Yeah, right," she sarcastically replied. "He is not in love with me Pete."

"You couldn't be more wrong…"

"What about Lori? He left me last night to go meet her. And then…" she hesitated, her next words already tasting bitter before she even spoke them. "I'm sure he slept with her."

Pete immediately turned his entire body to her. "I don't think so Maddie! I don't think it went that far."

"Well if it didn't, it's only a matter of time. Plus, even if by some absolutely miniscule chance he does have some sort of feelings for me…nothing can ever come of them," Maddie claimed.

"What do you mean?" Pete asked.

"Nothing, just we grew up together. We can't go there."

"Maddie…what are you afraid of?" Pete asked, his voice gentle and soothing.

"Nothing, Pete," she lied. _I'm afraid of a lot right now. I'm afraid of this stalker hurting Steve. I'm afraid that if he finds out how I feel, things won't be the same anymore. I'm afraid of losing him as a friend. Those are just a few_, she thought.

Although it wasn't information he'd been looking for, Pete was happy with what Maddie told him. She seemed to be in an open and honest mood, so he'd been hoping she'd divulge something about what she was so terrified of. However, he could tell she was closing up, so he stopped his questions. "Well, I'm gonna go outside and finish these new songs. I should be done with them shortly."

"Where's Steve?" Pete wondered.

Maddie smiled, biting her bottom lip, as the image of him sound asleep popped in her head. "Sleeping. He's really tired."

"Don't you think you should be up there asleep too? I'm pretty sure that's where Steve wants you." Pete wiggled his eyebrows up and down in a suggestive manner.

"Ha! I wish," she joked. "But seriously, he said if I slept for a while I could come work."

"You and I both know he wanted you to sleep later than 2pm."

"Oh well, I'll be outside," Maddie announced. "I have my cell."

Shaking his head at her stubbornness, Pete said, "Okay."

Maddie wasted no time heading to the glass door leading outside. Slipping out of the house, she turned right, walking along the pathway to her studio. _I can't believe I just said that stuff to Pete! _She thought. _But, hey! If it gets them off the trail that something is seriously wrong, fine. I have to get Pete to believe that's the reason I wouldn't speak to Steve._ With her new plan in motion, she entered her studio feeling a bit more in control than she had in a while.

* * *

><p>Waking up, his eyes still closed, Steve stretched his arms before pulling Maddie close. His eyes flew open as he pulled something soft and squishy to him. "Damn it! I must have fallen back asleep before she was finished in the restroom! She never came back to bed…" He couldn't help but smile at her little stunt. <em>She's been a little feistier today. A little more like the old Maddie. I hope that's a good sign<em>, he thought as he stood up yawning. Once he shook off the grogginess Steve thought he better figure out what Maddie was up to. Try and convince her to get some more rest.

Walking downstairs he found Pete passed out on the couch, snoring loudly, a book on his chest. _Maddie could be screaming for help right now and he wouldn't wake up_, he thought as he poked Pete repeatedly with a pen. He didn't even stir. Steve walked away rolling his eyes and laughing.

Entering the kitchen he checked the TV monitor to see if she was in the studio, but she wasn't there. Getting a bit worried he said, "Where the hell…", but before he could finish he heard a loud noise from down the hall. He listened for it again, but heard nothing. "That's weird…what was that?" Steve wondered as he exited the kitchen and turned right down the hall. He didn't have to go far before he saw it.

Huge trunks littered the hall. All of which were open. Some were knocked on their sides, while others were not. Steve counted four total, with two rolling suitcases and two duffel bags lying nearby. "What is going on?" he whispered as he approached the mess. "Mads?" he called out as he stopped in front of an open door. He could have sworn he heard a muffled response coming from the room. Looking inside he realized he was in the laundry room. A large laundry room, with two washers and two dryers and a huge sink. There was also a lot of counter space where you could sort or fold your clothes and a couple rods where you could hang them. On the tumbled stone floor lay a HUGE pile of clothes.

"Mads?" Steve called again. "You in here?"

"Yeah, I'm here," came her voice.

Steve walked inside the room. "I don't see you."

Suddenly her head popped up out of the clothes as she giggled. The look on her face was too cute; Steve couldn't help but start cracking up. "Hold on! Don't move. Don't change anything!" he laughed as he pulled his iPhone from his pocket. Holding his phone up he snapped a picture of the ridiculous sight before him. Satisfied, he slipped the phone back in his pants. "What are you doing?"

Maddie grinned at him, her dimples showing. _Uh, I love those dimples! This is the first time I'm seeing them in 2 years. I didn't realize how much I missed them_, he thought as he stared at her still laughing. "Doing laundry silly!" she giggled rolling her eyes at him.

_She's in a cute mood_, Steve thought. "I gotta tell you Mads, I've never seen laundry done this way."

"That's because you're no fun. You're too serious!" She reached up and took his hand. "Come help!" She pulled him down in the pile, laughing hysterically.

Now closer to her he could see that she still looked tired, but she was having so much fun he didn't have the heart to ruin it and insist she get some rest. "Mads, what are all these clothes from?"

She rolled her eyes. "These are from the last 4 months. Been on tour a while. Technically for 6 months, but I was in Los Angeles and did some laundry then. This doesn't include my stage clothes."

"My God! Do you really need all these? I mean clothing store's don't even have this much!"

"Hey! You're so used to having one small duffel bag and packing light from the Navy that you forget how things really are! Plus, I'm a girl!" Maddie responded throwing some clothes at him.

"I resent that!" Steve laughed as the clothes she threw hit him. Most of the garments fell right off him, but something stuck to his shoulder. Reaching up he grabbed the offending object and held it up. His face immediately turned bright red causing Maddie to laugh hysterically. "Uh….here you go…I think…yeah…" he stumbled as he held the black lacey object out to her. She didn't take it at first because she was enjoying watching him squirm. "Just…here…" Steve shook his hand, the clothing swinging when he did so. Finally Maddie gave him a break and grabbed it.

"Steve…it's just a bra," she smiled at how embarrassed he was. In fact, she actually thought it was pretty cute. She knew he wasn't a prude or anything, but sometimes he did get uncomfortable talking about certain things. Not all the time though. However, this was one of those times. "I imagine…actually I hope, you've seen one before!"

Steve glared at her, shaking his head. "Of course I have…"

His face was still bright red. Maddie was enjoying this too much to let him off the hook quite yet. "In fact, I hope this wasn't your first time holding a bra Steven."

"Maddie…" Steve sighed. It wasn't that he was conservative or anything it was that this was her bra. And for some reason, the second he saw it he pictured it on her. _Thank God I'm sitting in this absurd amount of clothes because she can't see what thinking about her like that just did to me. I feel like a damn teenager going through puberty! I shouldn't get a boner just at the thought of her like that. Not at this age! What the hell is going on?_ he wondered, a bit panicked.

"Steve?...Steve?" Maddie called trying to get his attention. It's like he suddenly checked out completely, something she'd never seen him really do. Wanting to bring him back to earth and tease him some more, she threw the bra at him and yelled, "STEVEN!" Steve came to just as the bra landed on his head. He pretended to be mad, but couldn't hide his smile or the fact that his face became redder, something she didn't think was even possible.

"Maddie, knock it off! Would you stop doing that?" Steve said, throwing the bra back at her as if he was grossed out.

Maddie's chest tightened. _The thought of me like that is that disgusting to him?_ she wondered. Taking the bra and dropping it into the lingerie pile she'd started, she said, "It's just a bra, Steve…"

He could tell something had changed a little bit in her, but he wasn't sure why. He tried to catch her eye, but she refused as she sorted some clothes around her. "Yeah, but it's your bra Maddie."

She felt as if someone had just punched her square in the stomach. _Wow_, she thought. _I knew Pete was wrong…but man was he WRONG! _ _Whatever, it doesn't matter anyway._ Little did Maddie know, Steve didn't mean it the way she took it. "Yes, Steve, well I do have boobs, so, yes…I have bras…..Anyway, I got a lot of laundry to do. I'm sure there's something else you'd rather be doing right now."

Steve's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. She was obviously upset about something. _What the hell just happened? One minute she's being silly with me and now she's upset_, he wondered. He watched her sort the clothes. She was trying to distract herself, that much was obvious to him. She was picking up and throwing clothes in their respective piles as if her life depended on it. _She's not getting rid of me that easily_, he decided. _I'm not going to let her keep pushing me away like this._ "I'll help you! It'll go faster!"

_Just go away, Steve_, she thought. _Having him here is just a reminder of everything_. "It's cool. I got it…" Maddie told him.

"Mads?"

Sighing, she prepared herself for his question. "Hm?"

"What's wrong? You were silly one second…and now…what happened?"

"Nothing," she lied. "Just realized how much I have to do and people will be arriving in a couple hours. Just have so much to do in the next few days."

He didn't buy her excuse. _There's something else_, Steve told himself. "Well then, let me help you. Ok, so…," he grabbed a soft, thin blouse in front of him and held it up. "This looks fragile. What pile?"

Turning her head, she looked at him for the first time since he reminded her where she stood with him. She couldn't help but smile at the sweet look on his face. _Damn it, Steve! _she thought as she realized how easy it was for him to get to her. She pointed to a pile of clothes next to her.

"Ha! There's that smile…but wait…it's missing something." He took a couple steps towards her on his knees, dropping the article in the pile she'd pointed to. He couldn't have been any closer to her as he took his index finger on each hand and pushed them gently into the middle of her cheeks.

"What are you doing, you weirdo?" Maddie laughed, his fingers still on her cheeks.

"Ha ha! There they are!" He cried as he pulled his hands away from her face.

"What are you talking about?"

"Your dimples!" Steve smiled.

She rolled her eyes at him. _He is so cute when he's like this!_ She thought. _Maddie, don't go there! Let it be._

"Wanna know a secret?" he whispered.

"I'm not sure…you just were poking my cheeks. Who knows what's next?" she joked.

"Your dimples…," Steve took a deep breath. "They get to me…" _I'll let her figure out what I mean by that_, he thought.

"What do you mean, 'get to you'?" Maddie wondered. _Does he mean they turn him on?_ she wondered. _No…that couldn't be._

Steve scooted back to his previous spot, sinking down into the pile of clothes. "Think about it…." he flirted.

_He's using a sexy, flirty voice on me._ _What is going on?_ she wondered. The two of them sat there staring at one another for a minute. Steve was giving her a very seductive, turned on look. Finally Maddie started blushing and nervously laughed. "Why are you looking at me funny?" she asked.

"Trust me Mads, I'm not looking at you funny," Steve answered, his voice sexy.

Maddie stared back at him for a second, her heart racing. _Was Pete right?_ she wondered. Knowing it didn't matter anyway, she looked away. "This is the whites pile, here's the darks," she pointed. "And you can see that those are all the individual color piles. And….here are anything that need to be hand washed or are delicate." She paused. "You sure you want to help?"

"Of course…I don't care what I'm doing as long as I'm with you," Steve told her. Maddie's stomach flip-flopped at his statement. "But…after this…"

"Yeah, yeah, " Maddie sighed, rolling her eyes. "I have to rest."

"Look at you! You little mind reader," he joked as he continued to help her sort the ungodly amounts of laundry.

* * *

><p>"Here ya go Mads," Steve said as he placed some chicken noodle soup in front of her.<p>

"Steve….I told you I wasn't hungry!"

"Yeah, I don't care. You haven't eaten anything in 48 hours. And you only had a small amount this morning. Come on…eat it," he ordered as he stuck the spoon in her hand.

Maddie sat at the kitchen counter, Steve on the other side standing in front of her watching every move she made. "You're freaking me out a little."

His eyes grew wide. "Why? What am I doing? Besides taking really good care of you?"

"You're just staring at me…and yes, you are taking good care of me. Even though I don't need you to. I'm completely fine," she argued, taking a bite of the soup.

"You're not fooling me, Madeline." Steve watched her eat the soup his mind wandering. _She's acting more like herself today. But it's like with the feisty side of her came a distance between us. She hasn't touched me in passing or touched my arm when telling me something. She's pulled away a couple times when I've tried to be that way with her. Which is weird, it's not normal for her._ _To anyone else it would seem like she was getting better, but I actually think she's getting worse. She's hiding whatever's bothering her better. That scares me_, he thought.

"Hello? Steve?" came a voice that pulled him from his thoughts. He looked at Maddie completely confused since it wasn't her voice. Using her spoon she pointed to his left. Steve looked next to him to find none other than Tina Monroe, Maddie's longtime personal assistant.

"Tina!" Steve exclaimed reaching down to envelope her in a hug.

"Finally I get your attention! I can't hold it against you. Your soul mate should always be able to hypnotize you like that!" Tina said as she hugged him.

"Tina!" Maddie cried, her face red. "She's just joking Steve." She shook her head and glared at Tina.

They pulled out of the hug, now both facing Maddie. "No I wasn't," Tina announced.

"We are just friends. Always have. Always will," Steve told her.

Maddie's heart broke, but she didn't miss a beat. "Exactly!"

"You guys are so stupid!" Tina shook her head.

"Anyway…" Maddie began. "How's your sister? The baby?"

"Mads…" Steve whispered, pretending to hold a spoon and feed himself.

Rolling her eyes she picked the utensil back up and took a bite of the soup. "Happy?"

"Yes, VERY!" he retorted.

She shook her head before turning her attention back on Tina. "So…" she smiled.

"My sister's wonderful! So happy!" Tina began. "The baby…" she paused sighing as she grinned. "Oh Mads…she's beautiful! Really precious!"

"Do you have any pictures?"

"Of course! What kind of aunt and godmother would I be if I didn't have a MILLION pictures?" Tina joked pulling out her phone. Finding the right picture folder she handed it to her friend and boss.

Setting her spoon down Maddie took the phone. A huge smile appeared on her face as her eyes fell on a chunky baby girl curled up asleep in a diaper. "Oh my God!" Maddie squealed. "She's absolutely gorgeous!" Looking up she caught Steve's eye. He was smirking and staring at her the way he'd been in the laundry room. "What?" she asked, beginning to blush. _Why does he have that affect on me when he looks at me like that?_ she wondered.

_What is it about those dimples? Why do they get to me like they do? She just looks so damn cute when she smiles like that! _he thought. Smirking he shook his head. "Nothing…dimples."

Blushing profusely, she leaned forward. "Stevie, look how cute!" Steve leaned forward and to the side meeting her in the middle of the counter. Their heads touched as she showed him the picture.

"She's adorable," Steve said as he smiled at the screen.

"Keep flipping. There's more," Tina revealed watching the two interact. _There's something different here. I mean it was always apparent they were secretly in love with one another, but obvious they hadn't realized their own feelings yet. Now…it's like the chemistry and energy between them is electric. It's just bubbling over. It's only a matter of time before something happens between them. FINALLY!_

"Oh Mads, look at that one!" Steve whispered, finding the current photo especially cute.

"Awww!" Maddie cooed. "Oh my God! That one!" Maddie turned to look at Steve, her eyebrows arched and her bottom lip stuck out. _Her "this is so cute" face! If she only knew how adorable she is when she makes it, _he thought. Lost in their own little world Steve leaned forward pressing his lips to her forehead.

Tina's eyes bulged out in her head. She had seen him kiss her forehead or nose before, but there was something very intimate they way he did it now. Something was different. _Here they were looking at baby photos and he turns and kisses her forehead? Woah…this is happening quick between them. However, everyone always guessed that it would. One day, they'd just see it and it would all fall into place. At least that's what Steve's dad always said would happen,_ she thought.

Steve realized what he'd just done and immediately leaned away from Maddie, folding his arms across his chest. _What the hell was that? _he asked himself, freaking out inside. _I better watch myself with her. She told me this morning she didn't want to go there with me. I have to respect that. Not only that, but I've known her since we were four…isn't it like she's my sister? What the hell is going on? I don't want to screw up our friendship!_ Looking to Tina he said, "She's really cute. Congratulations!"

Maddie handed her the phone and leaned back into the barstool. She tried to catch Steve's eye, but it seemed like he was purposely avoiding her. _I'll test that out, _she thought. Her bowl still ¾ of the way full she pushed it away and began to stand up.

Steve continued to look at Tina. "I'm gonna see where Pete ran off to. Can you make sure she eats at least half of that?"

Tina nodded. "Sure thing. Good to see you Steve!"

"You too!" he replied rubbing her on the shoulder as he walked by on his way out of the kitchen and upstairs.

"Sooo…" Tina began, turning her attention on Maddie across the counter. "When are you and Steve going to have your own little gorgeous babies?"

_What the hell crawled up his butt? He completely just ignored me!_ Maddie thought. She scoffed. "We're just friends, T."

"Yeah, right! Something's different with you guys…anything happen?"

Maddie sighed, dropping her spoon in the bowl. "Yeah…we kissed," she whispered.

"Oh my God!" Tina screamed in excitement. "And? How was it? He a good kisser? I always thought he would be."

Maddie smiled slowly. "It was…amazing." Her smile grew, her dimples showing. "Yeah, he's great!"

"Oh my God! I can't believe it! You are finally going to get together!" Tina sighed in happiness.

"Tina, it was just a fluke. Our emotions were running on high. I scared and worried the crap out of him, plus we hadn't seen each other in two years."

"Yeah, I noticed that. He's worried about you. Everything okay? Is he just worried because you haven't been yourself the last few months?"

"I guess. And well…I fainted when I saw him. I was so tired and he surprised me. Anyway, I hit my head on marble flooring when I fell, so he's been by my side almost the entire time since then. He's freaked out."

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine! Just a concussion."

"Just a concussion? How the hell are you going to do this show?"

"I'm just gonna do it…" Maddie replied. "It'll be fine. Piece a cake!"

Tina looked at her friend and boss. _Now that she's told me about what happened, I can see she doesn't feel well. Something's off, _she thought. "Okay. Well if you're sure!"

"I am…" Maddie picked the spoon up and took a few more bites. Suddenly she looked at her friend and said, "I'm really glad to have you back. I missed you!"

"Me too, Mads. Me too!"

* * *

><p>Thirty minutes later Steve had come back down to see a nearly empty soup bowl sitting in front of Maddie while she and Tina spoke. He smiled, a small sense of relief washing over him. <em>Thank God she's gotten some food in her stomach<em>, he thought. Reaching across the counter he grabbed the bowl and set it in the sink. He watched her as she listened to Tina. "So, that's a review of what Mr. Kern is requesting with this show."

"Okay. I got it."

"Where do you stand with the new songs?"

"They're done. Unless I decide to add any more."

"But you have at least four done?"

"Yeah."

"Okay, great! Well, here's the schedule for the next few days," Tina said. "You may want to grab a beer for this," she joked.

Maddie glanced at Steve from the corner of her eye. She knew the schedule was going to be awful, probably giving her barely any time to sleep. Hearing this was going to freak him out and upset him, but she knew there was no way he was going to leave now that he knew what they were talking about.

"Hey Tina! Give me a hug!" Pete said as he walked into the room. "You have NO IDEA how much I missed you!" he told her as he held her in a dramatic hug.

The two girls started laughing. "What'd I miss?" Steve asked.

Meeting his eyes, Maddie answered, "Tina's sister was pregnant with her first child and was put on bed rest. The two have always been so close, so I sent her back home to help her sister. That was about a month and a half ago. Anyway, since then Pete has been my assistant. He's been doing Tina's job, covering for her."

"Oh McG! It is hard. There are so many things to have to worry about and consider." No longer hugging her, Pete looked at Tina. "I don't know how you make it look so easy! You're amazing!"

Maddie reached out and pulled her friend to her. "You really are!"

"How'd you do Pete? Screw anything up big time?" Steve asked, chuckling.

Maddie laughed. "We had a few snafus, but nothing major. Pete did a wonderful job!"

"Damn straight!" he cried.

They all laughed, however Steve noticed Maddie lean forward on her elbow, placing her head in her hand. He could see how tired she was. Sure, she'd gotten some sleep, but it wasn't a lot compared to how long she'd gone without getting good rest. He noticed her complexion was a lot paler than it had been an hour earlier. He looked at his watch and realized she didn't have much time to rest before the BBQ.

Picking up on the way Steve was watching Maddie, worry in his eyes, Tina said, "Anyway, let's go over this schedule really quickly."

"Okay, hit me," Maddie mumbled feeling sleepy.

"Alright tomorrow, Sunday. 6am call time at the Blaisdell Arena. The stage will be finished being built around 10pm tonight, so your rehearsals will all be there. I figured it would save you time to just do everything there. Is that okay? Or would you rather start out back in the studio and rehearsal rooms?"

"No, you're right. This is an unconventional situation, which calls for an unconventional plan. We do everything right on the stage. All rehearsals," Maddie answered. Steve had always loved watching her in situations like this. She was confident and took charge. She was a great businesswoman. It was no different here. She knew what needed to be done and the fastest and most efficient way to do it.

"Okay, great! So, 6am is the first rehearsal with the band. You'll go over the new songs. Teach them to the guys," Tina said.

"Yeah, however. It will be a closed rehearsal. Any rehearsals where new songs will be played will be closed," Maddie announced.

Tina made a note of this change on the schedule in front of her. "No problem. Now when you say closed…"

"I mean the only people in that room are the ones that will be on stage. I don't want anyone."

Steve's eyebrows were furrowed in confusion. _Why doesn't she want anyone in there?_ he wondered.

"Well, except security of course," Pete said.

"No. No, Pete. No security in the room. You guys can be on the premises, but I want the room cleared of everyone besides, the band, the dancers, the choreographer, and me."

"No, Maddie. Not with what's going on!" Steve chimed in.

"Security will still be there. They can clear the room before I go in if you want. But I want a closed rehearsal," Maddie asserted. Steve shook his head, lips pursed. Maddie knew he'd argue more with her when they were alone. He wasn't going to let this one go that easily.

Feeling a bit awkward, Tina looked to Maddie. Receiving a small smile and nod from her, she continued. "Okay, you'll rehearse with the band until 12, where you'll break for an hour for lunch. Then Lyle will come in at 1pm. He'll start choreographing the new songs with you and the dancers until about 11pm. Of course you'll learn the new choreography not to tracks, but with the live band playing. At some point the costume designers will watch the new numbers and meet with you so they can design the costumes for the new numbers and have them done by hopefully Tuesday night. That way you'll be able to run the new numbers in costume. Make sure everything is good to go on them. And then you are set to be back home no later than midnight."

"Alright, Monday?" Maddie asked.

"Monday is pretty much the same. Tuesday is just running the show over and over and whatever else needs to be done. Wednesday…is different. You have a huge press conference from 8-9am. Then you head over to Noelani Elementary School from 10-12pm. Then to your alma mater, Kakoli High School from 1-3. You'll head to the arena for a 3:30 sound check. Then at 4:30 a visit to the children's wing at Honolulu Hospital. Back to the venue for a 6pm Meet and Greet. Into hair and makeup by 7pm, for a 9pm show start time. For this particular show the set time has gone from 90 minutes to 120 minutes. So, you should be done by 11pm. Now because this is a live show that will be aired on HBO you will have to do some small press things in between other scheduled things. Sorry…I know you don't like show days being that booked. Especially after 3 days of insane rehearsals."

Maddie was panicking a little inside. _How the hell am I going to pull this off?_ She wondered. _This would be exhausting if I was fully rested, but I haven't been that for months._ "Okay, no problem," Maddie lied and quite convincingly.

Pete and Steve said nothing as the schedule was read and nothing when Tina was finished. They both knew this was going to be nearly impossible for Maddie to do. Now wasn't the time to get into it with her. Steve wanted to get her to lie down before the BBQ, which both he and Pete agreed was a terrible idea. Looking at Maddie, Steve could see the anxiety over the next few days in her eyes. Now that she'd heard the schedule she appeared even more exhausted.

"Maddie…." Steve said. "You're tired. Come on…" He walked around the counter and stood next to her. She slid out of the chair, slightly losing her balance as her feet hit the ground. He immediately reached his arm out to steady her, however she pulled away from him. She was confused and hurt over his weird behavior earlier in the kitchen, when he pulled away after looking at the pictures on Tina's phone. Not knowing what was going on with him, she felt she needed to protect herself a bit. _He talked to me through Tina and then walked away. I don't get it_, she thought.

Maddie began walking towards the stairs, Steve right behind her. At the bottom of the stairs she turned to him, "I'll be fine."

He furrowed his eyebrows, confused. _She doesn't want me to come with her? But she seems to not have nightmares if I hold her_, he thought. _ I don't want her to have anymore._ "You don't want me to come?" he whispered.

She shrugged her shoulders. "I'm fine. You don't need to watch me every moment."

He was so confused. _Why is she pushing me away again?_ he wondered. "Okay…but I have my phone in my pocket. If you need me…"

"Okay, but I'll be fine," Maddie interrupted.

"Mads, if you have a nightmare…I want you to call me. I don't want you up there upset. Okay?" he asked looking her in the eyes.

"Of course, but like I said, I'll,"

"Be fine," he mocked, interrupting her.

"Yes." With that she turned and walked up the stairs. He cringed as her bedroom door loudly closed behind her. Disappointed and confused, Steve walked back into the kitchen. Tina and Pete were pretending they hadn't been watching the entire conversation. Not wanting to deal with the questions, he decided he needed to be alone for awhile.

"I'm gonna go…" Steve mumbled as he walked towards the hall pointing down it.

Wanting to help her in any way he could he entered the laundry room hoping to get a good chunk of it done for her. Plus it would give him time by himself to think things over.

* * *

><p>Overwhelmed and heartbroken, Maddie climbed on her bed. Instead of laying where she normally did, she laid where Steve had slept, burying her face in his pillow. She breathed in his scent as a couple tears rolled down her face. <em>Stop it! Get over it! You and Steve can't and won't happen! <em>she told herself. Maddie wiped the couple tears away and closed her eyes. She decided there would be no more crying over him. She'd only be home for a month or two. Then she'd be back on the road and she wouldn't have to see him. She wouldn't constantly be reminded of what she couldn't have and she knew he'd be safe then. Until that time, she'd just have to live moment by moment, one day at a time. _Upside to the craziness of the next few days...you won't have to see him. He'll be safe and you can have some time to build your walls up. Keep him out of your head and heart_. Feeling a bit more relieved she finally fell asleep.

* * *

><p>Thanks so much for reading my story! Please, please, PLEASE <strong>REVIEW<strong>!

xoxoxo


	17. Chapter 17

**DISCLAIMER:** I do not own the show "Hawaii Five-0" or any of its characters. I do own Maddie though! :o)

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><p><strong>AUTHOR'S NOTE: <strong>Hi guys! Sorry that it took me so long to post this chapter. I broke my tail bone shooting my music video. I'm finally feeling a bit better where I could sit long enough to finish this chapter. So, I hope you guys like it. My butt suffered! lol.

Anyways, as always, thoughts are in _italics_.

I just wanted to remind you all that Maddie has only been back in Hawaii with Steve since Thursday and it's only Saturday evening. I know how much you guys want them to get their heads out of their a$$es already and admit they're in love with one another. TRUST ME, I GET IT! Something will happen between them in a few chapters because time will skip forward a bit. I just don't think it's realistic for the tension to be over in 3 days. Anyway, keep reading...you won't be disappointed. Now that Maddie will be going into rehearsals, Steve and the team will investigate what's going on. So you'll get the action you are all craving.

Well, I hope you like it! Thanks so much for all the reviews! You guys rock! Please, please continue to let me know what you think! The more I get the more I'll be willing to sit on my broken butt and write!

Enjoy,

Laura

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><p><strong>CHAPTER 17<strong>

At 5:30pm Steve thought he better check on Maddie. Sure, she hadn't wanted him to join her, but he wanted to make sure she was sleeping. That she wasn't either awake or having a nightmare. Quietly walking in to her bedroom his heart sunk seeing her clutch his pillow as she whimpered, kicking her legs every once in awhile. Wasting no time at all, he climbed on the bed, immediately pulling her small body to him. "Shh…everything's fine. It's not real. I'm right here, safe with you. Shhh…shhhh," Steve whispered to her as he rubbed her back, holding her close. However, he wanted to make sure he didn't hold her too tightly because he could feel she was hot and sweaty from being upset. As soon as he pulled her close she burrowed herself into him, wiggling around. _Oh no…_ he thought as her pelvis rubbed against his as she tried getting closer to him. Steve closed his eyes and softly moaned as his manhood began to harden. In her sleep Maddie tangled her legs in his tucking her head under his chin and against his chest as her hands clung to his shirt. He engulfed her with his strong arms as he kissed her forehead. Although she hadn't woken up she must've known he was there because she stopped whimpering in fear, her nightmare disappearing.

Although still sleepy himself, Steve didn't want to fall asleep. Maddie had been pushing him away and he wasn't sure if she'd be this vulnerable with him again, especially now that she was starting to feel better. So, he wanted to enjoy every last minute of having her in his arms. He wanted to remember the way she snuggled into his body. He'd always snuggled a bit with girls he was with, but only when they were awake. It was too uncomfortable to be that way for an extended period of time or all night. Not to mention, he just didn't want to. But with Maddie it was different. It was like they fit perfectly together. In fact, Steve slept better when she was there in his arms.

His mind ran a million miles an hour as he looked down at her gorgeous, sleeping face. _What is going on with us? Ever since we kissed in the movie theater yesterday all I want is to do it again. It's like I got a taste of a drug and am addicted. But I don't want to screw our friendship up over an urge…. But is it just an urge? Do I have any feelings for her that are more than just friends? Or is it just that I haven't seen her in 2 years? That she's not taking care of herself? And then she hurts herself so badly…making me worry even more for her. That's gotta be what's fueling and causing these urges…just my concern for her_, he decided still fixated on her face as his right hand played with her long, soft hair.

Maddie subconsciously nestled into him more as she smiled slightly and made little high-pitched sighing noises in her sleep. Steve couldn't stop the grin that spread on his face. _I'm going to miss these little things she does when she sleeps. My gut tells me she's not going to let us do this again_, he thought. Steve hadn't realized how long he'd been watching Maddie until her gorgeous blue eyes were suddenly looking back at him. "What time is it?" she croaked, her voice raspy.

He glanced at the clock behind her. "6:45pm," he smiled at her, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. His stomach dropped as he felt her tense up, followed by her pulling away and sitting up.

"I can't believe it's so late! Has anyone arrived?" she asked.

"Probably! I mean, I'm assuming so since we told my team 6ish."

"Crap! I must look so rude! Here I made a terrible first impression and now this," Maddie said, her anxiety over looking bad apparent as she popped up from bed.

Thank God Steve knew exactly what was going to happen when she got up quickly, so he sat up getting close to the edge of the bed in preparation. "Woah, Mads," he whispered as he grabbed her arm when he saw her start to waver. He held on to her for a minute as she regained her balance and the dizzy wave passed. Once she felt more stable on her feet she pulled her arm from his grasp.

"I'm gonna get ready real quick and then I'll be down," Maddie said as she walked to her bathroom door, pushing it open. She turned to him leaning against the side of the open door, "Maybe you wouldn't mind telling everyone who's here that I'll be down shortly?"

_In other words_, he thought, _she doesn't want me in here with her anymore. Now that she's awake, she's back to pushing me away. Putting her walls up to protect herself…something she's always done, but NEVER with me!_

Knowing it was pointless to do anything but agree with her when she had so much to do and concentrate on the next few days, he rose. Once standing Steve threw his arms above his head stretching out as he yawned. Maddie found herself staring at his bare, lower abdomen where his t-shirt was rising as he stretched. _He is so ripped. I wonder what it would be like to…_ Maddie shook her head at the thought she was having. _Don't go there, Mads! Wondering anything about Steve naked is too dangerous and hurts too much._

Steve caught the look she was giving him as she stared at the bit of his bare stomach showing. He felt a tingling in his lower abdomen at the hunger and lust he saw in her eyes. Deciding he better get the hell out of the room before God only knows what would happen, he said. "Alright, I'll see you in a few." Walking towards the door he exited, leaving Maddie standing at the entrance to her bathroom staring after him.

She must have been standing there leaning against her bathroom door for at least a minute after he'd left, lost in thoughts of him. Finally snapping out of it she walked in her bathroom and over to the sink. Brushing her teeth quickly she moved a little to her right to her vanity. Sitting down on the cushioned stool she glanced at her reflection in the mirror. _Is that me?_ she wondered, not recognizing the sad, exhausted woman staring back at her. Sighing Maddie opened her makeup bag, deciding it wasn't the time to think about how much she'd changed the last few months. She understood why Steve was concerned. She wasn't the same person she'd been. It's not that she didn't want to be, it's just that she was terrified all the time. After months of feeling that way, it had taken a toll on her. _You're just going to have to pretend everything's fine Maddie, for Steve's sake, _she told herself._ I mean I know he's already investigating the text message. _She became a bit queasy at the thought of it. Something about the text message wasn't sitting well with her. She just wasn't sure what it was, besides the obvious of course.

Maddie had been so busy thinking, she hadn't realized she'd finished doing her makeup. She'd been on autopilot. Glancing in the mirror, she smiled slightly at herself. _Well, that's A LOT better! I just have to make sure to appear happy around everyone, not miserable like I am._ Slowly rising while holding the counter, she closed her eyes waiting out the dizzy feeling she was experiencing. _I cannot wait for these dizzy spells to go away. I feel them every time I stand up or every time I sit up when I've been lying down. The faster I get up the worse and more intense it is. I better be very careful downstairs around everyone_, she told herself. Finally feeling she could walk without fainting she limped out of her bathroom to her massively large, two story, walk in closet.

Maddie walked up and down the rows of clothes, but nothing was catching her eye. She didn't want to think about why, but she wanted to look fantastic! She had a feeling it had something to do with Lori, but she refused to read into her motives. "Well, it's a causal barbeque, so I can't go dressy," she said as she walked out of the dressy area of her closet. Her huge closet was unbelievably organized. Each item categorized by season and type of clothing: dressy, casual, semi casual, etc. Walking to the area that housed her warm weather casual items, she glanced around. Looking through a rack of shirts, she sighed. "I need to get rid of some of these. Donate them. Get some new summer clothes. Plus, shopping always cheers me up." Coming across a black burnout v-neck t-shirt, Maddie pulled it off the hanger, slipping it on over her black lace bra.

Clad only in her black, lace, boy brief Hanky Panky panties and the t-shirt she squatted down opening a drawer below the rack of shirts she'd been going through. Inside were a bunch of shorts. Rifling through them, Maddie came across the pair she'd been looking for. Walking over to the soft, round, pale blue ottoman a few feet away, she sat down slowly pulling the slightly distressed, medium blue wash, denim shorts over her legs. _All of the cuts are going to show….oh well_, she thought. Slowly standing Maddie buttoned and then zipped the shorts. Walking to the floor to ceiling shelves nearby that held her casual shoes she spotted the ones she wanted to wear. Returning to the ottoman she put the simple black leather sandals on. On the piece of leather that laid on top of her foot were silver and gold triangle shaped studs, giving them a rock 'n' roll feel. After all, she was going for a casual feel with a touch of rocker. Buckling the ankle straps Maddie stood and walked further down the row of casual clothes reaching the accessories. Coming to a shelf with different jewelry holders on it, her eyes went to a black velvet, three-tiered bracelet holder. She grabbed six different black leather bracelets with different charms on them. A couple had the leather woven, others were just simply a thin, round leather cord. Then she pulled a black leather wrap off the same holder along with a couple small black bracelets made of fabric. One was silk, the other was black cloth with the occasional small, round, silver and gold beads sporadically threaded onto it. Satisfied with her choices, Maddie put all the bracelets on her left arm.

Walking to a nearby mirror she eyed herself. Reaching down she cut off a couple loose threads hanging from the hem of her cutoff shorts. "This'll work. Let me just do something with my hair and then I'll be ready," she told to herself.

Once back in her bathroom Maddie quickly curled her long reddish brown hair. Finished she took her hands and shook them through her hair to relax the curls, giving herself relaxed beach waves. Reaching for one of her favorite headbands she slid it so the delicate, metal weave with clear, Swarovski crystals was on her forehead and along the sides of her head, the small elastic piece on the back of her head. "Pretty!" she smiled as she took one last look at herself in the mirror before turning the lights off and walking out of her bedroom to join everyone.

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><p>As the gorgeous mansion came into view, Lori Westin couldn't help feeling jealous. "I knew who she was when I saw her, but…seeing this makes it so real," she said, getting out of her car and walking to the door. She hesitated, taking a deep breath before reaching her right hand out and pushing the doorbell. The exquisite door opened shortly after, revealing Maddie's head of security, Pete.<p>

"Hi! Nice to see you again!" he said as he politely hugged her.

"You too!"

"Come on in," Pete instructed stepping back and motioning her inside.

Seeing the gorgeous foyer made her stomach clench. Lori looked around quietly as she followed Pete down a hallway. "Everyone's through here," he informed her.

Exiting the hall she looked around seeing all her coworkers in the kitchen area. "Hi Lori!" Danny greeted from his spot at the kitchen table with Grace on his lap as they colored in a coloring book.

"Hi!" she said back. Looking around the room Lori didn't see Steve. Or Maddie for that matter. She felt queasy at the thought of where they might be, what they could be doing. "Where's Steve?" she asked.

"He and Maddie are taking a nap. I'm sure they'll be down shortly," Pete commented as he opened himself a beer.

_Taking a nap? Together? Or separately? _Lori wondered. She wanted to ask, but didn't feel it was appropriate.

"Feel free to help yourself to any appetizers or grab a drink," Pete told her pointing to the area she could find them.

"Thanks," she quietly responded. The only reason she had come was to see Steve, but thought she better mingle while she waited. She didn't want to seem rude. Walking into the living room she sat down, joining Kono, Malia, Tina, and Rachel's conversation.

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><p>When Steve left Maddie to head downstairs, his co-workers were already there hanging out in the kitchen and living room. No one had noticed him slowly walk down the stairs except Grace. Seeing him she hopped off her father's lap and ran towards Steve a huge smile on her face. He couldn't help but smile back at her excitement. Just as he stepped off the last stair Grace flung herself into his arms as she cried, "Uncle Steve!" Steve picked her up, hugging her tightly.<p>

His strong arms wrapped around her as he kissed her temple. "Hey Gracie!" She pulled back and he repositioned her so he was holding her with his left arm, his forearm under her butt. This way Steve could see where he was going as he walked further into the room. "You look beautiful!"

Grace smiled at her uncle. "Thank you! Where's Maddie? I'm excited to meet her!"

The mention of Maddie's name caused a tingling in his stomach as his heart fluttered remembering the way she had just looked at him. _I just wanted to run to her, push her against the wall and kiss the hell out of her. But, this morning she said she didn't want to go there. She told me to try things with Lori. Pete must be wrong, she doesn't have feelings for me…but then what was that look about?...I guess she doesn't have to have feelings for me to want to do that. I mean I don't have those kinds of feelings for her and I wanted to kiss the crap out of, touch her everywhere, _he thought. _I don't know what's going on with us. I wish I could talk to her about it, but she's so emotionally distant, something she's never been with me before. Other people. Yes. But, not me._ Steve was pulled from his thoughts by the wiggle worm in his arms.

"UNCLE STEVE! HELLO? ARE YOU THERE?" Grace yelled.

Pete and Chin had joined Danny at the kitchen table as they watched Steve. They knew he'd been thinking about Maddie. That that's why he'd zoned out for a minute. They gave each other a knowing look as they shook their heads smirking.

"Yes, sorry Gracie!" Steve said a bit embarrassed he'd let his mind wander that badly.

"Where's Maddie?"

He smiled at Grace. "She's upstairs getting dressed. She'll be down shortly." Pausing, Steve leaned into Gracie and whispered, "Wanna know a secret?"

Gracie looked at him, her brown eyes wide, as she nodded exaggeratingly.

"Maddie's soooo excited to meet you!"

"Really?" Gracie asked.

Steve wrinkled his nose at her. "Yeah! That's all she could talk about all day!"

Grace smiled. "Do you think she'll sing something for me?"

Steve pretended to think about it before he answered. "You'll have to ask her, but I wouldn't see why not."

"I have to tell Danno!" she said wiggling down from Steve's arms. Running the few feet to her dad she cried, "Danno, guess what? Uncle Steve said Maddie can't wait to meet me! And he thinks she'll sing something for me! Isn't that cool?"

Danny smiled at his daughter's excitement. "That is very cool Monkey! However, Maddie hurt herself the other day and hasn't been feeling well. So, just keep that in mind. She has a terrible headache, so you might want to use your inside voice around her. Okay?"

Gracie frowned. "Okay, I will." Steve had walked up to the table, standing near Danny. Grace turned to him. "Uncle Steve, is Maddie okay? Danno said she hurt herself. What happened?"

Steve smiled at Gracie's concern for a woman she didn't even know. _It always floors me how much Maddie impacts people she's never met_, he thought. "Yes Gracie, Maddie's okay. She fell and hit her head really hard. She also cut herself when she fell. But she's going to be fine. She's just really tired and has a headache."

"Okay," Gracie nodded as she grabbed her coloring book and sat at the other end of the table, leaving the four men alone to talk.

"Did she get any sleep?" Pete asked.

"Yeah, a little bit."

"I'm assuming since you're down here that she's awake," Pete stated.

"Yeah, she'll be down soon. She's just getting dressed," Steve mumbled. It was obvious to the guys that something was bothering him.

"Is everything okay McGarrett?" Chin asked.

Steve sighed, his shoulders hunching forward a bit. "Yeah…I don't know. She's pushing me away."

"Yeah, but McG…when something's wrong she always tries to keep it from you at first," Pete said trying to make him feel better.

"It's not just that…I don't know. It's like she's trying to protect herself from me. She's never done that before. I would never hurt her, so why's she doing that? I don't get it."

Danny knew Steve was going to get upset, but he had to say something. "I think she's realized something you haven't. You're in denial because it scares you."

Steve clenched his jaw. "I'm not in denial over anything. She and I are just frie…" Before he could finish Danny interrupted.

"Pete? What's with that look?" Danny quickly asked noticing the expression on his new friend's face. It was as if he was hiding something.

"Nothing!" Pete lied and terribly at that.

Steve turned to his old friend, studying his face. "You know something! When did you talk to her?"

_Way to go Pete!_ he berated himself. _Well you can tell them certain things, but not the fact she confessed to being in love with Steve._ Nodding slowly, he replied, thinking carefully before he spoke. "I talked to her earlier today. When she woke up from her nap and left you upstairs asleep."

Steve's heart pounded, wondering what she'd revealed. "Well, what did she say? How did you guys start talking about it anyway? Was it out of the blue?"

"Well, I was just finishing putting the groceries away. She helped me and thanked me for picking up the food. I told her I didn't think the barbeque was a great idea, but that I understood why she was doing it. She asked me if I'd explain it to you."

"And?" Danny asked, anxious to hear the rest of the story.

"I told her she better get used to you being in over protective mode. That she'd scared the hell out of you. I told her to stop fighting you on it and to just go with the flow. That you'll back off once you feel she's okay and safe."

"Good answer!" Steve smiled. "Thank you! Hopefully she listens. Did she say anything back?"

Pete wasn't sure how much he should relay; obviously he knew which part to keep to himself. "Ummm…yeah. She said she knew. That she understood. She said she didn't mean to pass out the other day…" Pete paused, looking directing at Steve. "She said you were the last thing she was expecting to see. And she was really tired."

"So, she acknowledged being exhausted?" Steve asked.

"Yeah."

"Well that's good!...What? I can tell there's more."

"She quieted…wondered if she could ask me a question….I knew what was coming."

"What was it?" Chin questioned.

"She said…'You knew I didn't want to talk to Steve, let alone see him. Why'd you guys set me up?'"

Steve's heart ached. _She still wishes she wasn't with me? That she wasn't speaking to me? After everything the last couple days? Are you kidding me? I don't understand_, he thought.

Pete could see Steve getting upset. "Before you get mad, just listen to the rest."

"Okay," Steve mumbled.

"I told her the truth. That she hadn't been herself for months and that I was getting worried. And I told her you were worried because she wouldn't talk to you. Something she'd never done before. I told her that we know something's wrong. That it's very obvious, especially to you. I brought up how she got upset the other day when I asked her bout you. That I knew then I needed to bring her home to you. I mentioned how she called you crying and her face turned bright red. That you called right after and asked me to bring her to you. That something was seriously wrong."

"You were honest. How'd she take it?" Chin asked.

"She said, 'So instead of just being honest, you tricked me? All of you…' And I told her that if I had been straight with her she wouldn't have come."

Steve swallowed, picking up on the fact Pete was hesitant to continue. "Just tell me what she said…"

Pete looked at his longtime friend, sympathy in his eyes. "McG…just don't jump to conclusions. It's not what you're going to think."

"Pete…just spit it out."

"Maddie said, 'Exactly…and you know why? Because although you disagree, there is a reason I was avoiding Steve. You guys have only made it worse." Steve briefly closed his eyes as his stomach sunk. Pete continued. "I told her to tell me why. To explain it to me."

"Did," Steve began. When his voice came out as only a whisper, he cleared his throat, trying again. "Did she?"

Pete said nothing, looking away.

"She did! What did she tell you?" Steve exclaimed a bit desperately.

"She only told me a part of the reason. I mean she told me it was the entire reason, but I know it's only a piece of the puzzle. I don't know if it was the reason she wouldn't talk to you then, but I can pretty much guarantee it's why she's pushing you away now. I think you're right….someone's scaring the crap out of her to stay away from you…I think that's why she wasn't calling you back."

Steve's face twitched in anger, "And I'll find the person and kill them for messing with her! But tell me why she's distant!"

Pete shook his head. "I can't tell you. She specifically asked me not to. Maddie felt betrayed by all I told you already. She doesn't trust me right now and I can't keep her safe if she doesn't trust me."

"Damn it!" Steve cursed. "Can you give me a hint then. Anything?"

Pete thought about it for a minute before nodding. "Okay. I'll tell you this much. You can figure this out. It's right in front of your face. Just open your eyes."

"How is that supposed to help me? That's not even a hint!" Steve growled, frustrated at the situation.

"Well that's all you're getting." Pete patted him on the back. Trying to think of ways he could get Steve to see that Maddie loved him he asked, "Did she have any nightmares when you were up there?"

Steve looked at him like he was crazy. "Really? That's what you ask me after our conversation?"

"Yes! I'm trying to help you. Stop being stubborn and answer the question!"

Steve shook his head. He didn't understand how answering this could help him figure out what was wrong. "Yeah, but when I laid down with her it stopped. Looks like that's the only way she doesn't have them. So for now…I'll stay with her. I mean she needs to start getting some sleep."

Pete smiled at his response, hoping he'd realize what that meant. How obviously important he was to Maddie. I mean didn't it say something that she was so upset over nightmares where Steve was being murdered. _Isn't it obvious?_ he thought.

The three men smirked at their friend. "Yeah, I'm sure you only want to sleep with her snuggled to you because you want her to get rest," Danny sarcastically said, hoping to cheer Steve up a bit now that he was completely trapped in his head over thinking everything. He handed his partner a beer.

"Danno…shu," Steve began, however was interrupted by someone greeting him.

"Hi Steve!" Lori said from behind. She had just heard what Danny had said and was trying to cover up the fact she was upset.

Steve turned around and smiled at her giving her a big hug. "Hi Lori! I'm so glad you were able to make it!"

"I'm glad to be here!" Looking around the house she said, "What a beautiful home!"

"Yeah, it's pretty amazing!" Steve smiled. They continued to talk, so Danny, Chin, and Pete walked away wondering how the night was going to go. _He better not screw up! I wish this girl would go away. I don't want to see Maddie heartbroken anymore than she already is_, Pete thought.

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><p>Maddie didn't feel very well as she walked down the hallway to the stairs. Stopping at the part of the hall that looked down over the kitchen, informal dining room, and living room she took in the sight below, leaning on the balcony. She smiled seeing everyone there, happy and laughing. That used to be how she was. She loved hanging out and having fun with her friends. But now she avoided it at all costs. And when she had to be social she did her best to fake being happy.<p>

Wondering where Steve was she scanned the room. Spotting him her heart broke even more than it already was. He and Lori were sitting on the couch talking. She was so close to him she was practically in his lap as the two laughed and flirted. Although it was killing her to see him with Lori like that, Maddie couldn't take her eyes away from it. _What was I thinking? I can't do this and pretend to be happy. Maybe I should just go back to bed? Or…_ she glanced down the hall to her right. _I could go down the front steps and get the hell out of here. No one would even notice. Definitely not Steve. _As she looked back down to the first floor Maddie caught Pete's eye. He'd been watching her. He knew her well enough to know what she was thinking and he shook his head at her and then reached in his pocket, pulling out his iPhone. Suddenly her own phone vibrated in her back pocket. Pulling it out she smiled at the text she'd just received from Pete. "Come on down Shorty! You can do this. I have your back."

Maddie took a second to think about it. _I don't think I can watch this without falling apart. But the whole reason I had this barbeque was to get to know everyone and fix the terrible impression they must have of me_, she debated. She looked to her right once more, debating taking off. Her phone chimed again. "Don't even think about running!" She smiled. _Pete knows me too well, however, I'll never admit that to him._

Closing her eyes and taking a deep breath she turned and walked towards the curved staircase. Maddie slowly descended the stairs. Once she reached the middle, Kono spotted her. "Mads!"

She smiled brightly at the sound of her friend's voice. At Kono's greeting everyone turned to watching Maddie. Steve's eyes widened. _God she looks so beautiful! And there's her dimply smile! _he thought, unable to tear his eyes away from her, completely forgetting about Lori for the moment.

Lori noticed the look in Steve's eyes as he watched Maddie enter the room. _He's not in love with her, is he? Oh my God! He can't be! No, he was just flirting with me! I'll just have to keep him occupied all night. Keep the two away from one another._

Steve continued to stare at Maddie as she entered the room. His heart ached, brows furrowed as she walked towards the kitchen completely ignoring him. _What the hell?_ he wondered. _She didn't even glance over a little. _He was just about to stand up and head to the kitchen himself, but Lori turned his head back to hers. "So, when do I get my rain check from the other night?" she flirted, her face inches from his.

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><p>Once in the kitchen Maddie received hugs from everyone. As Danny pulled out of their hug he said, "Maddie, this is my ex-wife, Rachel!"<p>

Rachel was incredibly star struck at the moment, something Danny found funny since it was an extremely rare occasion when she wasn't completely poised or didn't know what to say. Maddie was used to this kind of reaction, so she pretended not to notice. Hoping to become great friends with Rachel, she reached forward and pulled her into a quick hug. "It is so wonderful to meet you!"

Rachel was a bit taken aback at how down to earth and "normal" Maddie was. Realizing just how sweet she was she said, "Wonderful to meet you! Your home is beautiful! Really gorgeous!"

"Oh my God! You're so sweet! Thank you so much!" Maddie genuinely responded, smiling.

Catching movement from the corner of her eye she turned to her left seeing Steve walking towards her Lori straggling behind. Before she could look away their eyes met. He smiled at her only for her to quickly look away. Steve's forehead crinkled in confusion as his stomach sunk. _What's going on? Is she upset with me? _he wondered.

Turning back to Danny and Rachel, Maddie saw a small head of brown hair behind Danny's legs. Biting her bottom lip as she grinned, Maddie knelt down and peered behind Danny. "Hi!" she greeted.

"Hi!" Grace shyly replied.

Usually Danny would introduce Grace to people, but he thought he'd let Maddie handle this one.

"I'm Maddie! What's your name?"

"Grace."

"Grace? What a beautiful name!" Maddie said. "Look at you! What a pretty dress! I wish I had one like it." Maddie squinted her eyes at Grace as she eyed her white summer dress with teal flowers on it. "Do you think it will fit me? Maybe I can borrow it."

Grace giggled, coming out from behind her dad. "I don't think so. You're too big!" Everyone laughed at her response.

"Wanna know something?" Maddie asked.

"Yeah!"

"I was kind of sad when I came down here, but you made me feel soooo much better! Thank you!" Maddie reached forward and gave her a hug.

"You're welcome," Grace responded before they pulled out of the hug.

_Why was she sad? Was she just saying that to bind with Gracie or is that true? I'm going to have to try and get her alone and talk to her_, Steve thought.

Maddie's knees were starting to hurt from kneeling on the stone floor, so she popped up. However she wasn't thinking and moved too quickly and immediately felt incredibly dizzy. Having come up behind her when she was talking to Gracie, Steve reached out putting his arm around her. He knew if he made a big deal out of her being dizzy she'd get embarrassed and mad, so he said, "Hey Mads! You meet everyone okay? Rachel and Gracie?" covering up the fact he was keeping her from falling. His heart ached as he felt her tighten the second he made contact with her.

"Yeah, I did!" Maddie responded enthusiastically, the feel of Steve's arm tightly around her becoming too much for her. As soon as the dizziness started to lessen she pulled away from him. "I'm thirsty," she said as she walked away never once looking at him.

_What the hell?_ He wondered as his heart broke. _She's definitely upset with me! What the hell happened since I left her upstairs 30 minutes ago? _Steve's mind was moving a million miles a minute as he racked his brain trying to figure out why she could be mad at him. He watched her walk to one side of the kitchen island and open a refrigerator drawer. Pulling out a Longboard Lager beer Maddie popped the top off and started chugging it. _I don't want her drinking on an empty stomach. Or the fact that she was so dehydrated she had two bags of fluid in the last 24 hours. _Remembering her IV Steve's eyes glanced down her right arm, the small cuts visible in her t-shirt. Not seeing the IV he shook his head. _Damn it! She pulled it out again!_ She was so withdrawn from Steve that his concern for her quadrupled. He decided he better stay close and keep an eye on her all night. Even if she didn't want to be near him, he didn't care.

* * *

><p>Walking out the door to the patio Maddie turned right, looked back, and said, "Wanna go outside? It's such a beautiful evening and my warden," she motioned towards Steve with her head, "has kept me inside the past couple days. I'm itching to be outside!"<p>

"You don't have to ask me twice!" Kono cried jogging to her friend. When she reached Maddie she swung her arm around her shoulder and pulled her close. "I've missed you sooo much! You scared the hell out of us the other day. I'm glad to see you're okay!"

"Sorry!" I'm okay. I'm pretty durable. I'm so clumsy. I have to be!"

Kono laughed. "Yeah, you are a walking disaster at times. But it's just one of the many reasons I love you!"

Hugging her back she laughed, "Thank you! You can always join me on the road for a week…or a month…or the whole tour!"

"That would be amazing! If you can get this one to give me time off, I'm there!" Kono replied gesturing to Steve as he walked by carrying a plate of hamburger meat to the grill. He tried to catch Maddie's eye as he walked by, but she wouldn't look at him, she only rolled her eyes at Kono's comment.

"You know she can convince him of anything, Kono!" a voice said from behind Maddie.

Maddie's eyes widened, a huge dimply smile broke out on her face, as she raised her head up she met Steve's eyes. He was 10 feet away standing behind the grill grinning at her. For the first time that night she acknowledged him. _There are the dimples! God they kill me! _he thought, unable to keep the smile from his face as he bit his bottom lip.

Maddie spun around and jumped into the voice's arms. "Uncle Joe!" she cried.

"Hey there princess!" he said holding her weight and spinning her around slowly. Steve had been keeping him up to speed about what was going on with her, so he knew once he set her down he needed to hold on to her for a second in case she was dizzy.

Putting her down in front of him Joe held her upper arms. He watched her as she wavered a second, a distant look in her eyes. Straight ahead and behind her he met Steve's concerned eyes. He had a questioning look on his face, as if asking Joe, "Is she okay?" Joe nodded, giving him a small smile. _When is that boy going to realize the love of his life has been in front of his face since he was four years old?_ Joe wondered. _The kid is the most talented and intelligent Navy man I've ever known, but man he can be dumb sometimes! _

Joe returned his attention to Maddie. He could tell by the look in her eyes the dizzy feeling was passing, so he rubbed his hands carefully down her arms looking at the cuts. "My goodness girl! You got yourself good this time!" He leaned back and looked at her legs noticing her wrapped right foot. Chuckling Joe added, "Well, you always were the most clumsy thing I'd ever seen."

"Hey!" Maddie cried in mock hurt. "This was NOT my fault! Talk to Steve! And Pete!...And Chin!" Turning her face to Chin standing across the deck near Steve she yelled, "Don't think I don't know about your involvement!"

"Sorry Mads!" Chin replied, looking a bit sheepish. "We did it out of love!"

"I'll have a talk with the boys! Tell them to stop being so overprotective!" Joe smiled.

"Would you? Thank you!" Maddie replied shaking her head. "Especially Steven!"

"Well you know that one isn't going to happen…The boy loves you too much!" Joe replied testing the waters. He wanted to see their reactions.

A sad look crossed her face and her eys became a bit glassy from unshed tears. _I wish_, she thought. Trying to hide her reaction she scoffed. "Ha! Like that could ever happen! It's just Steve trying to control everything."

Joe caught Maddie's initial reaction. _She's realized she loves him_, he thought. _And judging by his reaction he's figuring it out. _"I'll talk to him. Worth a shot, right?"

Maddie nodded, hugging Joe one more time. "I'm so glad you came Uncle Joe!"

Turning around she took a seat in front of the outdoor fireplace with Kono, Rachel, Tina, Malia, and Gracie, who jumped on her lap the second she sat down.

* * *

><p>Steve blushed when he heard Joe say he loved Maddie too much to not be so overprotective of her. He immediately tried to cover it up, but was shocked to hear her response. <em>Like that could ever happen? What? Why do I care so much that she said that? Why am I fighting with myself to go over, grab her, and tell her it's not true? Is it true? Or…<em> Steve was pulled from his thoughts by Joe.

"Confused?" he whispered.

Steve only shook his head as he sighed, flipping burgers on the grill.

"Wanna talk about it?"

"Not really. Well, not right now," Steve replied as he glanced around at all the people, his eyes landing on Lori walking towards him, goofy smile on her face.

"Got it," Joe replied understanding that Steve was telling him he didn't want to discuss it around all these people. "Lunch tomorrow?"

Steve looked to his left at Joe. "That'd be great! Thanks Joe."

Joe patted him on the back before walking away and taking a seat with Pete, Chin, and Danny at the table nearby.

Steve stood flipping burgers and drinking his 4th beer as he kept an eye on Maddie nearby. She was finishing her 2nd. _She looks so beautiful! And she's so good with Gracie_, he thought as he watched her chat with his niece on her lap. _She'll be an amazing mom. _Suddenly an image flashed in his head of Maddie pregnant and Steve holding her, obviously the father of the baby. It was the same image that he'd seen earlier that day when they were looking at the pictures of Tina's niece. He had panicked, not knowing where the thought had come from. That's why he'd gotten weird and walked away. _What the hell is that all about?_ he wondered, panicked, but not nearly as much as earlier. Sure it scared him, but the thought also made him happy, which just freaked him out more.

"Hey there!" Lori cooed interrupting his thoughts.

"Hi!" Steve smiled at Lori, his attention no longer on Maddie. "Having fun?"

"Yes! I mean, I'm still new to the team, so I don't feel like I'm completely part of the family yet, but I know that will happen with time. Getting together like this can only help the process!"

"Of course!" Steve replied as he took some burgers off the grill, placing them on the clean platter to his left. He added some new ones to the grill before turning back to Lori and continuing. "Don't worry! It'll all happen soon enough! You're a great addition to the team!" Steve paused, looking into her eyes and leaning closer to her, before saying, "I'm really glad you're part of the team now."

Lori smiled moving in towards Steve, their faces inches apart. Maddie was watching the whole thing from her spot in the chair. She felt her eyes well up as they leaned in. "Hey Gracie! I'll be right back sweetie. Will you save my spot for me? Keep it warm?" she whispered standing up and setting the girl in the chair

"Yeah," Gracie responded.

"Thank you," Maddie whispered. She knew she couldn't run or she'd draw attention to herself, but she knew the tears were going to fall any second. Walking across the sheltered part of the patio to the door leading inside, she began to feel incredibly nauseous. As she stepped over the threshold to the house, she tripped, not catching herself in time as she went barreling forward, her knees colliding with the tumbled stone floor. "Son of a bitch!" she cried out her right knee throbbing. _Of course! I have to fall on my screwed up knee, _she thought. She'd torn her meniscus three years before rehearsing for a music video. She had decided not to have surgery at the time, and took some time off to rest it. It bothered her when she'd have to do a lot of dancing or didn't get any breaks in between shows. It had been giving her trouble the last couple months on tour, but had been a bit better the last few days. However, the last thing she needed was to fall on it, especially before the long rehearsals that were starting in the morning.

Steve had seen Maddie get up out of the corner of his eye and turned away from Lori wondering where she was going. _She seems frantic_, he thought, as he watched her head towards the door. _Be careful Mads…don't fall_, he thought right before she went flying forward landing on her knees. He immediately set down the spatula and began to rush across the deck to her. However a strong arm reached out and stopped him before he could get very far. Steve turned his head to see Pete. "Let her go," he told his friend.

Steve pushed Pete's arm out of the way, giving him a 'don't tell me what to do when it comes to Maddie' look and took a couple steps further in her direction.

"Steve…seriously, let her go. Just give her a minute," came Joe's voice. Steve turned to look at his father figure. "Trust me…following her will only make things worse."

Steve knew Joe was right. He turned back to Maddie as he watched her pick herself up off the floor and run and limp towards the stairs. _Joe's right…if I follow her she'll only push me further away_, he thought. Sighing he walked back to the grill, picked up the spatula and began flipping burgers, Lori standing next to him. He turned and smiled at her, using a free hand to tuck a piece of hair behind her ear that had fallen out of her pony tail.


	18. Chapter 18

**DISCLAIMER: **I do not own the TV show "Hawaii Five-0" or any of it's characters. I do own Maddie though, Pete and Ryan! :o)

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><p><strong>AUTHOR'S NOTE: <strong>Hi everyone! So, the reason it took me a couple days to post this is that I actually finished chapters. 18, 19, and 20. All long ones. I am only posting Ch.18 right now. However, I would LOVE to post Ch.19 and 20, but only if you guys review and tell me what you think! And let me tell you...Ch.19 is a BIG chapter for Steve and Maddie! ;o) So, you're going to want to read it!

Anyway, as always, thoughts are in _italics._

Please, please, please REVIEW and I'll post Chapter 19 tonight! It's all ready to go! As is Ch.20!

Enough rambling on my part. Enjoy and thank you for all of you that are reviewing!

xo,

Laura

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><p>CHAPTER 18<p>

Once she entered the house Maddie began to run towards the stairs, taking them two at a time as the tears began to fall. Every time her right leg made impact with floor it hurt her knee. _Damn it! Were things not hard enough for me already? I had to fall on my bad knee? _she thought as she made it to the top of the stairs and turned right, running down the hall to her bedroom on the other side of the house.

Maddie practically crashed into her bedroom door as she opened it. Once inside she crumbled to her soft-carpeted floor sobbing. _This is torture! I don't want to be here anymore. I don't want to be in Hawaii. Maybe I'll take my two-month break in Los Angeles…or New York. Anywhere, except here. I can't watch them together. It's killing me. Why'd I have to realize I love him? _she thought as she sat on the floor, tears running down her face. Realizing how much her knee hurt she stuck her right leg out in front of her, eyeing the damage. "Could be worse," she whispered. "But definitely gonna make the next few days more difficult." Maddie sighed. "Why do you have to be such a spazz?" she asked herself.

* * *

><p>Pete knew what had upset Maddie. <em>How does Steve not see what's going on? I mean, come on! She doesn't need this right now. I brought her to him so he could figure out what's wrong. Make things better. Not make them worse! <em>he thought as he sat at the table with Joe, Chin, and Danny, however he had no idea what they were talking about. He had completely checked out of the conversation, something that didn't go unnoticed.

Pete checked his watch every couple minutes seeing how long Maddie had been gone. He also glanced Steve's way a few times, hoping to see that he wasn't still flirting with Lori. However, every time he checked, Steve was still manning the grill, his coworker hanging on his every word.

Checking his watch one more time, he realized Maddie had been gone more than ten minutes. "Shit!" he cursed, quickly jumping up and hustling into the house. Steve turned the second he heard his friend swear. Knowing whatever was wrong had to do with Maddie he debated going after him, but figured she didn't want to have anything to do with him. She was the one who repeatedly told him to try things with Lori. So, he stayed put, as he turned and laughed at something she said.

* * *

><p>Once Pete walked through the patio door and into the house he turned left jogging down the hallway. Passing the laundry room and movie theater he turned right through a door. Finding himself in the mudroom off the garage, Pete ran to the key cabinet on the wall, flinging it open, hoping that no keys were missing. Exhaling a breath he hadn't realized he was holding, he saw all the car keys were there. "Thank God I beat her here," he sighed. Reaching his hands forward he grabbed all the keys to the three cars and walked out.<p>

As he walked out of the house and onto the patio to return to the table, Steve caught his eye, sending him a questioning look. Annoyed with him, Pete shrugged, returning to his seat at the table.

"Everything okay?" Joe asked, Danny and Chin wondering the same thing.

Pete turned to his left eyeing Steve at the barbeque laughing with Lori. "Not really. I should have never brought her back here. He's making it worse."

Chin and Danny looked at one another shaking their heads. "We were afraid something like this was going to happen," Danny admitted.

"Am I correct in assuming that what Maddie told you earlier is that she's finally realized something," Chin whispered, not wanting Steve to overhear.

Pete said nothing. He only raised his eyebrows and sighed deeply.

"He'll figure it out. Don't worry," Joe said. "He might be a little slow in this department, but it'll all click. Don't count him out yet."

"Before it's too late?" Pete asked. "She can't handle much more of this."

All immediately quieted as Steve walked by heading into the house with a plate.

Once he was out of earshot they continued. "Steve already knows there's feelings there. It's freaking him out, therefore that behavior," Joe told them pointing to Lori with his head. "Steve has never done well with change, and in this case…it's a huge change! You're talking about his relationship changing with the one person who has remained a constant through his entire life…He's admitted to being confused. He wants to have lunch tomorrow to talk about it. I'll see if I can't shake some sense into him."

"Well, the next few days she won't have any contact with him, so hopefully that'll help both of them. If she's going to pull this off, and that's a big IF, she has to be focused."

"It's going to be that bad?" Danny asked.

"Yeah, the next few days are rough. I don't know if she's going to make it without…who knows?"

"So, that means Steve's going to be a complete worry wart," Danny said.

"I don't want him seeing her for a reason. It's not just for her sake, but his too. She's gonna be a mess…there's a HUGE chance she won't pull this off. Even if she was her normal self it'd be a gamble. If Steve see her trying to keep up and push through the schedule he's gonna freak. So, I don't think I'll let him see her until Wednesday. But I'll take good care of her."

"That's going to go over well with him," Chin sarcastically said.

"He's going to be a nightmare to be around," Danny added. "Just stay in contact. Let us know how things are going."

"I will," Pete promised. "Oh good, here she is."

* * *

><p>Maddie didn't sit on her bedroom floor for very long before she made a decision.<br>"I can't stay here. It's too hard on me to watch him be with someone else. I could tell him how I feel. But then it'll be awkward between us when he tells me he doesn't feel the same. But on the very off chance that he does that would be putting him in danger, so being here is not good for either one of us," she told herself.

Standing up, tears still streaming down her face, she grabbed her laptop, sitting on her bed. Maddie opened Firefox and typed in United Airlines. She booked herself and Pete on a flight to the mainland on Thursday morning, the day after the show. Once the tickets were booked her tears began to subside. She knew things would start to get better in a few days. At least, she hoped they would.

Knowing she better get back to her guests Maddie went into her bathroom and quickly touched up her makeup, trying to get rid of any evidence she'd been crying.

Satisfied, she exited her room and walked down the hall and the stairs. As she entered the living she began to slow down, panicking at the idea of Steve and Lori. _I can't watch him like that all night. I just can't do it_, she thought.

Without thinking she turned right heading towards the mudroom. "I gotta get out of here," she whispered feeling as if she was suffocating. Maddie pulled the door to the key cabinet open desperate to leave. "Damn it! ….. PETE!" she cried. She stood there for a minute, trying to decide what she was going to do. _I can make a run for it, but most likely won't get very far before someone catches on_, she thought. _I guess I'm just going to have to go back. Maybe I'll have another beer or something, try and relax._

Maddie walked into the kitchen and grabbed another Longboard Lager beer. Leaning against the counter drinking it she stared off into space lost in her thoughts.

* * *

><p>Steve was just walking back into the house to grab the chicken breasts he still needed to grill when he saw her in the kitchen. He slowed his pace, wanting to watch her. <em>She looks beautiful<em>, he thought smiling.

"Whatcha thinkin about?" he asked as he stood in front of the kitchen island sink washing the plate he'd brought in. Maddie jumped at his voice. "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you," Steve told her.

She turned around leaning her elbows on the island counter not quite putting weight on her right leg while she drank her beer. "How long have you been here?" she asked, distant and never once looking at him.

"Not long, but long enough," he answered. Finished rinsing the plate he set it on a clean dishtowel on the counter next to him. _I can tell she hurt her knee when she fell. She's not putting her full weight on it_, he thought. Steve walked a few feet to his right opening the freezer.

She polished off her beer then leaned back pulling the refrigerator drawer open, grabbing another one. Using the bottle opener on the counter she popped the top off.

Steve heard the distinctive sound of opening a beer as he found what he was looking for in the freezer. _Another one? This isn't good for her right now. I'll wait a second before taking it from her. Wait for the right moment, _he thought. He closed the freezer and walked the short distance to her. Placing the frozen bag on the counter he positioned himself behind Maddie, placing a hand on the counter on each side of her, effectively trapping her.

"What are you doing?" Maddie asked, suddenly nervous because she couldn't get away from him.

"Talk to me. What's wrong?" Steve said to her.

"Currently? You have me trapped. Let me out," she ordered pushing her body against his left arm, but he was too strong.

"No. Talk to me," he responded, not budging.

"Steven! Let me out!" Maddie cried. She used her free hand to chop at his left arm hoping he'd let go of the counter.

Steve chuckled at her efforts. "We talked about this this morning. You're teeny. That's not gonna work. But you can keep trying. It's actually really cute."

His last comment made Maddie mad. Here he was saying things like that to her when he'd been outside flirting with Lori only moments before. However, it also made her insides melt. She was so conflicted as she stood there. Part of her wanted to punch him, the other part wanted him to wrap his strong arms around her and kiss her. _You gotta get out of this situation Maddie_, she told herself.

Panicking, she said, "Steve, seriously, let me out."

He could hear the panic in her voice. _What's going on? Why is she freaking out right now?_ he wondered. "Turn around," Steve said leaning in to her, his mouth so close that she could feel his breath on her, giving her goose bumps everywhere.

Taking a deep breath she did what he asked. Maddie's back now leaned against the counter while Steve stood incredibly close to her, his hands still holding the counter tightly on each side of her.

Maddie was looking a bit to the left, unable to meet his eyes. "Look at me," Steve ordered.

She refused, taking a sip of her beer.

It took everything he had not to grab the beer from her, but that would only upset her more. So, he ignored it. "Come on Madeline…look at me."

Knowing he wasn't going to let her go until she did what he wanted she turned her head looking straight at him. Her facial expression letting him know she was annoyed.

"That's better!" he smiled, studying her face. Noticing her eyes were red and bloodshot, his brows furrowed. "Mads…were you crying?"

"No."

"You sure?"

"Yes."

Steve squinted his eyes at her. "You're lying."

"Why do you ask me if you're not going to believe me?" Maddie countered.

"I would believe you if you told me the truth."

"Fine. Yes, I was. Happy?" she seethed.

"Happy? NO! Why would I be happy you were crying? I never want you to cry. It breaks my heart," he exclaimed, a look of complete confusion and disbelief on his face.

"Could've fooled me," she mumbled, obviously mad about something.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Steve asked

"Nothing Steven," she claimed, referring to him by his full first name as she averted her eyes.

_Never a good sign when she uses my full first name_, he thought. "Look at me. Stop doing that!" he begged. "And I don't believe you. Tell me what you meant."

Looking at him she said, "It doesn't matter. It didn't mean anything." Maddie moved her legs a bit trying to distribute her weight differently. However, when she tried to put more weight on her right leg her knee began to throb. Her face scrunched in pain as she slightly fell against his left arm.

"Mads?" Steve questioned, his voice and face full of concern. Before she could stop him he picked her up setting her on the counter in front of him. "I was afraid you hurt yourself when you fell. You okay?"

"I'm fine. Put me down!" She wiggled against him trying to get off the counter.

"Would you stop being so stubborn. Let me see it!" he cried.

"I'm stubborn? Seriously?" Maddie exclaimed, crossing her arms as she sat still.

Steve gently put his hands on her bare leg as he looked at her right knee. He moved one hand to her left leg and looked back and forth between the two, comparing them. "You're right knee's already swelling a little. Does it hurt?"

"No," she lied.

"Really?" Steve smirked, his eyebrows raised in a questioning manner. "Okay, then let's try this." He took a small step back and held her left shin. "Push your leg against me."

Maddie rolled her eyes, but did as he asked.

"Great!" Steve moved his hands to her right shin. "Same thing here. Push against me."

"Fine," she glared at him. Just as she put the littlest bit of pressure against his hand, she stopped, crying out in pain.

"Yeah, that's what I thought. You okay?" Steve asked his right hand caressing the side of her face.

Maddie nodded, pulling her face away from his hand. "I'm fine, Steve. So it's a little sore?"

He shook his head grabbing the frozen bag of peas he'd pulled from the freezer a few minutes earlier. He gently set it on her right knee, hoping to get the swelling to go down or at least so it wouldn't get worse. "This is a sign that you're not supposed to do the show Maddie."

Maddie smiled, shaking her head. "You don't get it. I HAVE to do this show. Plus, it's nothing I'm not used to."

Steve's head shot up giving her an intense stare. "What do you mean? Has it been bothering you?"

"When I'm on tour or on it too much."

"Which is all the time! Have you gotten it looked at?" he asked her worried.

"I'm fine Steve. Don't worry. It'll get looked at before the show."

"You promise?" he asked.

"Yes, it always does," Maddie replied taking another sip of her beer.

Steve pulled the beer from her hand. "No more."

"Are you kidding me right now?" Maddie lost it. _Why does he act like this with me, like he cares, and then the second Lori comes up to him he's all over her? _she wondered. She pushed him away and hopped off the counter. However, the impact with the floor was too much for her right knee and it gave out, causing her to fall on her ass.

"Maddie?" Steve cried, immediately trying to help her off the floor.

"Leave me alone!" Maddie yelled at him pushing him away again. Pulling herself up off the floor, she let her emotions get the best of her. "You can't fuss over me like this. I'm not your girlfriend! Go take care of Lori! Fuss over her!" The second it was out of her mouth she realized what she'd said. _Shit! Well now he's going to know you have stupid feelings for him,_ she thought, angry at herself for losing it.

"What are you talking about Maddie? Calm down, talk to me. Tell me what's bothering you," Steve pleaded, realizing she wasn't just mad at him, but also really upset about something.

"Nothing. Nothing is wrong," Maddie whispered looking defeated. She turned to walk away, but Steve grabbed her arm.

"Maddie, don't walk away. Talk to me," he begged, feeling his heart break as she shook his hand from her arm. She grabbed her beer back and walked away, heading outside.

* * *

><p>Maddie was flustered when she walked out onto the patio rejoining everyone. "Hey Mads! You okay?" Kono asked.<p>

"Yeah. Definitely!" Maddie smiled, trying to hide how upset and embarrassed she was. _I cannot believe I just said what I did to Steve. He's not an idiot. He's going to figure out how I feel. This is going to be so awkward, _she thought.

"I saved your spot!" Gracie said standing up and smiling brightly at her.

"Thank you so much sweetie!" she sat down, pulling Gracie onto her lap.

Maddie pretended to listen as Rachel finished telling a story, her mind too consumed with what had just happened with Steve to listen. She had no idea what it was about, but laughed when everyone else did. Suddenly, Steve was next to her. She met his eyes briefly, only because he'd surprised her, before looking away. Kneeling down in front of her he said, "Sorry to interrupt girl talk ladies. I'll just be a second. Keep talking, pretend like I'm not here." Steve maneuvered Gracie so she was sitting more on Maddie's left thigh giving him access to her right leg.

"So, any man in your life?" Rachel asked. Malia and Kono watched Steve's back tighten at the question. They noticed his movements slowed waiting to hear Maddie answer.

Maddie laughed uneasily. _Could I be any more uncomfortable right now? _she wondered. _And what is Steve doing?_ Steve placed an ice pack on her knee and then tied a bandage around it to keep it in place while she answered the question. "Nothing serious. It's hard when I'm on tour. They can sometimes be…hmm what's the word?"

"What about, complete psycho?" Kono threw in forgetting Steve was right there.

"Kono." Maddie immediately said stopping her from going further. Steve felt her tighten under his hands.

_What the hell happened with that guy? I'm assuming it's the one Pete and Kono told me about. They didn't go into details, but I have a bad feeling_, he thought.

"It's just hard being away from someone that much and most of the time they don't understand my job," she told her. Maddie took a swig of her beer, feeling awkward.

"What about here in Hawaii? Is there anyone here that you are interested in?" Malia asked knowing full well she was in love with Steve.

Not expecting the question Maddie choked on her mouthful of beer, spitting some in Steve's face. The women and Gracie laughed hysterically while Maddie looked wide-eyed at Steve, coughing profusely.

"Sorr," Maddie coughed. "reee!" she coughed again. Gracie handed her a napkin and she began wiping Steve's face off.

"You okay?" he asked her, amused smile on his face, although the more she coughed the more concerned he looked. "What happened?"

"Wrong pipe?" she coughed.

"That sounded more like a question," he said to her. Turning to the ladies he asked, "Am I missing something?

"Yes!" the three said in unison.

Maddie coughed harder. _I can't believe this is happening. Why are they doing this to me? He can't find out how I feel! For soooo many reasons_, she thought. Steve looked back to her, furrowed eyebrows and smirk on his face. "You okay? Take a breath." He patted her on the back for a minute, waiting for her coughing to die down.

When he felt it had he looked at her blushing face and smiled. "You know what that was a sign of?"

"Hm?" Maddie answered unable to look him in the eye.

"A sign that you should've listened to me!" He grabbed the beer from her hands and then bent over placing his mouth practically against her ear. The feel of his breath tickling her caused her to shiver as goose bumps covered her body. _I can't believe he has this kind of effect on me!_ she thought. "No matter what you are to me, I'm always going to take care of you. That's just the way it is. I'm not going anywhere, no matter how hard you try and push me away." He kissed her on the side of the head before standing up and walking back to the grill where he'd left the chicken cooking.

Maddie sat frozen staring off into space for a minute or two after Steve walked away. She knew she should've felt better after what he said, but she didn't. She took it as 'You'll never be my girlfriend, but I'll still wanna take care of you'. _Awesome! So, I'm just some pathetic girl who he feels he needs to take care of? NOT GONNA HAPPEN! _ she thought. Maddie was doing all she could not to start crying. _What is wrong with me? I've never felt like this before. Never been the kind of girl who cries over anything. Or been this upset over a guy. I mean sure, it's Steve, but still! I wish I had never realized how I feel about him. This is agony_, she thought. The women talked amongst themselves, knowing Maddie needed a minute.

_What's wrong? Why does she look so sad? Shouldn't that have made her feel better? Did I make it worse? _Steve wondered as he watched Maddie from across the patio. Lori stood next to him telling him a story about one of her friends, but he didn't know anymore than that and to be honest he didn't care. He was too concerned about Maddie. Looking down at the chicken he called out over the noise. "Food's almost done! Should we get the rest of it ready and bring it outside?"

Maddie jumped at the chance to excuse herself. "I'll get it all!" she said, hopping up however she moved too quickly and she became incredibly dizzy. Desperate to get inside, she didn't stop and wait for it to pass like she should have. Instead, she kept walking, only making it worse.

Steve watched Maddie get up. _Oh no! _he thought as he watched her stand too quickly. He could immediately tell she was dizzy. _Just take moment, it'll pass. Maybe sit back down_, he told her in his head. However, when she didn't sit down he began to worry. "Pete!" he called to his friend. "Take over, would ya?" Steve didn't wait for his response. He was already halfway to the door to the house, Maddie just a bit in front of him, wavering from side to side. She disappeared through the door to the house and he panicked a little not being able to see her anymore.

As he entered he saw her go down. "Maddie?" Steve called to her. She was just sitting on the floor staring off into space. Coming around in front of her he picked her up carrying her to a barstool. "At least you didn't completely pass out! That's an improvement. You okay?"

"Yeah," she mumbled the dizziness slowly fading.

"Why'd you do that? Why didn't you wait until you felt better? Or better yet, why didn't you sit back down?"

"I don't know," she mumbled noticing that her headache had increased.

"Maddie, just cause you're feeling a little better, doesn't mean your actually better. You have a serious concussion. Stop scaring the crap out of me!" he raised his voice at her.

"Steve, stop yelling," she mumbled squinting her eyes.

"Sorry," he quieted. "I'm just…you're scaring me. You're so distant and you just pulled that. What next?"

"I'm a big girl! I'm fine! I don't know why you're so concerned," she mumbled.

"Seriously? Because…" he cried. _Because I love you_, he thought. _Oh crap! Where did that come from? It doesn't mean I'm in love with her….does it? No, it just means I love her. I mean she knows I love her. We've said it to one another before. So, why don't I just say that?...Why does it feel like it'd be a big deal if I said that? Like it'd mean something else?_

"Because why?" she challenged him, looking into his blue eyes.

Steve paused, his heart pounding. _What should I say?_ he wondered. "Because…" he began. "You're like my sister." The second the words were out of his mouth he knew they were a mistake. He didn't want to think about why, but he knew it was wrong. He watched her face change. At first she looked devastated, but as soon as it had come it was gone. Replaced by nothing. It scared the hell out of him. _I thought she pushed me away before. This is a complete new level, _he thought.

Maddie was trying so hard to keep it together as her heart broke into a million pieces. _Well, there's the answer. He thinks of you as his sister_, she thought. _Don't let him see he hurt you_. "We better feed everyone. I'll be right out with the rest of the food," she said to him, lacking any emotion.

Before he could say anything or try and take back what he said, an excited male voice cried, "Madeline Lily! Even though it's only been a few days, I've missed you like crazy!"

Maddie turned her head to the entrance of the kitchen. "I didn't think I'd see you till tomorrow!" She ran over giving him a big hug.

Steve watched the entire exchange with an ache in his chest. _Why do I feel like I might have just destroyed us?_ he wondered. Knowing he better get the meat ready he turned around to head outside, only to come face to face with Pete.

Pete stood there glaring at his friend, shaking his head. Steve knew he'd heard the entire conversation, but he didn't fell like talking about it, so he walked by him.

"Hey Ryan!" Pete greeted entering the kitchen. "What a great surprise! Maddie could definitely use you here right about now." Pete turned to her. "He didn't mean what he said. Trust me."

"It's fine. He's right. No big deal," she said, acting as if her heart hadn't just been shattered into a million pieces.

"Maddie don't do this. Don't give up."

"I booked us flights back to the mainland on Thursday morning. I told you I didn't want to see him."

"Okay, we'll talk about it later. But you know, whatever you decide, I have your back."

"Thanks Pete!"

Pete grabbed the huge bowl of pasta salad and the basket of silverware and napkins and walked towards the door. "I'll take this stuff outside."

"Great, thank you!" Maddie opened the fridge, pulling out a couple heads of lettuce, a bag of tomatoes, four avocados, two cucumbers, carrots, and red cabbage and set them on the island. "Can you grab those cutting boards right there?" she asked Ryan, pointing across the kitchen.

Wanting to find out what exactly was going on, but not wanting to pry he decided he'd wait and let her bring it up. So, he did as she asked.

"Everything's already washed. I just need to cut it up. Wanna help?"

"Of course!" He grabbed two knives, handing her one and they went to work. Ryan looked at her out of the corner of his eye every so often as they chopped in silence.

After a couple minutes he heard her knife stop. He looked up at her and saw her chin and lower lip begin to quiver. "Maddie?" he whispered. Her face crumpled and tears began spilling down her face. He immediately set his knife down and walked to her, pulling her into a giant hug. He said and asked her nothing; he just let her cry, something it seemed she needed to do. He just held her, letting her know he was there for her.

Catching movement out of the corner of his eye, Ryan looked left towards the door. He wasn't sure the man's name, but he could have sworn it was Maddie's uncle. The bald haired man walked briskly over to him and pulled Maddie from his arms and into his. Ryan returned to finishing the salad as Maddie sobbed on the man's shoulder.

Ryan put everything in a giant bowl and tossed it. Satisfied that the salad was mixed enough he picked it up and walked outside with it placing it on the table.

* * *

><p>"Where should I put this?" Ryan asked as he approached the large, patio table.<p>

"How about right here," Pete said, making room for the bowl. "Everyone, this is Ryan. He is one of Maddie's dancers. He's actually the one you see dancing with her most of the time. The big kahona, if you will."

"I've seen you on TV with her. You picked her up and walked around with her on your shoulder," Gracie said from her spot at the table.

Ryan smiled at her. "That's right! That's me! Good memory! What's your name?"

"Gracie," she answered.

"Nice to meet you Gracie!" he told her. Turning to look around at everyone seated he asked, "Does it matter where I sit?"

"Maddie's gonna sit right here!" Gracie said pointing to the chair to her right. "You can sit on her other side if you want."

"Perfect! Thank you!" Ryan sat in the chair Gracie had mentioned. Looking around he noticed Steve was sitting on the other side of the table, his chair right across from Maddie. The two men made eye contact.

"Hey Ryan! Good to see you!" Steve greeted stiffly. He'd always been a little jealous of him. He and Maddie were such good friends and he worried that Ryan would replace him in her eyes. That she wouldn't need him anymore. Especially when he was always overseas working and they saw each other so rarely.

"Hi Steve! Long time!" Ryan replied. He had no problem with Steve, in fact he liked him. However, he had a feeling whatever was going on had something to do with him. The reason Maddie was currently sobbing in the kitchen. That upset him. From the first time he saw Steve and Maddie together he knew they were in love with one another, but hadn't realized it yet. He had a feeling Maddie had figured it out and Steve hadn't.

"Hey Ry!" Tina said from her seat on his right.

"Tina! I'm sooo sorry! I didn't see even see you! It's been a LONG day! It's so great to have you back!" he exclaimed hugging her close.

"Where were you when you got the call to come to Hawaii?" she asked him.

"I was in Los Angeles. Was there not quite two days."

"Yeah, it was definitely a spur of the moment thing."

"And from what I understand the next four days will be hell," Ryan said shaking his head. He turned, looking at Pete down the table. "She get any rest the last couple of days? She looks like she doesn't feel very well. Everything okay? I mean I know the answer to that question in terms of emotionally, but physically?" Ryan looked at Steve when he said 'emotionally'.

Steve averted his eyes when Ryan looked at him. _I screwed up…again. I can't seem to do anything right when it comes to her lately. I don't even know how to fix this_, he thought.

"No, she hasn't gotten that much rest. There was an incident when she arrived Thursday."

"Is that what the cuts on her arms and legs are from? And the wrap on her left foot?" he asked.

"Yeah. She has a pretty bad concussion."

"Serious. Not pretty bad. But a serious concussion," Steve corrected, obviously upset.

"Huh, well…the next four days should be interesting," Ryan said hiding the fact that he was worried.

"Speaking of Maddie," Danny said. "Where is she? And where did Joe go?"

Ryan quieted, not knowing exactly what to say. "Umm…they'll join us soon. They just need a couple minutes."

Steve's stomach sunk. He caught Ryan's eye and motioned his head in the direction of the house while raising his eyebrows, basically asking if he should go in there. Ryan looked at him sympathetically and shook his head.

"Do you think Maddie will sing for me? Uncle Steve thinks she probably will," Gracie asked.

"I can't speak for her, but I bet she would. What's really cool is her band should be here within the hour. I bet you could ask her if she'll give you a mini show. You know that she has sooooo many songs she's written that she doesn't put on her CD's?"

"Really?" Gracie asked.

"Oh yeah. She's got a lot. In fact, lately that's all she's been doing is writing. You should ask her to play some of those songs." _I haven't heard them, but maybe they'll give Steve some insight into what's going on with her_, Ryan thought, wanting to help in any way he could. Pete had told him why he was bringing her to Hawaii and he'd agreed it was a good idea. Ryan had been so worried about his friend as he watched her change the last few months. He'd tried to get her to confide in him, but Maddie would always insist that everything was fine.

"Okay! Thanks, I will!" Gracie said.

* * *

><p>"Shhh…princess," Joe whispered as he held his sobbing niece in his arms. "He loves you back don't worry. He's just scared."<p>

Maddie pulled back from his chest, some of her makeup smeared on her face. "How'd you know what was wrong?"

"I just did. So, you finally figured out you love him."

Maddie's face crumpled as a sob escaped her. "I wish I never figured it out. Now everything's weird and messed up."

He rubbed her back. "Don't say that. He feels it too. Trust me."

"No, he said he cares about me like a sister." More tears fell from her eyes.

Joe shook his head at his nephew's stupidity. "Maddie, you know how he is. He's absolutely terrified right now. I can see it in his face and his behavior. You know how he hates change. And he's worried if things change with you that he'll lose you."

"He's not too terrified to flirt and hook up with Lori."

"I've been watching them tonight. Trust me, it's mostly Lori. And even then he's watching you the entire time. She means nothing to him. And what do you mean hook up?"

Maddie pulled her phone out of her back pocket and showed him the photo of Steve and Lori. _Damn, he's stupid! I could just slap him!_ Joe sighed, handing her phone back to her and meeting her broken hearted eyes. "He's confused and freaked out by what he's feeling for you Maddie. He's not thinking clearly. He's a guy. What do you expect? And where did you get that photo anyway?"

"Someone texted it to me," she lied suddenly becoming nervous. Not wanting him to ask any more questions about where she got the picture, Maddie said. "I knowhe slept with her last night."

It was obvious she was hiding something as he reached forward wiping her tears away. _It's definitely a possibility_, he thought. _Uh, he's so stupid. I'm gonna kick his ass. _ Wanting to help her feel better he said, "You don't know that. Don't jump to conclusions." Knowing everyone was probably hungry and ready to eat, he said, "I bet they're waiting for us? And if I know Steve, he's freaking out not being able to see you safe in front of him."

"How'd you know to come in here?" Maddie asked walking to the sink and turning the cold water on.

"I saw the look on Steve's face when he walked outside. I knew something had happened. To be honest, I thought he might start crying…. Then I saw Pete's face when he came out a minute later. If looks could kill, Steve would be dead," he laughed. Then Joe looked at her, his face becoming serious. "Just, give things a little more time and try to give him the benefit of the doubt. I think he's starting to realize things." Joe smiled at Maddie as she splashed cold water on her face. He handed her a towel when she was finished.

Maddie dried her face and looked at the only real uncle she'd ever had. "I don't know."

"You guys have been through so much together, you owe it to him to give him more time." Seeing the look on her face he added, "Just…think about it at least." Joe walked around to the other side of the kitchen. "Besides this, do we need to bring anything else outside?" he asked picking up the basket of bread.

"Salad dressing," Maddie answered pointing to the different bottles on the counter.

"Okay, you grab this." Joe handed her the basket of bread. "And I'll take these." He picked up the bottles. "You ready?"

Maddie paused looking very unsure. "Do I have makeup all over my face?"

"No, you look beautiful," he told her.

"Maybe I should grab some tissues," she wondered as she continued to sniffle, an after effect of crying. Grabbing a few tissues she stuffed them in her pocket.

"Good idea!"

"Oh, one more thing!" Maddie said as she grabbed two more beers.

"Now you're just trying to piss him off," Joe smiled.

"Maybe," she grinned back. "Hey, you asked me to give him some time. You said nothing about not being able to piss him off and drive him crazy."

He shook his head at her, not able to keep the smile from his face. "That's the Maddie I know and love! …. Alright, let's go!" Joe put his arm out for Maddie to link hers through it and they walked outside.

* * *

><p>Thanks so much for reading my story! Please, please, PLEASE leave a review! The more reviews I get in the next couple hours, the sooner I'll post Chapters 19 and 20, which are finished.<p>

xoxo


	19. Chapter 19

**DISCLAIMER: **I do not own the TV show "Hawaii Five-0" or any of its characters. I do own Maddie, Pete, Tina, and Ryan though. haha

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><p><strong>AUTHOR'S NOTE: <strong>You guys rock! Thank you soooo much for the kind words! You are the BEST! I had some new reviewers this time and it was sooo awesome to hear from you guys! Please, please keep it up!

As always, thoughts are in _italics_.

This is a big chapter for Steve...you'll see why. I am DYING to know what you guys think of it, so please let me know! Whether it's good or bad! I gotta know!

Chapter 20 is done, but I want to give everyone a chance to reach this chapter before I post it. I want this one to sink in. But I'm really anxious to post ch.20...sooo I might put it up later tonight. I could be persuaded. lol.

Anyway, again...THANKS SO MUCH for your awesome reviews! And please let me know what you think of this chapter!

I'll stop rambling and let you get to it!

xoxo

Laura

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><p><span>CHAPTER 19<span>

"Why thank you for joining the party!" Danny cried as he spotted Joe and Maddie.

Steve's head shot up and he looked in the direction of the house. He smiled seeing them arm in arm. "Here's the bread guys. Sorry for the delay!" Maddie said, setting the basket on the table.

"And the salad dressing!" Joe added.

Maddie glanced at the table noticing only two chairs open. One was at the end of the table, while the other was right across from Steve. She wanted nothing more than to take the first one, but Gracie stopped her. "I saved you a seat!"

"Thank you sweetie!" Maddie answered walking towards her seat. Joe pulled it out for her and once she was seated pushed it in. Before he walked away he bent down and whispered, "Remember…don't give up on him. Give him a chance. Don't push him away."

Looking down in front of her she noticed her plate already had food on it. It had everything she liked. She was confused as she watched people reaching for food and filling their plates. Maddie was just about to ask if this was someone's plate when a hand dropped a piece of bread on it. She didn't need to look up to see whose hand it was, but she did anyway. Steve sat across from her, breadbasket in his hand as he stared at her. Making her plate, she knew was his way of trying to say sorry. _He feels bad for upsetting me. But does he even know what he did? …..But, Joe's right, he looks like he's gonna start crying_, she thought.

The two stared into one another's eyes for what felt like forever. She was so hurt and heartbroken that she didn't really know what to do. She wanted to listen to Joe and not push him away, but she didn't want to hurt like this anymore. It was just too much for her at the moment. She had too much on her plate, so to speak.

Steve stared into her gorgeous blue eyes and could tell she'd been crying. He looked to her face and could see she hadn't just been crying, but sobbing. He could tell by the way her face was a little red and puffy. Plus she was still softly hiccupping and sniffling. _I'm such an asshole_, he thought. He wanted to fix everything, but wasn't sure how. He didn't want to admit to himself why she was mad at him. He was too afraid. _She looks so sad_, he thought as they continued to stare at one another.

Finally the moment was interrupted by Danny's voice. "So Pete, I've been wanting to ask, but wasn't quite sure what to say…so I'm just going to come right out with it. What's with all the keys?"

Maddie's eyes widened and her face flushed. _What's that about? _Steve wondered noticing her reaction.

"Well, interesting story. You wanna tell it Maddie?" Pete said from his spot down the table.

Maddie looked at her food. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Oh, okay. Well then let me refresh your memory." By the look on his face and the smartass, silly tone to his voice, everyone couldn't wait to hear what he had to say.

"I was afraid Maddie was going to run," he came right out and said.

Steve stared at Maddie, a 'why would you do that?' look on his face. She pretended she didn't understand. "When? tonight?" she asked playing dumb.

"Yes, tonight," Pete grinned at her, his eyebrows arched.

"I am offended! I would never do that!" She claimed.

Ryan and Pete cracked up. Hearing him laugh beside her, Maddie elbowed Ryan. "Sorry," he mumbled, putting his hand over his mouth trying to stifle his laughs.

"Okay, what are we missing?" Chin asked.

"Let's just say when Maddie gets overwhelmed or upset, she tends to take off," Ryan told them.

"That is sooooo not true!" Maddie defended, her eyes wide.

"Oh, you're right, I forgot sometimes you do it just to drive Pete crazy," Ryan added.

Maddie couldn't help it; she started giggling as she pictured the look on Pete's face the last time she "ran off".

"Madeline Lily Stewart! Tell me that's not true!" Steve cried.

"Well, his face is priceless! I'm just trying to keep him on his toes!" Maddie exclaimed laughing.

"Son, you're a Navy Seal, not to mention I trained you. How does she get away from you?" Joe asked.

"She is seriously sneaky! And fast! I mean what do you expect? She grew up with that one!" Pete pointed to Steve refusing to make eye contact with him.

_Wow Steve! You're on a roll tonight! Two of your best friends won't look at you_, Steve thought to himself.

"Okay, I'll give you that one! The two were always up to no good when they were kids," Joe said.

"Hey!" Maddie and Steve cried out simultaneously. Hearing each other yell at the same time they turned, looking at one another. Steve smiled a little at her, testing the waters. _I'll listen to Joe. I'll throw Steve a teeny, tiny, little bone_, she thought and gave him the littlest bit of a smile. However, Lori wasn't stupid. She'd been watching the two of them interact all night. It had been bad enough when Steve had wrapped her knee up kissing her on the head. It had been bad enough when he made her a plate of food. And it was bad enough that he was watching her every move all night. She would not let this woman, one of the biggest celebrities, who could have any man she wanted, come in and take hers. Putting her arm through Steve's, Lori leaned into him. "Shocker! You were a handful as a kid!" she giggled, smiling and wrinkling her nose at him. Maddie's stomach churned at the sight before her as she stared at Steve. He watched the tiny smile he'd finally gotten out of her fall from her face as she looked down at her plate. _No!_ he thought.

_Why did she stop smiling like that and look away from me?_ Steve wondered. _What happened?_ He felt Lori snuggling into his side as she ate and he felt uncomfortable. He wished he could tell her to let go of his arm, but he didn't want to hurt her feelings. So, he went with it. He leaned the littlest bit into her so that it didn't feel so much like she was pulling on his arm.

Ryan watched what happened and things suddenly began to make sense. _Alright then, I'm going to help Maddie make him jealous. That'll prove to her that he has feelings_, he thought. _And hopefully help prove it to him, too._

"Paris, France….7 months ago. So….September? Yeah…September," Ryan began.

Maddie immediately knew what he was going to say. Her eyes grew wide as she turned to him shaking her head, "Ry…No."

"It's funny Mads! Come on!" he told her. _I'm trying to help you_, he thought.

Realizing there was no stopping him, she placed her elbow on the table and set her head in her hand as she picked at her food with her fork. Steve watched the two interact. Her reaction only made him want to hear the story more.

"We had just finished a show. It was late by the time we got back to the hotel. About midnight. Pete locked down Maddie's room for the night and then headed to his next door. Little did he know that Maddie had been seeing someone new for a month or so. She'd met him in the states before we left for the overseas press tour. She was keeping it hush hush, so no one knew, not even me," Ryan turned to Maddie. "Which, I still am mad about, by the way."

"Really Ry? You wanna talk about that now? And do you really have to tell this story?" Maddie asked.

"Yeah, he's not stopping now," Steve said, his jaw clenched. He didn't like where this was going. _Why do I feel jealous? She's dated guys in the past. It's nothing new. Plus, I haven't even heard the story. I don't even know what it's about, _he thought. Freaked out by what he was feeling, he decided to try and forget about it and pulled Lori closer.

Maddie rested her head back in her hand as she sighed. _Seriously? I don't need this right now! _she thought. Setting her fork down she reached for her beer and took a few long swigs of the golden liquid.

"Anyway, since the two had been away from one another for two weeks, her new boyfriend flew to Paris for a couple days to see her. Maddie had to be quick and quiet if she wanted to leave her room and get to his on another floor without getting caught. She did it, of course, and no one had ANY IDEA! So morning comes…"

Everyone laughed as they heard Pete grumble and groan just thinking about the incident.

Ryan smiled, "Tina goes to wake Maddie up and what do ya know? No Maddie! She runs next door to Pete's room, frantic, hoping for some reason she was with him. Of course, she's not there. Chaos erupts. Pete is sooooo upset, really scared."

"Can I just add something?" Pete interrupted.

Maddie groaned burying her face in her arms. "I really wish you wouldn't," she mumbled her face smashed in her arms. _Steve's going to freak_, she thought.

"We'd had some threats against Maddie that week," Pete revealed.

"What kind of threats?" Rachel asked.

"A couple death threats, a couple kidnapping threats," Pete answered.

"Legit?" Chin asked concerned.

Pete's face became extremely serious as he nodded. "Oh yeah, they panned out. Big time."

Steve was livid. He was staring at Maddie, but she was hiding in her hands. To get her to look up at him he stretched his legs out under the table and wiggled them against hers. Reluctantly she looked up at him, meeting his eyes. Steve glared at her, "Really Maddie?"

"What? I thought he was exaggerating or lying after what I did the week before in London. I thought he was just trying to scare me into staying with him at EVERY moment of EVERY day. Never having a single moment to myself."

Kono whistled, shaking her head as she smirked. "I remember the London story. You screwed with Pete two weeks in a row? Oh, Pete!" She reached across the table patting his arm in sympathy.

"What'd you do in London? Tell me," Steve demanded even angrier now.

Maddie was getting mad at Steve. _He can't act like a worried boyfriend when there's a girl hanging on him. And after he told me I'm like a sister to him?_ she thought. "It doesn't matter. It was months ago. You don't get to be like this with me…BROTHER!" she snapped, enunciating the word 'brother'.

_Why did I have to tell her she's like a sister to me? It's not true, but there's no way she's going to believe me now_, he thought, hurt by what she'd just said. _Fine, if she doesn't want me to worry or care about her, I won't. _"Fine," Steve growled, leaning back in his chair.

Wanting to break the tension Danny said, "Don't be surprised if in the VERY near future we lock you two in a room together. You guys just need to…"

"Danny," Rachel hissed, motioning to Gracie who was trying to keep up with the conversation.

"Do what Daddy?" Grace asked. "What do Uncle Steve and Aunt Maddie need to do?"

Maddie smiled hearing Grace refer to her as 'Aunt Maddie'. _I've never been 'aunt' to anyone before_, she thought happily, subconsciously running her left hand down Gracie's hair as she gulped down the rest of her beer.

"Nothing monkey…adult things. Uncle Steve and Aunt Maddie need to do adult things. Desperately," Danny smirked.

"In a locked room?" Grace asked confused.

Maddie and Steve's faces were bright red, unable to look at one another, as everyone laughed. Still furious and very tipsy from drinking four beers on a nearly empty stomach, Maddie set down her empty bottle and said, "But, you don't do that stuff with your sister…sooo…"

Her comment surprised Steve. _Does that mean she wants to sleep with me? _he wondered, the thought making him happy. _But then why would she push me to try things with Lori? I don't get it…I mean she's definitely intoxicated…that must be why she said it. She probably didn't realize exactly what the comment would insinuate,_ he thought as he drank his beer. _I can't believe she said that in front of everyone. Very unlike her! And I can't believe Danny! I mean, this a completely private topic!_

Everyone was quite shocked at what Maddie said, but at the same time they were glad she'd said it, hoping it would help Steve get his head out of his ass. Well, everyone except Lori. She was furious, her mind running a million miles a minute as her grip on Steve's arm tightened.

No one noticed that Gracie was sitting at the table deep in thought over what her dad had said. "Like have babies?" she asked, her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "That kind of adult thing?"

After Gracie's first question Maddie thought she couldn't have been more embarrassed, but she was wrong. Her face was now so red and hot she had to keep from holding the second beer she'd brought out against her face. _This is so awkward. Thank God I'm not completely sober_, she thought, not really sure what to do or say.

Steve had just taken a huge sip of beer when Gracie asked her question. Not expecting it he began choking as some beer spewed from his mouth followed by a coughing attack.

"Oh my God, Steve! Are you okay?" Lori asked, fussing over him as he continued to cough. He nodded while coughing, his eyes watering.

After a minute or so, the coughing subsided and he regained his composure. "Are you sure you're okay?" Lori asked him rubbing his bicep.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he mumbled. Desperately wanting to see Maddie's reaction he stole a quick glance. She was bright red as she picked up another beer. However, the second he saw her the image he'd already seen twice that day popped into his head. The one where he was holding Maddie, pregnant with his child. This time the image only scared him a little. Mainly it made him smile at the thought of them eventually having children together. _I don't even want to know what that means?_ He sighed. Feeling Lori lace her arm through his again, he felt uncomfortable and weird about it. _Probably because I'm imagining Maddie pregnant with my kid and someone else is snuggled against me, _he thought. _Oh…what the hell is going on with me? _He was ecstatic when his train of thought was interrupted by Malia.

"I wanna hear the rest of the story," Malia spoke up, deciding it was time for a topic change.

It had been a tough couple minutes for Maddie, so as he continued the story Ryan placed his hand on her upper back, every so often rubbing it. Letting her know he was right there for her. That she wasn't alone. Steve watched, jealousy bubbling in his stomach as he drank some of his beer. Ryan picked up where he left off in the story. "We had a lot of the rooms on that floor, so Pete started going up and down banging on all the doors searching the rooms. Even rooms with people we didn't know. Best part? Pete's in his cartoon character covered onesie, the one Maddie got him for his birthday, with his gun in one hand. Look, I have a video!" Ryan pulled out his phone and passed the video around, everyone laughing as they saw it. Well, almost everyone. After seeing it, Steve stared at Maddie, sipping his beer. His eyes filled with anger that'd she had risked her safety and pulled a stunt like that, but there was also something else in them. Love? Desire? Whatever it was, it was intense.

"So what happened?" Malia asked after passing the video down the table.

"Pete went down, still in his onesie, to the hotel's security office. He started going through footage trying to figure out where she went. If she was even still in the hotel. He eventually figured out what floor she got off on. He was so confident as he strolled down the hall thinking he found her. Again, he pounded on all the doors. But Maddie was no dummy."

Maddie couldn't help but smirk at the next part. However, when she did Steve shook his head at her.

"So Maddie had tricked Pete. Yes, she got off on that floor, but she knew the cameras were only in the elevators. So, she took the stairs, where she knew there weren't any cameras. She went to the real floor her new boyfriend was staying on."

Finally Steve's glare became too much, making her uncomfortable. "Pete had met him right when we first started seeing one another. I introduced him as my friend because we were just getting to know each. But Pete hated him, so I kept the relationship a secret for the time being. Steve, I wanted to see my boyfriend. I didn't have a choice!"

Still hurt from her earlier comment, Steve met her eyes and snapped, "Why are you telling me this? I don't care." He watched the look on her face as her stomach sunk at his words. _Way to let your anger get the better of you Steve! _he told himself._ You screwed up again!_ Ashamed and embarrassed he looked down at his hands.

"Pete was right to hate him Mads. He almost killed you months later!" Ryan said, not thinking through exactly what he was saying.

Steve's head shot up, his eyes wild. "Excuse me?"

Maddie looked panicked as if the walls were closing in on her. _I never wanted Steve to find out about this…quick, think of something to say! _she thought. Hurt at what he'd said a minute before she responded, unable to look at him. "I thought you didn't care?"

Steve wanted to know what the hell this guy had done and her response only angered him further. Every vein in his forehead was popping out as he glared at her. "Madeline…tell me..NOW!" he growled through teeth clenched.

Kono and Pete knew if Steve found out anything more about the situation he'd hunt down the guy and kill him. No joke. There was a reason they hadn't told him about it the other day. Knowing the subject absolutely HAD to change, Kono said, "How'd you find her Pete?"

Still furious, Steve was about to interrupt and ask Ryan what he was talking about, when he felt a hand on his arm. Looking to his right he saw the hand belonged to Chin. Trying to get Steve to calm down, Chin exaggerated taking a deep breath. Reluctantly Steve followed his advice, slowly breathing in and out while he tried to calm down. Chin maintained eye contact with Steve until he felt he was calm enough. _This isn't the time, but I'll figure out what they're talking about. Who tried to hurt my Maddie_, he told himself.

Pete looked at Kono gratefully. "I'm not proud to say that it took me hours. But I eventually pieced it all together and found out what room the guy was staying in."

"And he knocked down the door!" Maddie said, finally finding her voice as she avoided Steve's eyes.

"Well, no one was answering and I freaked out! I thought something happened to you! That guy gave me the creeps!" Pete responded.

"It was in the morning. We were asleep!"

"Wait! Let me finish my story! There's another funny part!" Ryan interjected. "Anyway, so he breaks down the door and grabs Maddie. He throws her over his shoulder and brings her back to our floor. The sight of them was so funny that I had to snap a picture!"

Once again Ryan passed his phone around the table. Finally it gets to Steve, who still couldn't get Ryan's comment about Maddie almost getting killed out of his head. He looked down to see a very angry and disheveled Pete in his cartoon character covered onesie with his arm firmly holding a lingerie clad Maddie, her hair a mess. She was mad in the photo, but also trying not to laugh because of the absurdity of this Navy Seal running around like a crazy man with a gun while wearing silly pajamas. Steve immediately thrust the phone at Ryan. It was obvious he was jealous thinking of why she was dressed in lingerie. That she'd been wearing it for another man. A psycho apparently.

"You could have been killed!" Chin told her. "I can't believe you did that!"

"Oh Chin, it's not like I went off with some random guy I'd just met. We were dating."

"Well you've always had moments where you need to test the water," Joe smiled shaking his head.

Danny looked at Steve staring at Maddie. "Uh oh, Steve has aneurism face. Out of control aneurism face. Maddie, you seem to be really good at giving him that."

"Shut up Danno!" Steve snapped never once taking his eyes away from Maddie.

"Alright, change of subject!" Tina announced.

"I second that!" Maddie replied taking a sip of her beer.

* * *

><p>They were almost through with dinner when Maddie's band arrived. "Hi guys!" she greeted standing and giving them each a hug. "Please help yourself! There's enough food!"<p>

Taking her seat she picked some more at the plate of food Steve made her, when she felt a hand tug at her t-shirt. Looking to her left she came face to face with Gracie. "I was wondering if you'd sing something?"

To be honest Maddie felt awful. She hadn't been feeling great all night, but the last 30 minutes she began to feel much worse rather quickly. Her head was killing her and her body was aching. This was the longest she'd gone without lying down and resting in the last couple days. She was hoping if she continued to drink beer it would help her not notice the pain. She was on her second one with dinner, her fifth one of the night, and she was definitely feeling the effects of the alcohol. Steve kept glancing at her, having settled down quite a bit, while Lori continued to vie for his attention. Maddie watched as Lori whispered something in his ear, pulling his attention off her. He laughed and then put his arm around her shoulder. He didn't pull her too close, but enough to cause Maddie's chest to tighten in sadness and jealousy. _Oh well,_ _I'm just his 'sister' anyway_, she thought. _I won't have to deal with it for much longer. Basically just tonight. Next time I'll see him is at the show Wednesday night and then I'm outta her Thursday morning. _She quickly looked away, bringing her focus back on Gracie.

Not feeling well enough to really sing, but not wanting to disappoint her, Maddie said, "Of course! We can do a couple songs!"

"New ones?"

"What do you mean?"

"Ryan said you have a lot of new ones. Can I hear those?" Gracie asked.

_Most of those are about Steve or the stalker currently ruining my life_, Maddie thought, nervously. "But the band doesn't know them. They haven't heard them," she explained trying to get out of singing anything new in front of Steve.

"Yeah, but I know you. You have the songs already arranged and charted out for each instrument. It's the perfectionist in you. All you have to do is give them to the band and they can play 'em no problem," Ryan said. She squinted her eyes at him. _What is he up to? First that story and now this? _she thought.

Ryan was hoping that by singing the songs in front of Steve it would help things between them. Or maybe she'd reveal something about whatever she'd been hiding the last few months.

Sighing Maddie couldn't refuse her. Turning to the band she asked, "What do you think? You up for a short set?"

They all smiled. "Depends. Are you gonna jam with us? Or just sing?" a brown haired man, dressed in jeans, a white t-shirt and a grey zip up hoodie asked her in between bites of hamburger.

"Sure Ben! I'll jam with you!" Maddie grinned at her lead guitarist and musical director.

"Awesome! Then we're in!"

Maddie turned to Gracie. "Well, there you have it! We'll do it!" she said, running her fingers through the young girl's hair. "I'll go set things up while they eat." She got up slowly, her body aching and her head throbbing, and took her barely eaten food inside.

Steve waited a minute before excusing himself from the table hoping it didn't look like he was following her. He wanted to try and talk to Maddie, make peace with her.

* * *

><p>Setting her plate on the counter Maddie leaned against it, not feeling well. She was so off in her own little world she didn't hear Steve enter the kitchen.<p>

Maddie had done an amazing job designing the patio, including the ivy growing in the wooded structure above it. Woven in the ivy were strands of small, white Christmas lights. Although it set an amazing mood, it wasn't as bright as it was inside the house. Now that Steve could see her in the brightly lit kitchen he saw how pale she was. Although he was still upset over the stories he'd heard at dinner and frustrated and confused over her behavior and what was going on between them, he was really concerned and wanted to take care of her. _She doesn't feel well. I need to get her to bed, so she can get some rest before tomorrow's rehearsal_, he thought as he watched her. He quietly approached her.

"Feeling okay?" Steve asked leaning on the counter next to her.

She jumped a bit, not realizing he was there. "Yeah, I'm good." She straightened up and began to walk towards the stairs, obvious that she was trying to keep her distance from him.

"Where are you going?" he called after her.

"Just to the restroom quickly," she told him stopping in the middle of the stairs.

"Maddie you barely ate anything." Steve held up her plate. "I'm gonna wrap this up and stick it in the fridge. You can have some later."

"I thought you were done worrying about me…brother. That you didn't care," Maddie snapped, however it was obvious she didn't have a lot of energy left to fight with him.

"Come on…seriously? Stop fighting me so much and let's just talk about what's going on between us."

_Does that mean he feels something between us too? _the thought made her happy. _But we shouldn't talk about it because I don't want to risk his safety. We shouldn't even go there_. "There's nothing going on between us…" she lied.

"You're trying to tell me that we've always fought like this? No Mads! We need to talk about why you're so upset!" Steve responded from his spot in the kitchen. _I wish she'd come back down instead of standing in the middle of the stairs_, he thought.

Maddie's face dropped when she realized she'd misunderstood what he meant when he said they needed to talk about what was going on between them. _You're so stupid Maddie! _she berated herself. _Of course he meant we should talk about why I'm upset!_

Catching her reaction Steve asked, "Wait…what'd I just say that made you look so sad and upset?"

Feeling broken, she softly said, "Nothing Steve." Shaking her head she walked the rest of the way upstairs and to her bedroom.

"Well, I just made it worse…AGAIN! She's still upset with me. Could barely look at me and couldn't get away from me fast enough. Way to go Steven," he whispered to himself as he wrapped her plate up and put it in the fridge, slamming the door in frustration and anger when he was done.

Walking outside he ran into Pete at the door. Pete slammed into his shoulder purposely as he passed by. Steve turned around, "What the hell?"

Pete glared at him briefly and then started to turn and walk away, ignoring him.

"What? What was that look for? And what's with running into me? What's your problem?" Steve asked his longtime buddy.

Pete turned back around and walked up to him. "You are one hell of a badass Steve, but when it comes to….well, you're a real idiot!" Pete whispered angrily.

"You can't call me an idiot without telling me why!" Steve countered.

"I told you to open up your eyes! You're not even trying! And then you say that to her? That she's like a sister to you! And then everything at dinner?" Pete cried in frustration, his voice louder than he intended. Realizing he was near yelling he looked around, hoping no one had heard him.

"What do you mean I'm not even trying? I don't know what else to do?"

"Maybe it's NOT what you AREN'T doing, but what you ARE doing that's the problem!" Pete seethed getting in Steve's face.

Pete knew one of the things Steve couldn't stand and would set him off was when his personal space was invaded. "Why don't you stop talking in riddles and just tell me what's going on! And while you're at it get out of my face!"

"Oh crap," Danny mumbled seeing what was about to happen. "I know what happens next from personal experience." He began to stand hoping to put an end to things, but Joe stopped him.

"Just let them get it out of their systems. Trust me, it's for the better," Joe said, shaking his head at the two men acting like children. However, he couldn't help but smirk a little too.

"What are you going to do about it?" Pete said poking him in the chest, his face now only inches from Steve's. The second the question was out of his mouth and his finger on his chest, Steve grabbed Pete's hand and twisted his entire arm to the right forcing Pete's back to him. Exactly what he'd done to Danny when they'd first met. However, unlike Danny, Pete was a Navy Seal. Pete took his right leg and kicked Steve in the stomach from behind.

"Ugh," Steve groaned bending over in pain, automatically releasing Pete's arm. However, he wasn't down long. Just as Pete turned to face him, Steve landed a powerful right hook to his face. "I told you to get out of my face!"

Not even phased by the hit or the blood dripping from his mouth, Pete caught Steve's left arm as he went to land another punch. He pulled Steve towards him by his arm kneeing him in the gut and landing a punch to his face. "You're going to lose her if you keep this up! If you haven't already, which is a BIG POSSIBILITY!" he whispered to a bent over Steve.

Ignoring the blood dripping from his nose, Steve came right back at him, lunging at his stomach and pushing him back into one of the porch columns. "Ugh," Pete groaned as his back collided with the hard column.

"I don't know what else to do! Tell me!" Steve growled.

The men paused, making everyone believe they were done. "Stop fighting it! Stop being an ass! She's a mess already. So lost. She doesn't need this from you. You're killing her," Pete whispered. He didn't want anyone to overhear what they were fighting about, really who they were fighting about.

Steve held him against the column, distracted by what he had just said, giving Pete the advantage. He smirked right before he smashed his head into Steve's. "Son of a bitch!" Steve mumbled as he stumbled back holding his bleeding forehead, his vision blurry for a second.

Standing in front of him Pete glared at Steve. "I think after the show I should just take her to Los Angeles…or anywhere away from you."

Steve lost it. He ran at Pete, fury in his eyes, and landed a couple of really hard punches to his face. "You're not taking her anywhere. You can't do that! Something's not right. She isn't safe!"

Steve would not stop punching Pete, in the stomach and in the face. Apparently by saying that Pete had hit a nerve, and Steve's "ninja side" came out, which meant he needed to get Steve off him as soon as possible. Realizing he had a set of keys in his pocket, he used one on Steve the next time he came at him, digging it deep in his arm. Pete managed to make a three-inch cut on his left arm. Steve stepped back grabbing his arm in shock. _No weapons when you fight your friends_, he thought as he watched the blood ooze from his wound.

"Why do you even care where I take her?" Pete asked Steve before punching him in the face again.

"Because…" Steve replied stepping forward to hit Pete, but he'd let his emotions get to him at this point, something they were trained not to let happen. Because when they did, they had a bigger chance of getting killed or in this case get their asses kicked. Pete landed another punch to his face.

"Like I said, you're an idiot!" Pete yelled hitting him one more time, this time even harder.

"Peter Joshua Lambert and Steven Jonathon McGarrett!" Maddie yelled from the doorway to the patio. "Stop it now!"

At the sound of her angry voice Steve turned to her, blood everywhere. Pete couldn't help himself and punched him one more time in the face.

"Pete! Knock it off! What the hell?" she cried.

"He deserves it! And more!" Pete defended his actions.

Maddie looked at Steve. "Mads? You okay?" Steve mumbled, blood coming out of his mouth as he spoke. He wobbled in her direction.

"Steve, go upstairs. Wait for me in the bathroom."

"You're gonna help him first?" Steve argued.

"Just go! And don't get any blood on the carpet!" Maddie snapped at him.

An upset and concerned Lori jumped up from her seat at the patio table and ran to him. "Oh my God Steve! Here, let me help you!" She put her arm around him.

Steve wiggled out of her grasp and began walking towards the door. "No, I'll just wait for Mads upstairs. But thanks, Lori."

"Now that was the best move you've made all night," Pete smirked. As Steve passed Pete he punched him in the genitals. As Pete was going down he was able to hit Steve there too, both men falling to the ground, groaning in pain.

"You are both children!" Maddie seethed. "When you can stand up, Pete meet me in the kitchen and Steve go upstairs!" She said before walking inside the house to grab the first aid kit.

* * *

><p>Maddie hadn't wanted to freak Steve out, but her stomach had suddenly begun to churn as they spoke in the kitchen. When she realized what he meant when he told her he wanted to talk about what was going on between them, the nausea increased. As soon as she was out of his eyesight she started running down the hall to her room. She flew through her bedroom door and into her bathroom. She made it just in time to drop to her knees and empty her stomach's contents in the toilet.<p>

A few tears slid down her face as she thought about how much she wished Steve was there with her. It had been so nice to have him behind her holding her hair and rubbing her back the other times she'd thrown up. "When am I going to start feeling better? I feel terrible. Worse than I have all day," she told herself. However, she knew the nausea and vomiting had nothing to do with her concussion or that she'd been drinking. It was emotional, just like it had been the night before after she'd gotten the text message.

Maddie sat there for a few minutes waiting to see if she'd vomit again. _Steve's going to come looking for me if I'm gone too long. I told him I'd just be a minute, that I was just using the restroom_, she thought. _I don't want him to find me here bent over the toilet. _Deciding she better join everyone she began to stand, her legs feeling shaky. Actually all of her felt shaky. _Ugh I feel awful_.

Walking over to her sink she quickly brushed her teeth. Maddie stared at her reflection. "I look awful…" Grabbing her foundation she put some on and then added a bit of blush. Her hands were shaking, making it hard to apply makeup so she added mascara and then gave up. She walked out of her room. Taking a deep breath, she was about to give herself a pep talk when she heard a loud bang downstairs. "What the hell?" she whispered.

Deciding she needed to go check it out, she hurried down the hall. She was halfway down the stairs when she was able to see out of the living room and kitchen windows and onto her patio. _What on earth?_ Maddie wondered as she saw Steve and Pete fighting like a bunch of high school kids. Rushing to the door she yelled at the two of them, using their full names to get their attention. "Peter Joshua Lambert and Steven Jonathon McGarrett! Stop it now!"

Steve immediately turned to her and she cringed at how beat up he was. _That's not like him. He normally kicks the other guys' ass! _she thought. Pete used the moment to his advantage and punched him one more time in the face. Maddie winced. "Pete! Knock it off! What the hell?"

"He deserves it! And more!" Pete claimed.

_Yes, he does_, Maddie thought. Suddenly he was wobbling towards her, his balance not very good, asking her if she was okay. _He's worried about me right now? Blood just flew out of his mouth when he spoke. _"Steve, go upstairs. Wait for me in my bathroom."

"You're gonna help him first?" Steve argued.

"Just go! And don't get any blood on the carpet!"

Lori rushed to his side. "Oh my God Steve! Here let me help you!"

Maddie's stomach sunk, disappointed. Even though she was upset and mad at Steve, she was still worried about him. She wanted to be the one to take care of him, but she knew he was going to go with Lori.

"No, I'll just wait for Mads upstairs. But thanks, Lori," Steve said, completely disregarding her. Maddie smiled inwardly, while a huge grin appeared on Pete's face. _He wants me to help him…over Lori_, she thought, shocked.

"Now that was the best move you've made all night," Pete smirked at Steve as he was walking by. Steve turned to him and punched him in the genitals. However, Pete was quick and hit him there too. Both men ended up on the groan writhing in pain.

_Seriously? Well now I know they were fighting over me. I understood Pete's comment to him. I wonder if he told Steve I'm in love with him?_ Maddie wondered. You are both children! When you can stand up, Pete meet me in the kitchen and Steve, go upstairs!" She demanded angrily and then walked inside to grab the first aid kit.

* * *

><p>Maddie walked into the kitchen from the hall, the first aid kit in her hand, to see Pete sitting at the bar waiting for her. "Really Pete? What the hell happened?" she asked him.<p>

"He pissed me off! I hate that he's hurting you!" he told her as she started dabbing at the cuts on his face.

"I should NEVER have told you how I feel!"

"No, I'm glad you did! It felt good to have you trust me with something. Like how it used to be."

"But you told him, didn't you?" she asked as she stopped what she was doing.

"No, Maddie! I promise! But he knows you told me something. That it's the reason you're distancing yourself from him. I told him I couldn't tell him. That it was in front of his face, he just had to open his eyes."

Wiping some blood off his cheek, Maddie asked, "Well, what started the fight?"

Pete sighed. "The fact he's hurting you. It just built up. And then I heard him tell you you are like a sister to him. It just pisses me off that he's in denial over his feelings for you. I mean it was so obvious at dinner. That's why he was so upset! He was completely jealous! Like out of control jealous!"

"Pete, he doesn't think of me that way!" she said.

"Maddie, he has been head over heels for you at least since I've known him. Trust me! He just is too scared to admit it! He's a guy and he's Steve, what do you expect?"

Maddie ignored what he'd just said. She just couldn't get her hopes up that Steve felt the same way because either way they couldn't be together. She stopped what she was doing and leaned against the counter across from him. "Continue," she requested.

"Anyway, I was coming inside and he was walking out. I slammed into his shoulder and glared at him and he asked me what my problem was. I told him for someone so smart he sure was an idiot. He got upset and I got in his face."

Maddie smirked, shaking her head.

"Yes, knowing full well it would piss him off. Then I poked him in the chest and he lost it and we went at it."

Sighing Maddie said, "Pete, I appreciate it. I do, but this is between Steve and me."

"Okay, I'm sorry. I just hate seeing you so upset," Pete told her standing up and pulling her into a hug.

"I don't want our problems affecting your friendship with him," Maddie said to him against his shoulder.

"I know and we are still friends. It's just I'm gonna call him out when he's ass, whether your part of it or not. That's what friends do!" Pete told her still holding her against him and hugging her.

Maddie laughed, pulling away from him. "And friends kick each other's asses?"

"Hell yes!" Pete chuckled.

"Hey Mads, let me finish cleaning him up. I checked on Steve. Wanted to make sure he didn't need any stitches. Thought I could start getting him cleaned up, but he won't let me near him. He wants you," Malia relayed, suddenly appearing.

"Great…" Maddie said sarcastically. Sighing loudly she quickly grabbed two cold beers, one for him and one for her, and walked slowly towards the stairs, wanting more than anything to just lie down.

* * *

><p>Steve walked in Maddie's room, his head killing him from not only being head butted, but from all the punches he took. <em>What did Pete mean by 'that was the best move you made all night?'<em>, he wondered his mind running a million miles an hour

Walking towards her bathroom so that if he dripped any blood it could be wiped off the tile floor, he noticed her laptop open on the bed. "Is that what you were doing up here Mads? You needed to get on your computer?" He inched closer to it. "For what I wonder?" Steve knew he shouldn't invade her privacy, but at this point he was desperate for some answers. He walked to her bedroom door closing it and then went back to her bed. Reaching forward he rubbed his finger on the mouse pad and the computer immediately came to life.

Steve's heart stopped as he read her travel itinerary. "She's leaving?" he whispered. _Am I really hurting her? Is Pete right? What am I doing? I don't want her to go. I just got her back in my life. And someone's after her…she can't leave. I absolutely cannot lose her; I need her. I have to get her to talk to me tonight,_ he thought. Hearing the door open behind him he froze. _Crap! She's gonna be mad! _

"Steve, stop snooping on her computer," Joe said. "Get in the bathroom. You're about to get blood on the carpet."

He couldn't have been more relieved to hear Joe's voice instead of Maddie's. Looking down Steve realized he was right, so he trudged across the room to her bathroom. Once inside he plopped down on the stool in front of her vanity.

"What's going on son?" Joe asked him, leaning against the bathroom counter.

"I don't know," Steve confessed putting his head in his hands.

"Well, let me help you figure it out. Because you're making a huge mess of things."

"I know…and I don't even know how," he admitted, sounding so defeated.

"I'm just gonna get right to the point," Joe began. "I see the way you look at her, the way you watch her, the way you fuss over her. Do you have feelings for her?" Steve was quiet as he wiped away some blood that was about to drip in his eye. "It's okay if you tell me you do. It doesn't have to mean you have to act on them. I know how you feel about change." Joe gave him a minute to think before he asked him again. "Steve, do you have feelings for Maddie?" He decided he would avoid using the word 'love' and instead just say 'feelings'. _Baby steps_, he thought as he waited for Steve to answer.

Steve closed his eyes, looking away. Finding out she was planning on leaving, that he was going to lose her, scared the hell out of him. Worse than anything he was feeling. So, he decided it was time to be honest with himself, he couldn't ignore how he felt anymore. Thinking everything through he opened his eyes and looked at Joe. "Yes," he mumbled.

"Well that's a start…" Joe smiled, happy with Steve's admission. "Ok, well, why are you fighting them?"

"I'm so confused, Joe," Steve sighed running his left hand through his hair.

"What do you mean?"

"There are times where I look at her and I just want to pull her to me and kiss her. Never let her go. And then there's these moments where I have a feeling or a thought and I freak out and walk away or say or do something wrong."

"Like when you told her she was like a sister to you?" Joe chuckled.

Steve groaned, embarrassed he knew about that. "Yeah, exactly like that. Did she tell you? How upset was she?"

"I'm not gonna lie, she was upset. You really hurt her on that one. That's gonna take a while to heal," Joe honestly told him. Pausing for a moment he looked at him and then continued. "Steve, what are you afraid of?"

Steve closed his eyes, just thinking about it made his chest tighten as he felt the emotions build. "Losing her," he said, extremely obvious he was choking back tears just by the sound of his voice.

"You're losing her by fighting it. So, why not take a chance?" Joe asked.

"She doesn't want to go there with me."

"Why would you think that?"

"She told me to try things with Lori."

"Did you sleep with Lori?" Joe blurted.

Steve's eyes widened, his brows furrowed as he frowned at the man who'd been like a father to him. "No! Where did that come from?" he asked, shocked.

"You might want to tell Mads that," Joe hinted.

Steve was confused. "But why would she care? She told me to go for it with Lori!"

"You really are an idiot sometimes!" Joe shook his head, resisting the urge to smack Steve in the back of the head. "She was trying to save face. I imagine she felt stupid for having feelings for you when she found out you were interested in someone else. Or thought you were. I'm guessing she didn't want you to realize how she felt, so she tried to play it off. Wanting to avoid an awkward and uncomfortable moment because she thinks you don't feel that way about her."

_Wow, they must have really talked_, he thought, shocked by what he was hearing. Remembering what happened between them earlier, he argued, "But when I tried to kiss her this morning she told me she didn't want to go there with me."

"She's scared too, but it's not the same reason you're scared. Hers is something else…she knows how she feels about you. What's got her terrified is something else."

Steve's eyes widened and his eyebrows rose. "So, she actually told you how she feels about me?"

Joe nodded. "She did, but she didn't have to. It was already obvious. I think you picked up on it too, but you refused to acknowledge it because of what it would mean for you two. That things would change. And that scares you because if it doesn't work out you don't want to lose her."

"Crap! So that is why she's been upset all night. Damn it!" Realization dawned on him. He wouldn't admit it, but once he really thought about it, he realized Joe was right. Now thinking back to everything she had said throughout the evening, he picked up on the fact she had feelings for him. "So she feels this too," Steve smiled.

"Not so scary now is it?" Joe asked.

"Are you kidding? I'm even more terrified!" he admitted.

"Just, try not to over think everything. Just start with going with your gut on things. If you want to reach out and put an arm around her, do it. Get comfortable with the idea and let her get comfortable. Then go from there. Don't just jump into it."

"Okay, I'll try," Steve told him.

"If this is meant to be it will happen, you don't need to rush into it. And I would take it slow for so many reasons. One, you guys have had one kind of relationship for 25 years. The other…you were right to have Pete bring her to you. Something's not right with her. And whatever it is, it's bad. I'll tell you that much. Where the hell did she get the picture on her phone?"

"I don't know Joe, but I'm working on it. While she's rehearsing the next few days, I'll be at Five-0 trying to figure it out. I'll find whoever's responsible."

"You talk to her about it?"

"Yeah."

"She tell you anything?"

"She claims that's the first she's heard from this person."

"She's lying, Steve. Big time! She's scared and that's putting it mildly."

"I know. I think whatever's going on has something to do with me. I think whoever it is is threatening her. Saying they'll hurt me."

"You're definitely part of it or they wouldn't have sent that picture of you. Be careful. I don't have a good feeling about whatever's going on. And if you need any help, with anything, I'm here."

Suddenly Malia peaked her head around the half open door, knocking. "Am I interrupting? I just wanted to check on Steve's injuries."

"I was just leaving. Go ahead," Joe told her. Turning back to Steve, he said, "Remember what I told you. Just take it slow. Go with your gut. Don't over think things and I'm always here if you need me."

"Okay. Thanks Joe," Steve responded. With that Joe walked out, heading downstairs. Maddie was in the kitchen talking with Pete when he passed by. They didn't even notice him. _She does not look very good at all_, he thought noticing her pale complexion. But he wasn't too worried because he knew Steve would take care of her, whether they were fighting or not. Smiling he walked outside, joining everyone.

"Everything okay?" Tina asked.

"I think everything's about to get A LOT better!" Joe smiled.

* * *

><p>"Let me see your arm. I want to see if you're going to need stitches. It looks pretty deep."<p>

Steve held out his arm, but when she tried to clean him up he jerked away. "No, Maddie's coming to help me."

"Steve, I'm a doctor," Malia told him.

"I know, but I want Maddie. I need to talk to her and it's a perfect opportunity. If I need stitches you can sew me up later."

Malia shook her head. He was being stubborn. Sweet, but stubborn. "If you need stitches, which just from the small peek I got I'd say you do, then you need to go to the emergency room. That way they can numb you, give you some anesthesia."

Steve shook his head. "No, I don't need that. I'll be fine. You can do it later. After Gracie leaves. I'm sure I've scarred her enough for one night."

"Okay." Malia reluctantly agreed as she set the first aid kit she'd brought up with her on the counter in front of him. "I'll go down and finish with Pete, so Maddie can come up."

"Thank you Malia," Steve said.

"No problem," she said as she walked out.

_Okay, you can do this Steve. If you don't, you're going to lose her. You know if she leaves to go the mainland with things this bad between you guys, that'll be it_, he told himself as he sat on the comfortable padded stool waiting for Maddie. Hearing her enter the bedroom he suddenly felt nervous. _Just go with the flow. Don't hide how you're feeling. Don't over think anything. If you want to call her baby, call her baby. If you want to touch her, do it. Start doing damage control._ As the bathroom door began to open Steve's heart began to pound.

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><p>I hope you all enjoyed the chapter!<p>

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE leave a **REVIEW**! I'm dying to know what you think of this chapter and what Steve's just admitted!

xoxo


	20. Chapter 20

**DISCLAIMER: **I do not own the TV show "Hawaii Five-0" or any of the characters! I do own Maddie, Pete, Tina, Ryan, Ben, Ronnie, etc. :o)

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><p><strong>AUTHOR'S NOTE:<strong> Okay, can I first start off by apologizing for taking so freaking long to post this chapter! Wow, I suck! Chapter 20 was finished, but I wanted to add to it. Anyway, to make a long story short I had some issues adding what I wanted. There was a lot of deleting of pages of material. So, chapter 20 ended up being 70 Microsoft Word pages long. NO JOKE! I am still going thru and making the final edit of the chapter, but I know how much you are DYING to read what happens. So, I've split Chapter 20 into a couple chapters. Here are the first 20 pages. I'll finish editing the other 52 and post them later today as Chapter 21!

Again, soooo sorry for the delay! You guys were sooo great with your reviews! And I know it was a TERRIBLE place to leave you hanging! I'll make it up to you, I PROMISE!

As always, thoughts are in _italics_.

And remember, Maddie has still only been in Hawaii for a few days. She hasn't seen Steve in 2 years and hasn't spoken to him in a year and a half. I know this is Chapter 20, but it's important you remember it's only been 3 days, even though it seems longer. Also, I mention "butterfly strips" in this chapter. They are a type of bandaid. Small little strips that you put on a cut.

Anyway, I'll stop talking and let you get to it!

I'm really anxious to see what you guys think of this chapter because I had so many problems writing it. So, please, please, please let me know!

Thanks!

xo

Laura

P.S. Jenni: I'm just fine! You are so sweet to have worried about me! I would have messaged you, but I couldn't because I don't think you have an account. Anyway, thanks so much for your concern and I am soooo glad you are enjoying my story.

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><p><span>CHAPTER 20<span>

_This barbeque was a TERRIBLE idea_, Maddie thought as she trudged up the stairs taking a sip of her Longboard Lager beer. _Things between Steve and I are worse, Steve and Pete went Navy Seal on each other, and I feel awful! I better get it together before I see him. _

Maddie walked slowly down the hall towards her room. Her legs were a bit shaky and it didn't help she was tipsy. She was upset and mad at Steve and she knew he'd want to know why. Why she'd blown up at him in the kitchen. Why she'd been avoiding him. Why she'd been so hurt when he said she was like a sister to him. And why she was so mad at dinner. _Because I'm being a girl about the whole thing_, Maddie thought. _I'm in love with my best friend who sees me as nothing more than a sister to him. He's into a beautiful girl that doesn't trip and fall when she's standing in one place! And even if he did feel something for me, I can't be with him because there's a psycho who told me if I don't stay away from Steve, then he'll hurt him. What the hell has happened to my life?_ _I have absolutely no control over anything. _Feeling sorry for herself she took another sip of beer.

Walking in her room Maddie glanced around looking for Steve. _Wow, he actually listened to me and is waiting in the bathroom,_ she thought. The idea of her impending conversation with Steve making her nervous, Maddie paused just outside the bathroom door. "Here goes nothing," she mumbled before taking a couple big sips of beer.

She pushed open the door walking in slowly doing her best to look as put together as possible. Maddie preferred he not know she was buzzed, but she knew he'd been watching every time she took a sip of beer. He wasn't stupid. She was petite and had been drinking on an empty stomach, so of course he knew the alcohol would go to her head quickly. Maddie also didn't want him knowing she had recently thrown up or that she was feeling as bad as she was. Even though part of her wanted to crawl in bed and have him take care of her.

Seeing her walk through the door, Steve's heart began to pound. _Just go with the flow. Don't fight your feelings Steve. She's planning to leave, so this is your last chance. You can do this. Just remember what Joe said_, he told , he looked at her, "Hey…"

Maddie said nothing. She didn't even make eye contact with him. Not on purpose. She was just trying to get to the counter without giving up and sitting on the floor because her right foot and right knee were killing her. She couldn't have felt more relieved as she sat on the vanity in front of him, setting both their beers on the countertop to her right. When she hoisted herself up on it his hands automatically hovered around her incase she needed his help. He smiled at how cute she looked, her feet dangling above the floor. _She's so short that her feet don't touch the ground. Almost, but not quite_, he thought. Steve scooted the stool forward, now so close to her that she had to place one leg on each side of him.

Grabbing a towel on her left Maddie dampened it with warm water. "Look at me," she whispered. As he looked at her she inwardly winced at his beat up and bloody face. He had a cut on his right cheek, another one above his right eyebrow, one on his left cheek, and another on his forehead. His lip was split and he'd had a bloody nose, which seemed to have stopped bleeding for the time being.

"Does that mean you'll actually look back at me?" Steve questioned. Although he wasn't meaning to come across as an ass, he did. He definitely didn't mean it the way it came out.

She didn't feel well enough to deal with smart ass Steve. Annoyed by his comment, she roughly wiped the towel against a cut under his eye.

"Ow! Damn it Maddie!" he cried, grabbing her hands in both of his. "Okay. I think before you clean me up we should talk. My face hurts enough already."

Maddie said nothing, only reached to her right for her beer. Raising it to her lips she took a couple big sips.

"No, you are done with that," Steve said grabbing the beer from her and setting it next to him on the tiled floor, where she couldn't reach. "No more. You've already had three with a concussion and not much in your stomach."

Maddie smirked.

"What? You've had more than that?" He stared at her, eyes filled with concern. "How many? The truth."

Maddie sighed, "I thought you wanted me to clean you up? Not watch my every move."

"I'm not watching your every move, Maddie," Steve said.

"Obviously," she responded, her voice laced with attitude. _You're watching Lori's_, she thought. She never would have been this way with him if she didn't have the liquid courage. In the past she'd always been up front with Steve when she was upset with him, but this was different. If she was sober Maddie wouldn't have made these comments, too worried he'd figure out she was in love with him if she did. Buzzed Maddie wasn't thinking like that.

"What's that supposed to mean?" he asked, eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"Nothing. Do you want me to clean you up or not?"

"I do, but I want you to talk to me. What's goin' on?" Steve questioned, his voice gentle as he reached his arms forward and placed them on her lower back, his forearms resting on her thighs. He felt her immediately tense at the contact with him. After his chat with Joe, he knew why she was upset, but he wanted her to tell him. She'd only get angry and feel betrayed if he told her that Joe had filled him in. "Come on, Mads, talk to me."

Maddie reached for the damp towel, but this time she gently placed her fingers on his face. His eyes briefly fluttered closed at the feel of her delicate hands on him. She gently began to rub the blood off his right cheek, careful to avoid touching the cut. She'd deal with it once she cleaned the surrounding area. Steve watched her intently as she took care of him.

The silence and close proximity was getting to her. He still had his arms around her lower half and had somehow managed to pull himself a bit closer. She wasn't sure if he realized that he was softly caressing her back through her thin t-shirt. _I forgot what having more than one drink does to me_, she thought as she tried to ignore the tingling sensation between her legs. _Guess what they say is true. You can't drink away your problems. In fact, they just create more. For me, I'm practically in the lap of the man I love and now I'm horny because of all the beer I drank_, Maddie thought, feeling anxious to get him fixed up so she could go back downstairs. I_ wonder if I can get him to take his shirt off and claim it's because I need to make sure he isn't injured there. Then again, Pete did punch him in the penis, I can always tell him I need to make sure he's okay down there. I mean he's the one that wanted me to clean him up_, she thought. She tried to keep from laughing as she imagined the look on his face if she asked to check his man parts for damage. _Whoa, Maddie! Get a hold of yourself! Stop thinking like this!_

Steve watched her face flush._ Why is she bright red? What is she thinking about_? he wondered, smiling. He then watched her try to stifle a laugh. "You have definitely had too much alcohol. What's so funny?" he asked, a huge smile on his face. _Even though I'm worried about her drinking, she looks really cute right now._

Even more embarrassed now that he'd picked up on the fact she was thinking of something funny, the smile disappeared from her face. Needing to distract herself from thinking about him naked, she said, "Does it hurt?"

"Not as much as whatever's going on with us," he replied.

Maddie grabbed a cotton ball and put a little rubbing alcohol on it, dabbing the cut on his right cheek.

"Ow!" he hissed.

"I thought you were a Navy Seal?" she smiled slightly, placing two small clear butterfly strips on the cut.

"Hey! You gave me a little bit of a smile. That's progress!"

"Whatever you say Steve," Maddie muttered, picking up the damp cloth again and working on the cut over his right eyebrow. "So, Pete sure did a number on you. Why were you guys fighting? I've seen you throw a punch here or there at one another, but never like this. What happened?"

"It was about you," he blurted.

"What about me?" she asked, already knowing the answer.

"Earlier today he told me all I needed to do to figure out why you're pushing me away is to open my eyes," Steve began, watching her face for some kind of reaction. She gave him nothing, big or subtle, so he continued. "Well after you went inside he told me I might be a badass, but that I was stupid when it came to other things."

"That's true," she mumbled dabbing another cotton ball with alcohol on the cut above his eyebrow. He winced, scrunching his eyes. Instead of making some snide comment this time, Maddie leaned forward and lightly blew on the cut. Steve's eyes fluttered closed and he sighed, his fingers tightening on her lower back. _Oh come on, don't do this now? _ he inwardly said to his now hardening penis. _How are you able to do that? You just got hit! Stop it! This isn't the time!_

"Sorry…I know rubbing alcohol isn't ideal, but we didn't have anything else we could clean these with. I have no hydrogen peroxide. I'm sorry," she said to him placing another two clear strips on this cut. Maddie turned to her left rinsing the washcloth off under the sink. As she wrung it out she watched the water turn reddish brown from his blood. Once she felt it was rinsed she turned the sink off and squeezed the excess water out, wanting the towel to be only damp. Turning back to him she began gently dabbing at the blood on his left cheek. "Okay, continue."

"Oh yeah," Steve said happy with the distraction from the feelings he was currently having. "You really think that? That I'm stupid when it comes to certain things?"

"Steve, you're a guy. So, yes, I do." Maddie sighed, her voice sounding distant as she continued to gently wipe his face. "Go on…"

Steve decided to leave out the part where Pete said he was going to lose her. That he was going to take her to Los Angeles or anywhere but here. He figured he'd bring that up when he told her he knew she was planning to leave. It just had to be the right moment. He felt he was making progress with her right now and didn't want to ruin it. Sure, she still had her walls up and was incredibly distant, but she was no longer snarky and instead of purposely hurting him when she cleaned his face, she was being gentle.

"Whatever I did that was stupid. The same thing that set him off. He said you didn't deserve it. That you're already not yourself. That I'm hurting you." Maddie was able to hide behind cleaning his face, so he carefully reached up and pulled her hands away. "Maddie…is that true?"

Inside she was panicking, which made her feel worse. She needed a minute to figure out her answer. She could feel the tears welling up in her eyes. _No, Maddie! Don't even start crying right now. We talked about this. You're strong! Keep your mask up!_ she told herself, hoping the pep talk would help, however it didn't. Not knowing what else to do she set the towel down on the counter next to her, purposely knocking the closed bottle of rubbing alcohol and the bag of cotton balls on the floor. "Oh no!" Maddie exclaimed. Shaking her head she said, "I'm such a klutz."

She made a move as if to reach for it, but Steve stopped her. "It's okay. I got it." When he bent over to pick it up, Maddie, still panicked, reached for the beer she'd brought for Steve. Tipping her head back she began chugging the liquid, knowing he'd get upset and then hopefully forget about what he'd been asking.

The bag of cotton balls had spilled a little, so it took Steve a bit longer to pop back up. "I think I got all the little fuzz balls. Here you," he said as he started to sit back up. He immediately stopped the second he looked forward and saw Maddie. "What are you doing?" Steve immediately dropped the items on the counter and reached for the beer in her hand. It took him a second, but he got it away from her. He looked at the bottle and then at her, "Please tell me this wasn't a brand new bottle?"

"Ok, I won't."

"Damn it Maddie!" Steve sighed setting the beer on the floor next to the other one. "So you just drank a quarter of it while I was bent over? How many have you had?"

"Three remember?" she smiled, showing him her dimples.

"No, that smile is NOT going work on me right now. How many?"

"Technically that was my 6th one, but I never finished #3 because you took it away. So, I guess 5. I've had 5 beers."

Steve shook his head. "No more. As soon as we are done up here, we are getting food in you. A LOT of food! And A LOT of water. I don't want you drinking with your concussion and I know Malia doesn't either. Especially because you were so dehydrated and you still are. Alcohol only dehydrates you more." Steve stopped his lecture and squinted his eyes, really taking her in. _She looks even paler than she did in the kitchen. And she looks exhausted. I wonder how her head feels? How her hand and foot are? _Glancing quickly at her knee, he noticed it was even more swollen than earlier. Not a lot more, but definitely worse. Looking back up, he met her eyes. "Are you okay?"

Groaning, Maddie rolled her eyes. "Steve, I'm fine. Stop worrying so much."

"Stop telling me you're fine. You're not and you won't tell me what's wrong. Which makes me just worry about you more. Here I want to help you…I want to fix what's wrong, but I can't do that because you've locked me out. And then Pete says I'm killing you." Steve stopped his rambling, sighing and shaking his head. He was upset, which wasn't what she wanted.

"Everything's fine, okay?" Maddie told him.

"No, things are not. Nothing is okay right now…More importantly we aren't okay right now." Steve put his hands back around her leaving them on her lower back, his arms on her legs. "Maddie…tell me the truth…"

Maddie had hoped she'd distracted him by drinking, that was after all her plan. She felt the walls begin to close in around her and her heart began to ache. _Please don't start crying. Don't start crying_, she told herself.

"What…" she whispered, her head looking to the left of him because she was unable to meet his eyes.

Steve took his right hand and brought her face to look at him. Once he felt she wasn't going to look away he returned his hand to her lower back. Taking a deep breath he asked, "Maddie…is what Pete said true? Am I hurting you?"

_Oh crap_, she thought as her eyes filled with tears. Steve's stomach sunk as he noticed. _You will not cry Madeline,_ she told herself. _I know Joe asked me not to push him away, but he doesn't know that I have to keep him safe! _Reminding herself that his life depended on her, Maddie was able to shut down her emotions and her tears went away before ever falling.

Steve watched her face go blank and saw that her previously tear-filled eyes were now clear. He literally felt sick. It would worry him less if she had started bawling, but to appear emotionless, that scared the crap out of him. _I really screwed up. I should have just gone with how I felt to begin with instead of being afraid that I was going to lose her. Because now I really am_, he thought.

Steve waited for her to say something, but he already knew she wasn't going to say a word. Almost like a robot, Maddie picked up the damp cloth and tipped his head back. "You're a mess," she told him. "He really got you good. I'm surprised."

He felt so hopeless and sad, not knowing what to do to get her to open up. She was so shut down emotionally with him. _I guess I'm just going to have to slowly chip away at the protective barrier she's put up_, he thought. _I just hope I can get through to her in time to change her mind about leaving. _"Yeah, I let my emotions get to me," he explained.

Maddie's brows furrowed remembering what Pete had told her through the bathroom door when she was still on the road. That Steve could protect himself better when he wasn't worried, unfocused, and distracted. "What do you mean?" she asked him as she continued to gently dab at the left side of his face. It was worse than his right and seemed to be pretty painful. When she first started he had winced, so Maddie had slowed down and lightened her touch.

Subconsciously his fingers began fiddling with the back waistband of her denim shorts as he continued to sit with his hands on her lower back and his arms lying on her thighs. His fingers occasionally brushed against her bare skin, sending shivers down her body and making it difficult to concentrate. Especially with how turned on she was feeling. "Seals are trained to bottle their emotions. If we become emotional it can distract us, which can get us killed. Or even if something is just weighing on our minds, it can distract us. Basically, it's just dangerous," Steve explained to her.

_So, Pete was telling the truth,_ Maddie thought, unsure of what to do with this information. "So, that's how you got your ass kicked tonight?"

"Yes. I was upset about us. Worried about you," he admitted. "Still am."

Maddie rinsed the towel again then turned back to Steve. She returned to cleaning, very gently, the huge cut under his left eye. He winced a little, so she used even less pressure. Wrinkling her nose she said, "Sorry, this one is really bad."

Steve smiled at the way she wrinkled her nose. _Okay, just do what Joe told you. Go with the flow. Don't hold back_, he told himself. Taking a deep breath he took a chance. "I love it when you do that," he nervously said.

Maddie's hand stilled as she looked at him out of the corner of her eye, both confused and surprised. "What'd I just do?" she asked hesitantly.

"How you wrinkled your nose. I love it. You look so cute," he told her looking into her eyes.

"Oh…thanks?" she mumbled, her face immediately turning a light shade of pink. She wasn't sure what to think or do. _I'm sure it's just one of those things he'll say to me and then when we're downstairs he'll be back flirting with Lori. Just ignore it. Don't fall for it Maddie_, she told herself going back to dabbing at the cut.

_Not the reaction I was hoping for, but I have hurt her. After all she's under the impression I think of her as a sister right now. It's gonna take some work to show her none of that is true. Just keep trying Steve_, he told himself.

The cut was still bleeding a bit, but at least she'd gotten the dried blood out of it and cleaned up the surrounding area. Setting the towel down Maddie grabbed a new cotton ball and put the tiniest bit of rubbing alcohol on it. Knowing it was going to really hurt she decided she'd need to distract him. "Did you call Joe?" she asked.

Steve grinned from ear to ear remembering how happy she was when she saw Joe. "Yeah, he wanted to see you and I knew you'd be ecstatic…OW! Son of a bitch that stuff really hurts!"

As soon as he was mid sentence Maddie swiped the cotton ball along the cut as quickly as possible. She knew it must have hurt because he grabbed the back hem of her shirt and balled it into his fists. "Sorry, Steve… That one's really deep. I think it might need stitches." Before it started bleeding again she quickly used five small clear butterfly strips. _This is all my fault. If only I had kept everything to myself. I shouldn't have told Pete anything. Then he wouldn't be mad at Steve_, she thought, feeling incredibly guilty. Sure, she was furious at Steve and so hurt, but she didn't want to see him like this. And she didn't want two best friends fighting because of her. _Better just keep my mouth shut from now on._

Because of how he'd reacted to the pain a moment before, his hands had ended up under her t-shirt, flat against the skin of her lower back. He wasn't trying to cop a feel or anything, but it wasn't helping the tingling between her legs. Steve watched Maddie's face change. She was no longer hiding her emotions and he could see what she was thinking from her facial expression. He immediately spoke up, rubbing his hands on her bare skin. "Mads, it's not your fault," Steve told her.

"You said it yourself. You were fighting because of me," Maddie whispered. "Oh no," she whispered as blood began trickling out of his nose again. She reached for the damp towel and held it to his nose.

"We were fighting about you, but it wasn't your fault. I deserved getting my ass kicked. Pete did the right thing," Steve admitted as he took over holding the towel to his nose. He pulled it down for a second so he could look her in the eyes. "Look at me," he requested. Maddie turned her head towards him while she continued to hold a new washcloth under warm water; there was still a lot of injuries for her to take care of. Steve stared into her gorgeous blue eyes, blood trickling out of his nose. For a brief second she didn't have her walls up and he could see what she was feeling just by the look in her eyes. He wanted to kick his own ass at the amount of hurt he saw. He'd caused her a lot of pain. The other main emotion he saw was fear. A LOT of fear. All he wanted to do was make it go away, but he needed her to tell him what was going on. _Well, I might not be able to take care of the fear right away, but I can start fixing all the pain and hurt I've caused her_, he thought. Steve reached out and caressed the right side of her face. "I'm so sorry, baby."

_Sorry for what? _Maddie wondered. _Does he know how I feel? Did Pete tell him? What's he sorry for? _She was beginning to panic.

Steve could see this and immediately realized why. _She's worried Pete told me whatever she told him. I don't know what it is, but I have a feeling it was that she has feelings for me. I don't want to upset her…so, what should I say? _he debated. His hand still on her cheek, his thumb rubbing her soft skin, he clarified. "I'm sorry for what I said tonight at dinner. I was being an ass. You'd hurt me and I know it was because I'd hurt you. But anyway, I do care. I care about you so much more than you know, baby."

Maddie's heart was pounding. _Is he saying what I think he's saying? Is this his way of telling me he has feelings for me?_ she wondered. _And, baby? I thought maybe the first time I misheard or something. He stopped calling me that….and…. I really missed it_. She loved it when he used the term of endearment. It made her insides smile.

Steve continued. "And, I didn't mean what I said in the kitchen. I don't think of you as a sister. Not at all," he told her, looking nervous as he tucked a couple loose waves of hair behind her ear. He pulled his hand back waiting for her response, his heart pounding in anticipation.

Maddie wanted to believe him, but why would he tell her she was like a sister to him if it wasn't true. _He's only apologizing because of my comments at dinner. Where I called him 'brother'. He feels bad, so he's trying to take it back. Claim that it isn't true. But, it is. He can't help how he feels_, she thought. _So, then when he said 'I care about you so much more than you know' it didn't mean any kind of feelings….Oh Maddie, just stop analyzing it. You know he thinks of you as a sister and you know he's somewhat involved or maybe completely involved with Lori. Those are the facts! You just need to finish cleaning him up and go downstairs. You shouldn't be alone with him; it just hurts too much._

Maddie looked to her left and picked up the new damp towel. She grabbed his hands and put them back to his nose. "Keep that on there. You're nose is a bloody faucet right now and you have it all over you."

Steve's stomach sunk at her response. Or lack of one. "Mads…don't ignore what I just said. Say something."

Cleaning up around the cut on his forehead near his hairline, she tried locking her emotions away. She knew if she didn't she would lose it. "It's cool Steve. No big deal. I get it. You were right," she told him, feigning indifference.

"Maddie, don't do this. I was wrong. I didn't mean it. Please listen to me," Steve begged.

"It's okay. It doesn't matter. Really. I'm not upset. I promise." Maddie's movements on his head became faster, desperate to be done so she could escape the conversation. She didn't know how long she could pretend not to care. She could feel tears bubbling over behind her eyes.

"It isn't okay and it does matter. You are upset and so am I! I don't think of," Steve repeated, wishing more than anything she'd stop hiding from him.

"Steve, drop it. Let it go…just stop," Maddie whispered, interrupting him. She knew she wasn't going to be able to keep the tears at bay much longer.

"Baby, talk to me. Let's talk about why you're upset. I.."

"Steve, stop. Just stop. I don't want to talk about it," Maddie demanded. He could hear how choked up she was, but there was also something in her voice that made him listen.

"Fine," Steve said. "For now. But we are talking about it later. Once everyone leaves."

Maddie said nothing as she used the towel to get the bits of dried blood off some strands of hair that were near the cut. Satisfied she grabbed a new cotton ball with rubbing alcohol on it and dabbed at the cut. Unable to take his eyes off her as his mind tried to figure out a way to reach her, he was too distracted to notice the pain. She quickly placed three strips on the cut.

"Is your nose still bleeding?" Maddie questioned placing her small hand over his, the one holding the damp towel to his nose. She pulled it away wanting to see his nose. "It looks like it stopped. At least for now." She took the blood soaked towel from him and set it in the sink. Using the newer washcloth, Maddie began to wipe away the blood trails from his nose.

Once she was finished Steve asked her, "How does it look?"

Shrugging her shoulders and biting her bottom lip Maddie said, "Not so bad actually. All the blood made it so much worse." She set the washcloth down and reached out, gently touching the left side of his lips. "How bad?"

It definitely hurt a bit, but Steve didn't care. He loved the feel of her touch. Not too bad," he whispered, making eye contact. Keeping Joe's advice in his head, Steve moved his lips so that her fingers were closer to the center of them and then kissed them. "Are they swollen?"

_I was not expecting that!_ Maddie thought, shocked that he'd just kissed her fingers. _What's going on? _She got lost in his eyes, her fingers still on her lips. Finally coming to, her face flushed a little. "Not too bad. Just a little bit, but could be worse." Maddie pulled her fingers away and peaked at his nose. "No cuts, just looks red and sore."

"It is," Steve divulged, smiling at how much kissing her fingers flustered her. _If just that gets to her…_he thought, ideas coming to him. _I'll just have to keep doing things like that to get her to realize how I feel. That I don't think of her as a sister. _

Feeling thirsty, he reached down to his right and grabbed one of the beers he'd confiscated from her. "That hit the spot," Steve said after taking a sip, licking his lips.

_Oh…does he HAVE to do that? Lick his lips like that. Especially after he kissed my fingers like that. It was so sweet and sexual at the same time. I just want to…No! I can't go there! Why does alcohol have to do this to me? _Maddie wondered. _I have to finish patching him up, so I can go downstairs. I can't be alone with him for much longer. I won't make it._

"Let me see your left hand Steve," she instructed. He set his beer down on the counter to her right and then showed her his hand. Maddie cradle it in her hands, flipping it over to see his knuckles. "Not too bad. Skinned up. Does it hurt?"

"Not really. I've punched people so many times. At this point…it's no big deal," Steve responded, smiling at Maddie. However, her facial expression never changed. She looked just as sad and shut down, making him feel guilty. Letting go of his hand she turned and cleaned the washcloth she'd been using. The warm water she'd rinsed it in felt good against his scratched knuckles and she carefully dabbed at them, wiping away a little dried blood.

"Before I deal with the huge cut on your arm, let me wipe off your other hand." Maddie repeated her actions on the knuckles of his right hand. They were a bit more torn up, but still not bad. Once she was finished she discarded the towel in the sink. "I'm going to start with a clean one for your arm…It looks really bad Steve."

While she got the new washcloth damp with warm water he placed his hands on her bare thighs. Rubbing his hands against them he realized it wasn't just her hands that were soft. He looked down at her legs noticing how much the hem of her shorts had risen when she sat down. Steve's eyes traveled up her thigh and so did his hand. _I wonder what her panties look like?_ he wondered. _Oh crap! Why'd I go there? _he chastised, feeling his pants begin to tighten. _Okay, think about something besides Maddie, Steve! Can be anything. Baseball, Pete, Danny, the Navy. Anything! _

What Steve didn't realize was that as his hands moved up her thigh, Maddie felt her panties begin to dampen. _Why is he torturing me?_ she wondered, wanting nothing more than to be pressed up against him. _I gotta get him to stop or I'm going to lose it._

Maddie grabbed his left hand and began trying to clean up the blood from it. "Ow!" Steve hissed the second the towel made contact with his arm.

"I'm sorry Steve. This is really deep. I think you should let Malia deal with it. She's a doctor afterall."

Steve shook his head. "No! I want you to do it."

"Okay…well, I'll just do it fast and get it over with," Maddie told him. She started wiping at his arm faster. She could tell it was painful by the way he was holding her waist with his right hand.

Done with the rag she grabbed put a small amount of rubbing alcohol on a new cotton ball. She didn't warn him before she quickly rubbed the three-inch gash. Steve immediately hissed, unconsciously tugging on the hem of her shirt, and squeezed his eyes shut. "Damn it!" he whispered.

"All done," Maddie announced putting the last butterfly strip on the cut. For this one she had to use at least ten.

Steve slowly opened his eyes to see her sitting in front of him. She was taking a sip of the beer he'd set on the counter. "Maddie!" he yelled grabbing it away from her.

"I'm thirsty!" she exclaimed.

"Of course you are! Beer dehydrates you!" Steve put the beer to his lips and chugged the rest of it. Once empty he set it on the counter and then picked up the other one on the floor. Shaking his head at her, he finished that one too. "Now I don't have to worry about you finishing them. You can get a big ole bottle of water downstairs," Steve said, setting the empty bottle next to the first.

Maddie rolled her eyes at him, annoyed. _Whatever, I'll just grab a new one downstairs._ "Well, you're good to go. So, I'm gonna head downstairs."

"Wait," Steve said.

Sighing she asked, "What Steve?"

"Talk to me…tell me what's wrong. Why you're so upset." He really didn't want her to go downstairs until she talked to him.

"I'm fine. Everything's fine. Nothing's wrong," she lied, her voice sounding sad and distant.

"Stop telling me that. I know it's not true…" Standing in front of her Steve watched her, waiting for her to say anything as she sat on the counter. "I really am sorry, you know. I was an ass at dinner. I let my emotions get to me and hearing what you did on tour….well, it just, I don't know. But it upset me!" He wasn't able to tell her that the story made him incredibly jealous. _Joe said 'baby steps'. It's just not a step I'm ready to take yet. I have to get her to stop pushing me away before we get there_, he thought.

"Speaking of which," Steve began, nervously. "What was Ryan talking about when he said the guy almost killed you?"

Maddie instantly became fidgety, something Steve picked up on. Knowing there was no way she could tell him the truth on, she lied. "It was a metaphor Steve. He broke my heart."

"I don't believe you Mads."

"Big surprise. You don't believe anything I tell you," she countered. "I'm going downstairs." Maddie slid off the counter and onto her feet, however because she'd been sitting for so long, her right foot and knee had become accustomed to having no weight on them. It took everything she had not to cry out from the pain she felt as she stood.

Although she was trying to hide it, Steve could see how much pain she was in. "You okay? How's the knee? The foot?"

"Fine," Maddie mumbled, standing in place waiting for the pain to subside. She knew Steve was watching her, worrying, so she took a step forward. The pain increased so much that she stumbled.

Catching her he said, "And that's why I don't believe anything you tell me!"

"So, it's a little sore. What do you expect? That's normal. It's nothing I can't handle." Pushing away from him, she looked into his eyes, seeing how concerned he was. Knowing she needed to distract him she said, "Steve, you have blood all over your shirt."

Looking down at his blue polo shirt, he realized she was right. "I'll have to change it really quickly. Just sit down on the bed for a second and I'll change. We can go down together."

Wanting to just get downstairs where she wouldn't be alone with him anymore, she hesitated. However, Maddie lied to Steve. Her leg was killing her and she was going to have to lean on him for a few minutes until it got used to having weight on it. "Fine," she agreed reluctantly.

_Wow! She agreed!_ he thought, completely shocked she'd chosen to be alone with him longer. "Let me help you get to the bed," he said as he picked her up, not wanting to give her a chance to argue. Holding her in his arms, Steve turned around to exit the bathroom, but something caught his eye. He noticed that the toilet seat was up, as if a guy had used it. _That's weird_, he thought. But then it hit him. _Crap!_ Steve looked down at Maddie's pale face in his arms. _That's why she came upstairs earlier. She got sick. Why is she still throwing up? I better ask Malia if that's normal with a concussion. She told me last night she got sick because she was so upset. I wonder if she threw up today at all and she's just keeping it from me. _Steve was even more worried about Maddie now. He knew she was going to try and keep that she didn't feel very good from him, but he had assumed if she really felt terrible she would actually speak up and tell him. Now he knew that wasn't the case. Plus, he didn't like the idea of her alone and sick. _I gotta fix things with her. Maybe she'll start talking to me if I keep trying to show her how I feel._

Walking out of the bathroom Steve carefully set her on the bed. "Let me change real quick and then we can go." Standing in front of her he pulled his shirt over his head. _Oh man, I can't see Steve shirtless right now. I can't guarantee I can keep my distance if I do_, Maddie thought. "Did it go through?" he asked her referring to the white t-shirt he had on under his polo.

Maddie's eyes scanned his torso. "Yeah." _Wow, it's nice how it clings to him. He really has an amazing body_, she thought staring at him dressed in the thin white shirt.

_I better walk away from her. The look she has in her eye…My self control's going to break soon_, he thought. Walking across her room towards the fireplace and sitting area, he squatted down, looking for a clean shirt in his bag. "God knows I scared Grace enough by fighting, the last thing I need to do is walk around all night covered in blood ….. Crap! I don't think I have any more." Spotting at least a clean white t-shirt, he grabbed it.

As soon as Steve walked away Maddie leaned back on the bed. She was tired and felt awful. Her throat was beginning to feel scratchy; she hoped it wasn't the start of a sore throat. She thought about turning around and watching Steve change his shirt, but she figured what was the point in torturing herself. He didn't see her as anything more than a friend even though he was suddenly flirting with her. However, she knew that would change the second they got downstairs.

"I guess I'll just have to wear this. I'll stop by my place sometime tomorrow and grab more clothes," Steve said, walking back towards the side of the bed he left Maddie on. His concern returned the minute he saw her laying down. _If she laid down on her own, she feels awful_, he thought. "Mads, why don't you call it a night? I know you don't feel good, that you're tired. Everyone will understand," he said to her, his voice quiet.

"I'm completely fine. I'm good to go. I was just waiting for you." Staring at his body through his form fitting white shirt, her heart ached. _And I thought Lori was all over him before. I can't imagine how she'll be now. I mean there's no way I can be around that_, Maddie thought. Propping herself up on her elbows, she made eye contact with Steve, suddenly acting nervous. "I have a shirt you can wear."

His eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Maddie, I'm not wearing a shirt an ex left behind," he said, a hint of jealousy in his voice.

"Seriously? I wouldn't do that. That's weird. Plus, I don't keep any of their clothes." She averted her eyes, not wanting to see his reaction for what she said next. _He's going to think I'm a weirdo. A freak or something, _she thought. "I have one of your shirts."

"Besides the Navy Seal t-shirt?"

Maddie nodded.

"What? Which one?" he asked. _Maybe she took it last night when I left my bag here_, he thought. _It's pretty cute if she did._ "Where is it?" Maddie pulled herself into a sitting position. "No Mads, I'll get it. Stay there and rest. Just tell me where it is," Steve instructed keeping her from standing.

"You'll never find it." Maddie began to try and stand as Steve gave her a concerned 'I wish you wouldn't' look. "Trust me. You'll never find it."

"Ok, well then you have to promise to let me help you." He wouldn't let her up until she finally reached her hands out to him. Sighing heavily she rolled her eyes as he pulled her up into a standing position. Smiling he said, "Now, was that so hard?"

Maddie hesitantly shook her head at him. Having a difficult time being so close to him, she said, "I'm good now. It's a lot better." She wasn't completely lying. It definitely still hurt, but she was able to walk and put weight on it.

"Are you sure?" Steve asked, concerned.

"Yeah." Maddie shook his arm off her and slowly walked towards her closet, with a bit of a limp. Steve hovered right next to her just in case.

"Geez Maddie…you are such a girl!" he said as they entered her massive two-story walk-in closet. He looked around. "You're right, I would never have found it!"

She snickered a little as they walked through rows of floor to ceiling, white wooden structures. Some of them contained only bars with clothes hanging on them, while others had a hanging bar with drawers underneath. And then there were still some that had shelves and drawers underneath, no bars to hang clothes. It varied. Walking through he noticed that everything was categorized and extremely organized. In each section there was an area with floor to ceiling even sized shelves holding hundreds of pairs of shoes. "I've never seen anything like this. Hell, I never even thought something like this existed…or even could imagine it," Steve mumbled in shock as he continued to follow her, staying close in case she fell or needed his help. They were heading towards the back right corner of the first floor passing the stairs as they neared their destination. "What's up there?" he asked as they passed the stairs leading to the second level.

"There's a lot of tour clothes or things like that. Also, really fancy dresses. All the black tie and awards show items are up there," Maddie answered as she stopped in front of a section that had one wardrobe bar, a small shelf above it, and drawers underneath the rack of hanging clothes.

_I can't believe I'm showing him this. I was just going to grab him a shirt and bring it out to him. He's going to think I'm weird. He's going to be freaked out by this_, Maddie worried. Stopping next to her, Steve watched her open the top drawer and pull out a light blue polo shirt.

"I thought I lost this!" he cried grabbing the shirt from her hands.

"Nope!" she said. "Okay, let's go." She was anxious to get him out before he saw the rest.

"Hey! This one too!" Steve said, spotting another shirt folded in the drawer. _Too late_, Maddie thought. "And this one! … And I love this one… I was looking for all of these! I was starting to think I was going crazy! Always losing clothes!" he exclaimed rummaging through the rack.

"And you investigate crimes?" Maddie mumbled.

Steve turned to her, huge smile on his face, ecstatic she had cracked a joke. _All it took was for me to stop fighting my feelings. It's actually making a difference_, he thought as he slipped the light blue polo over his head. "I'll give it back Mads."

"It's fine. It's yours to begin with. Keep it. In fact, you can take them all. I don't need them," Maddie said looking sad and distant.

Her comment broke his heart, realizing just how badly she was hurting. "You don't want them anymore?" Steve asked her, the idea making him sad. He loved that she liked to wear his clothes.

"It's cool, they're yours." Maddie squatted down and started pulling the clothes out to give them back, but Steve stopped her.

"No. Stop. Come here," he said, pulling her to her feet. Once she was standing Steve pulled her to him, wrapping his arms around her. As he hugged her tightly, she tensed up, unsure of what to do with her hands. Whether she should wrap them around him or just leave them dangling until he let go. "Relax…it's just me. Baby, I'm sorry. I'm sorry about everything. I'm an ass. I screwed up. I admit it. Please stop pushing me away," he whispered rubbing her back.

Maddie was doing her best to keep it together, but she was losing the battle. She felt so safe in his arms. As he rubbed her back her hands automatically circled his back. _I can tell she's still protecting herself because she isn't holding on tight, but at least it's something_, Steve thought. She wanted to ask him what he meant when he said he was sorry about everything, but she was afraid of the answer. Afraid that he knew exactly why she was upset. That he knew how she felt about him. If that was the case, she'd be forced to hear him say that he didn't feel the same. Forced to hear how she was like a sister to him. Just thinking about a few tears rolled down her face dropping on his right forearm.

Steve's stomach sunk as he felt the tears hit his bare skin. _I'm the reason she's crying. Damn it! _he thought, feeling so guilty. "I want you to keep them. It's really cute how you like them…you're my little klepto!" he softly told her, his mouth almost against her ear. Not sure if he should say the next thing, he paused. _Don't overthink things. Just go with it_, he told himself, remembering Joe's advice. Taking a deep breath, he went for it, his lips touching her ear as he whispered, "Plus, I bet you look so hot and gorgeous in them. I can't wait to see you wear them."

Surprised by his words, Maddie tipped her head back to look at him. Steve smiled at her, wiping away the couple tears on her cheeks. Taking advantage of the situation he leaned down and kissed her nose, then her forehead causing her heart to flutter.

Maddie was unsure of what to do or say because she had no idea why he was acting like this all of a sudden. Sure, it made her happy, but it made her very wary. She didn't want to get excited in case the second they went downstairs he went back to flirting with Lori. _Keep your cool, don't get your hopes up_, she told herself. She was just about to suggest they go downstairs, when Steve pulled his lips from her forehead and looked at her, his eyebrows furrowed in concern.

"How do you feel baby?" he asked her.

_He stopped calling me that and now all of a sudden he's said it a bunch in the last 10 minutes_, she thought. _Weird_. It's not that she didn't like it, because she actually loved it. She was just confused, unsure of what was going on. "I'm fine," she answered.

Steve reached up and felt her forehead with his hand. "Sweetie, you feel a little warm."

_Sweetie? _She thought. _That's a new one! Why's he so flirty and touchy feely all of a sudden? _"Must just be the alcohol I've had. I'm fine."

Steve didn't believe her. He knew that when she got overly exhausted she would always get sick and he'd never seen her this rundown or exhausted before. Glancing at his watch, he said, "It's 8:15pm now. Let's say we wrap the evening up at 10pm? Get you in bed right after."

Maddie wanted to argue with him, but she felt awful and wished she could go to bed right then. "Okay," she mumbled. Thinking about everything she had to do to sing for Gracie, she realized she'd need more time. "Actually, make it 10:30."

Steve knew her well enough to know that because she didn't argue with him, she felt awful. He kissed her forehead again and just continued to hold her. "Okay."

Realizing she was beginning to relax and lean into him, Maddie thought about everything he'd done and said and immediately tensed up. Lifting her head from his chest, she said, "Um… I told Gracie I'd sing. Better go." Maddie pulled away from him so quickly he couldn't stop her. Steve immediately missed the feel of her body against his. _Damn it! I wonder what she was thinking about to make her push me away like that_, he wondered.

Maddie stumbled a bit as she began to walk away, her right leg throbbing every step she took. "Hold on! Slow down! Let me help you!" he said trying to put his arm around her or do anything that would help her, but she wouldn't let him.

"I got it. I'm fine," she mumbled as she continued to stumble every few steps. All Steve could do was stand close; keeping a watchful eye on her in case she started to fall.

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><p>Thanks again for reading! I hope you liked it! I'll post the next chapter today!<p>

Please please PLEASE let me know what you think! **REVIEW**!

xoxo


	21. Chapter 21

**DISCLAIMER: **I do not own the TV show "Hawaii Five-0" or any of its characters. I do own Maddie, Pete, Ryan, Ronnie, Tina, Ben, etc thought. ;o) Also, I do not own the songs "Kaleidoscope Heart", "Uncharted", "Machine Gun", "Basket Case", "Let the Rain", and "Not Alone". These are all written and sung by Sara Bareilles.

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><p><strong>AUTHOR'S NOTE: <strong>Hi! As promised here is Chapter 21! This is actually the longest chapter I've posted. So, these are the next 33 pages of the original Chapter 20. There are still another 25 pages, so I'll post those as Chapter 22, which is done! :o)

As always, thoughts are in _italics_. In this chapter Maddie sings. When she is singing, the lyrics are in **bold**. They are all real songs that exist. I did not write any of them; They are all by Sara Bareilles. I thought they worked for the story. You guys should listen to them while you read the chapter, so you get a feel for the song. Plus they are just great songs! That whole album is awesome! I definitely recommend it!

Also, a cappella is when you sing without music.

In this chapter, I had a difficult time describing part of her house. It's the area where her white grand piano is. I'm really anxious to know if you guys think I described and explained the design well. I'm thinking about posting a picture of what it looks like on my profile page to make sure everyone understands the layout.

I'm really anxious to hear what you guys think! So, please please please review! Yes, I have Chapter 22 ready. The more reviews I get, the sooner I'll post it! :o)

Anyway, I'll let you get to reading! Don't forget to review!

ENJOY!

xoxo

Laura

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><p><span>CHAPTER 21<span>

Maddie couldn't join the party fast enough, needing to get away from Steve. Well, at least get away from being alone with him. He'd been an ass when they were with everyone, but sweet and caring when they were alone. Now he was flirty and touchy feely with her. Not that she was complaining or mad about it because she loved it. Loved the way he'd look at her and the flirty, sexy smile he'd give her. She loved the way he kissed her on the nose and forehead, his lips lingering. She loved the feel of his hands on her, always firm, but gentle, as if she was a priceless object he would do anything to protect and keep safe. And although she would NEVER admit it, she loved the way he worried about her. Not so much that he did, that actually drove her a bit crazy, but that it meant he cared about her. She knew that if he ever stopped worrying that it would mean he could care less about what happened to her.

So, yes, she loved that he was flirty and touchy feely all of a sudden, but she just refused to think about it or get wrapped up in it. Maddie knew the second they were around everyone it would stop and it would hurt a whole hell of a lot more if she let herself get excited about his flirty behavior towards her.

Steve was walking a bit behind her as they returned to the party. While he went outside, Maddie walked through the living room in the direction of the patio. However instead of walking outside she veered left, entering one of her favorite parts of the house. It was a 360-degree circular space jutting off the living room and forming one corner of the big living space. In the center of the circle stood her other customized Steinway grand piano, however this one was white. The walls were floor to ceiling glass. One quarter of the circular room contained a window seat, while the remaining wall was a sliding glass door. Maddie walked to the right side of the circle and unlatched the glass door, sliding it open a bit. What she loved about this design was that the piano could be played to people inside the living room, kitchen, and informal dining room or, if you open the circular sliding glass door, the piano could be played to people out on the patio.

Standing in the now open doorway, Maddie looked out at everyone. Her band was setting up, almost finished, while everyone else was congregated near the huge circular fire pit straight ahead. What was so unique about the fire pit was that you stepped down into it (only a couple of stairs) as opposed to it being level. This way it was slightly in the ground.

Although she was afraid to, she wanted to see what Steve was up to. _You know how he's going to be, so don't be surprised. Don't let it get to you_, she told herself before scanning the patio for him. She watched as he walked outside, a fresh beer in his hand. She noticed Pete look up and glare at him while shaking his head. No big surprise, Steve returned the look. _Great, you're screwing up a friendship_.

"Oh my God Steve! Are you okay?" Lori rushed to his side. Maddie's stomach ached as she saw her hand caress his face. Lori's fingers gently touching the cuts she'd cleaned and bandaged. Unable to stomach the flirty reaction he was sure to give her, she closed her eyes and turned back to opening the glass wall the rest of the way. She pushed on it, but it just wouldn't budge. Placing both palms against it, she leaned into the side of the door, putting all her weight behind her. She immediately pulled her left hand away, softly cursing under her breath at the searing pain. _You just had to hit the cut on your palm_, she told herself, annoyed as she shook her hand a bit, as if she could shake the pain from it.

Steve had been doing his best to keep his distance from Lori as she fussed over his face. _What do I do? I don't want Maddie getting the wrong idea_, he thought. "I'm just fine Lori, but thank you for your concern. It looks worse than it is," he assured her as he took a step back all the while keeping an eye on Maddie.

Noticing he put a little distance between them and the he couldn't keep his eyes off Maddie, Lori became worried. _I don't know what went on upstairs between them, but I will NOT lose him to her. He and I are meant to be! _she thought. Refusing to give up she moved closer to him and asked, "What were you guys fighting about?"

Steve tensed when she closed the distance between them. As he wracked his mind of what to say he saw Maddie struggling to open the circular glass door. Relieve to have an excuse to get out of his current situation, he said, "Excuse me Lori. I gotta help Mads." He immediately rushed across the tumbled, cream, white quartz natural stoned patio. "Baby! You okay? Let me see…" Steve said. Maddie jumped, not realizing he was behind her. "Sorry…you scare a lot easier than you used to, ya know that?"

_Of course I do! I have a crazy person stalking and threatening me!_ she thought. _And why is he over here with me? Where's Lori?_ Maddie glanced over to see Lori standing there dumbfounded. _Did he leave her to come over here? That's weird. I'm surprised! _"Only when you sneak up on me!" she exclaimed, cradling her throbbing hand to her chest

"Let me see," he ordered taking it from her. He flipped it over in his hand, so it was palm side up. Maddie immediately noticed how gentle and caring his touch was as he looked over the cuts. "Well, you didn't break them open, but they're pretty red. Especially the one on your palm. Be careful!" She pulled her hand back and turned around, getting ready to push the door the rest of the way open. "Let me help you."

"I got it," she mumbled leaning into it. Before she could put her weight into it Steve pulled her back to him. His hands were flat against her stomach and her back was flush against his front. Maddie's eyes flew closed at the feel of his mouth against her ear and his breath on her neck. "Stop! I don't want you to hurt yourself! ….Mads…we just talked about this. Please stop pushing me away."

Maddie stood there loving the feeling of him holding her. _We are definitely in front of everyone right now, including Lori, and he's still touchy feely with me. What's going on with him? Why the change?_ she wondered. She looked around unsure of what to do. As she looked to the right Joe caught her eye. He nodded to her, his eyebrows arched and his eyes wide, giving her the 'do what I told you' look. _But Uncle Joe doesn't get it! I'm protecting him!_ she thought.

Thinking it over she decided she was safe in her home. _There's no way he'll know. He can't get in here. It's so secure! _Maddie nodded slightly back to Joe before turning and looking straight ahead. _Nothing's going to happen if you give a little bit. I mean he'll send me a threatening message before he hurts Steve that is if he even knows_, she told herself. _It's not like we are kissing or having sex. No big deal! _Closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, Maddie leaned back into Steve.

Steve's heard pounded as he felt her relax into him. He couldn't keep the smile from his face. _That's a start. A big step_, he thought. He turned his head to the left and kissed her head, her wavey hair so soft against his face. He couldn't help but breath in, always loving the way she smelled. "Man I've missed you," he whispered before kissing the side of head one more time.

Maddie sighed as her eyes drifted closed, getting lost in the feel of his arms around her. Her placed her hands over his on her stomach. "Me too Stevie. Me too," she responded so quietly he almost missed it.

_I could stay like this forever_, Steve thought, completely content.

Danny, Rachel, Joe, Chin, Malia, Kono, Pete, and Tina all sat in the fire pit watching the two best friends, "You're right Joe. Things seem to be getting better! Whatever you said to him seemed to work," Danny said.

Joe smiled, saying nothing as he watched them have their moment. _Atta boy_, he thought, proud that although scare, Steve was taking his advice and really trying to get through to her.

"God they're perfect for one another," Malia smiled.

"I know," Rachel mumbled sniffling. They all turned to her.

"Rach, what's wrong? You all right? Feeling okay?" Danny asked her concerned.

"Yes, it's just so romantic. I'm happy!" she cried, wiping tears from her face.

Everyone laughed. "Pregnancy hormones," Danny whispered, shaking his head and smiling.

"We are nearly ready Mads," Ben interrupted as he approached the uncovered side of the patio with an amp and cables in his hand, Gracie at his side helping.

"Okay, I'll finish this up," Maddie responded from her spot in Steve's arms.

Reluctantly he let go of her. "Okay, step back," he said placing his hands on her upper arms and sliding her over. He turned to the glass door and pushed, but it wouldn't move. "That's weird. Hmmm..." Steve began investigating the door. "Ah! There's the problem!" He lifted up the door and jiggled it and then set it back down. He smiled at her standing in her black t-shirt and denim shorts. "I haven't told you yet how beautiful you look tonight!"

Maddie blushed profusely as her eyes widened in surprise. _Did he really just say that to me?_ she wondered. Ecstatic, she couldn't keep the smile from her face. "Thank you," she shyly responded.

_I love that I just made her blush like that! She looks so cute! _Steve thought. Still grinning at her, he used his right hand and pushed on the door. It immediately slid the rest of the way open. "There ya go. It was off the track."

"I completely loosened it for you," Maddie smiled at him.

Grinning back at her, Steve said, "Sure ya did, Mads." At his response her smile grew, her dimples now showing. "God you're dimples are so cute!" he told her using his index finger and poking her right dimple.

"Commander McGarrett?" a voice said, interrupting their moment.

Steve turned to his left to see Max standing there. "Hey Max!" he greeted pulling him into a 'bro hug'. "And it's Steve!"

"Oh okay…Steve." Max smiled, feeling like

"Sorry I'm so late! I had a meeting with the coroner's office," Max replied.

"No problem!" Turning to Maddie he introduced his coworker. "Maddie, this is Dr. Max Bergman, Medical Examiner! Max, this is Maddie!"

"Nice to meet you!" Maddie said, holding out her hand.

Taking her hand, Max shook it. "Nice to meet you as well. I just have to tell you, I'm a huge fan of yours."

Maddie smiled. "Thank you! I appreciate that!"

Ryan walked up interrupting their conversation. Standing close to Maddie, Steve and Max across from them, he handed her a steaming cup of tea. "Here. Thought you'd need this. Can I just say I love the slightly raspy man voice you've got goin' on?"

Taking the tea in her hands, she said, "Thanks Ry! And…what can I say? I'm working on my impression of you! What do you think? Personally I think it's a little too manly. Maybe I should try bringing a little more 'girl' into the mix."

Max and Steve started laughing as Ryan shook his head smirking. "You're so funny!" he sarcastically said. "No, but seriously…do you have a sore throat or something?" Ryan asked.

Maddie immediately felt Steve's concerned eyes on her. _Yes, I do…well the start of one_, she thought. "No Ry, I don't. I've been on tour nearly 6 months with rarely any days off. What do you expect?"

_Why is she getting so defensive about it? It was just a question_, Ryan wondered. "Okay, okay…just asking."

"Is that for me too?" Maddie asked wanting to get off this topic as she pointed to the bottle in his left hand.

Looking at his hand, he said, "Oh yeah. Forgot I was holding it. Here, ya go!" Ryan handed her the bottle of honey.

She flashed him a silly smile, wrinkling her nose as she did so. Steve tried to hide his smile at the cute expression, but was having a hard time.

"Oh, one other thing…" Ryan began, seeming a bit nervous. He quickly looked to his right, eyeing Steve, before turning back to Maddie. Steve was picking up on a strange vibe. It was as if Ryan knew something he didn't want him to know. She squinted at Ryan, wondering what the hold up was.

"What, Ry?" she asked.

"Um…you left your phone down here…" Ryan told her.

"Okay…thanks?" Maddie said giving him a 'why are you being so weird right now' look.

Ryan pulled the phone out of his pocket. "It's been ringing…"

Just as he began to hand it to Maddie, it started to ring. The ringtone a creepy, doomy song. Maddie's eyes widened, immediately understanding why he was being so strange. "Got it! Thanks!" She snatched the phone from his hand before hitting 'ignore' on the screen, effectively silencing the ringing.

"A lot…it's been ringing A LOT!" Ryan reiterated.

"Yeah, I got it!" Maddie somewhat snapped, appearing a bit anxious as she slipped the phone into her back pocket.

"What's wrong Mads? Who is it?" Steve asked, knowing something weird was going on. "Does it have anything to do with the text message from last night?"

"Oh no! Not At all!" Maddie answered.

Steve could tell she was being honest, but it was obvious that whomever was calling was putting not only Maddie on edge, but Ryan as well. "Who was it?"

"No one you know." Maddie caught the questioning look he was giving her. "Seriously…it's no big deal. Promise!" she lied just as the same creepy song played again. She immediately went to pull the phone out of her pocket to silence the ringing, but she couldn't get it out.

"What am I missing here?" Steve asked. "Who is calling?"

"Here, hold this," Maddie said, thrusting her cup of tea in Steve's hands, so she could get a better angle. She dug around in her pocket and finally freed the phone just as the ringing stopped. She flipped the entire phone to vibrate and put it back in her pocket. Reaching out her hand to Steve, she said, "Here, I can take it back now."

Reluctantly he gave her back the cup, confusion over what just happened in his eyes. "Thanks," she murmured and then turned around towards the piano. "Well, I wonder how out of tune this is. I haven't played it in six months….Oh well, it is what it is."

_That was really strange! Just another thing I'm going to have to get out of her somehow_, Steve thought picking up on the way she changed topics.

"I actually am a pianist too. And I can tune pianos. I always tune mine. If there's anything really out of tune I don't mind fixing it quickly," Max offered.

"Max is an amazing player, Mads," Steve bragged joining the conversation

"I would love to hear you play sometime! Maybe we can jam out together!" Placing her cup of tea on a coaster on top of the piano, Maddie sat down. Hitting a couple keys, she moved her head from side to side in a 'doesn't sound too bad' sort of way. However, the next couple notes she hit she made a face. Turning to Max, Maddie asked, "You sure you don't mind? Those were pretty out of tune!"

Ecstatic that she'd asked for his help, Max said, "Of course! Let's take a look!"

She stood up, picking up her tea. "I'm gonna go grab a couple things from the studio. I'll be right back."

"Great! I'll start tuning," Max told her, approaching the piano.

"Great! Thanks so much!"

As Max went to work, she started thinking about what new songs she'd play. _It doesn't matter which ones I choose, they are all going to tell Steve something_, Maddie thought, not wanting to do them for that reason. However, the more she thought about it the more she decided it was a good way to tell him about what was going on. She was just singing a song after all, not coming right out and telling him how she felt about him or that there was a crazy person after her. Deciding which songs she'd sing, she turned to Steve, discovering that while she'd been lost in thought Lori had approached them. Well, approached Steve.

"Are you sure you're not in pain?" Lori asked, her body practically pressed up against Steve as her hand lightly touched the cut on his right cheek.

"Yeah, I'm sure," Steve replied just standing there, unsure of what to do. He didn't want to be rude and push Lori away, but he also didn't want Maddie to think something was going on between them. So, he stood frozen. He didn't lean into Lori and he didn't touch her.

Lori briefly glanced at Maddie out of the corner of her eye, slightly smirking at her, and then turned back to Steve. Touching the deep cut on his left cheek she said, "Did you let Gracie clean you up? It looks like a kid did it!" Taking Steve's hand in hers she pushed her body completely up against his, her face less than inches from his. "Come on handsome, let me take you inside and fix you up." Lori winked at him.

_I gotta get out of here!_ Maddie thought. "I'll be right back!" she said quickly as she started walking away.

"Where are you going?" Steve asked moving his head to the right so he could see Maddie. _I gotta get Lori off me. Mads was just starting to let me in a little. I don't want her thinking what she's obviously thinking right now._

"Gotta grab a guitar," she answered unable to look anywhere near Steve.

_Great! She's back to not looking at me! _Steve thought while he tried to edge away from Lori, something much more difficult than it should have been.

"There's one right here," Ryan pointed to the guitar near the piano.

Giving him a 'what is wrong with you?' glare, Maddie responded, "I want this specific one I had on tour. Hopefully it's still in a road case in the studio and not already at the venue. But I'm gonna go check." She gave no one a chance to say anything as she hurried off across the patio, desperate to get away from seeing Steve and Lori together.

Steve watched Maddie rush away his heart aching at how panicked her movements were. Suddenly Lori moved, blocking his view of her retreating figure. "So, come on, let me fix you up!" she whispered seductively.

* * *

><p><em>I knew Steve was just behaving like that because we were alone. That as soon as we went downstairs he'd be flirting with Lori<em>, Maddie thought as she walked across the uncovered portion of the patio and under the covered part. She felt terrible. Her head was pounding and her leg was throbbing, not to mention her throat was scratchy. And now that her heart was aching, so was her stomach. _Even though I tried not to get excited about how touchy feely he was with me and how flirty, I did. I mean it could have been worse, but it was enough for this to really hurt. _A couple tears slid down her face as she passed the couches in front of the fireplace, the table they'd eaten dinner at, and the grill. As she stepped out from under the covered patio and passed the chaise lounges along the side of the pool, she remembered the bitchy smirk Lori had given her right before insulting how she patched Steve up. _I did a great job of cleaning him up! It did NOT look like a kid did it! In fact, I've been patching Steve up since we were kids; I know how to do it!_

As Maddie veered away from the pool area and onto the path leading to her studio she wondered what happened after she left. _He probably went inside with her_, the thought making her more upset, which made her more nauseous. _The look on her face did not make me think she was going in to fix the bandages I'd put on. It looked more like she wanted to make him feel better by hooking up with him. _Suddenly an image of Steve and Lori having sex in her house flashed into her pounding head. _Oh my God! That's probably what they're doing! I mean, they had sex last night, I'm sure! _Thinking about it, more tears fell from her eyes. _I don't know why I let him get to me upstairs. I just need to get this evening over with._ She picked up the pace so she could get her guitar and get the rest of the evening started in order for it to end. _Ow!_ she thought as she jogged, the vibrations from her feet hitting the pavement causing intense pain not only in her right heel and knee, but her head.

The tears falling from her eyes made it hard to see everything in front of her and the sloppy way she was running, because of her limp, caused her feet to drag every couple steps. It was these factors that resulted in her tripping over an uneven stone in the path, sending her flying forward.

"Son of a bitch!" Maddie cried as she came down hard on the rocks. It was as if it all happened in slow motion. Because of this she was able to position herself so she'd fall on her right side. It saved her from landing on her knee, but instead the side of her head smacked against the tumbled, cream, white quartz natural stoned ground. Her head was already pounding and this only made it worse. Luckily she didn't hit it nearly as hard as she had at Five-0 Headquarters. Compared to that, it was considered a 'bump'. "Great! I had to hit my head!" she mumbled, mad at herself as she grabbed her throbbing head. "Why do I have to be such a spazz?"

Although no one was around, Maddie was embarrassed of her clumsiness. She quickly stood, but immediately felt so dizzy she fell, this time on her knees. More her left than her right. _Crap I forgot that happens! But this time it was even worse…probably from hitting my head again_, she thought. Maddie stood again, this time slower. She still felt slightly dizzy, but put up with it as she limped the remaining short distance to the door of her studio, her hands and knees stinging from the second fall.

Once inside she headed down the hall, passing her piano room and turning left through the last door. Flipping on the light, she groaned. In front of her were tons of big, black, metal road cases filled with different musical equipment. 'Madeline Lily' and her logo were spray painted in white on every case. "Well, it should be in a guitar road case and not inside one of these 40 monster cases," Maddie told herself. Walking further in the room she glanced around for guitar cases. Finding a cluster of them, she approached them. "None of these," she whispered after looking closely at them. Standing in place she scanned the room, spotting a couple on the opposite side. Making her way over Maddie caught a glimpse of her microphone and in-ear case. _My head is so much worse now from hitting it…I wasn't sure how I was going to handle hearing the drums before and now I know there's absolutely no way I can. It'll be way too loud…everything will. I'll just grab my in-ears and use them as earplugs. Hopefully they'll block out some of the sound_, she decided as she opened the case and pulled out the small pack. Standing up she walked the few steps to the guitar cases. "That's it!" she cried just by seeing the case. It was one of her favorites and she'd marked the case with a tiny sticker near the handle. Grabbing it, she headed out of the studio and back to the party.

* * *

><p>She'd only been gone five minutes, but he couldn't stop looking in the direction of the studio hoping to see her walking back. Lori had been hanging near him the whole time Maddie had been gone. No matter how many times he got up to try and talk to someone else or change seats, she followed. <em>I don't want to be rude, but I need to show Maddie it's her I have feelings for and not Lori. I mean, sure, Lori's great and if things were different…maybe. But she isn't Maddie….who's going to get the wrong idea with Lori always near me like this<em>, he worried.

Danny, Joe, and Chin had been watching Steve try and use body language to send Lori the 'I'm not interested' message ever since he came downstairs with Maddie. "What do you think happened between them up there?" Danny wondered.

"Honestly?" Joe asked. "Nothing. I think Steve's trying to get to Maddie and she's shutting him out."

"Joe! I thought you said things were going to get better between them? That doesn't sound better to me," Danny cried.

"It'll get better, trust me." Joe smiled at the thought. "At least Steve's trying! Before he was receptive to Lori's advances, but not now. So yes, that IS better!"

"What do you know Joe?" Chin asked. "Did you talk to McGarrett?"

He nodded.

"What'd he say?" Danny asked anxious to find out. "Did he finally admit to being in love with her?"

"Not in love with her. It took a bit and was hard for him to admit, but he did say he has feelings for her. However, he's terrified he'll lose her by acting on them." Joe laughed at the absurdity of what he was about to relay as he took a sip of beer. "He told me that Maddie doesn't want to go there with him! That she doesn't have feelings for him!"

Danny and Chin joined his laughter. "Wow, he is an insanely intelligent ninja like guy, but he is clueless when it comes to love isn't he?" Danny said.

They watched as Steve tried sitting in one of the chairs brought over onto this uncovered side of the patio only for Lori to wait a second before taking the one right next to him. She leaned in telling him some kind of story and the guys smirked as they watched him uncomfortably lean a bit in the opposite direction. "What do you say? Should we help him out?" Chin asked.

"I dunno…I have to say it's kind of fun to see him so uncomfortable and unsure of what to do," Danny answered. But as he really watched his partner he decided they better help. "Hey Steve! Check this out! You gotta hear this!" he yelled to him.

Steve's face lit up at the opportunity to not be alone with Lori. He jumped up, apologizing to her before quickly making his way over to the guys.

They laughed as he joined them. Danny smiled clapping his partner on the back. Understanding they were giving him a hard time, Steve slightly blushed, shaking his head. Chin and Danny flashed him a knowing look. "Yeah, yeah…you guys were right. Happy?" Steve grumbled, shaking his head and rolling his eyes.

"What exactly were we right about?" Danny asked playing dumb while enjoying every minute of the conversation.

"Seriously Danno?"

"Yeah…seriously Steven!"

"Fine…I should have waited and seen Mads first before ever trying to find out if there was anything between Lori and me."

They all laughed, but Steve didn't care. He was too distracted keeping his eye out for Maddie. "Do you think I should go check on her?" He looked at his watch. "It's been ten minutes."

"Son, she's back already," Joe said smiling at how oblivious Steve was to his love for Maddie.

"Where? I didn't see her come back!"

"It was just a second ago. She went inside. She'll be out in a second I'm sure," Chin assured.

Sure enough, from inside the house Maddie took a seat at her piano, the sliding glass door open to the backyard and patio. Max stood next to her saying something he couldn't hear. Steve subconsciously eyed her up and down making sure she was okay. He squinted his eyes when he saw blood running down her left shin. "What the?" he mumbled. He was just taking a step towards her when Ryan came from behind and pulled out the piano bench she was sitting on, giving him room to squat down and take a towel to her leg.

Jealousy bubbled inside as he watched Ryan help her, wishing he was the one. Suddenly Maddie looked up and Steve caught her eye. Furrowing his eyebrows he mouthed, "You okay?" She gave him a weak, distant smile and nodded, immediately looking away. _Damn it! The little progress I made is now gone thanks to Lori's flirting and comments,_ he thought. _Well, I'll just have to keep trying. _"I'll be right back," he mumbled.

Just as Steve approached her Ryan handed her her tea. "I warmed it for you."

"Thanks," she replied taking a big long sip.

"What happened Mads?" Steve asked pointing to her bleeding knee.

Subconsciously Maddie used her right index and middle fingers and rubbed the side of her head. Right around where she'd just recently hit it.. Seeing Steve's eyes cloud with concern as he watched her, she immediately dropped her hand. Clearing her throat she looked into his eyes and answered, "I tripped walking to the studio. Big surprise! Clumsy me!"

_Her eyes are a little red…was she crying? _he wondered. _I wish she didn't sound so distant._ "You hurt anything else besides that?"

Maddie averted her eyes as she answered, afraid he'd know she was lying to him. _Maybe I'll tell him later that I hit my head. I dunno. He'll just worry_, she thought. "Nope. Just skinned my knees. Mostly my left. Oh and my palms a little. No big deal!"

_She's lying! Damn it! What else did she hurt? _he worried. Glancing at his watch he decided since there was only an hour and a half until they would be alone together he wouldn't push it now. He'd get it out of her later. "Remember, 10:30. Better do this now."

"Yeah, I know…" she sighed, really not feeling up to singing since she felt so awful.

"Mads, don't over do it. You know the problems you've had with your voice the last couple weeks," Ryan reminded her.

"I know. I know," Maddie rolled her eyes turning to face her piano while setting her tea down on the coaster.

The two men turned, walking to the fire pit to join everyone. Steve looked to Ryan. "What problems?"

"She's exhausted. Never sleeping, so she never rests her voice. Vocally, she was barely making it through the shows. When we'd be done, her voice would cut in and out. Some moments she couldn't make a sound."

"Yeah, I've noticed she's been hoarse since she got to Hawaii."

"This is actually a good test to see where she's at for the show Wednesday."

"Test. Test. 1, 2, 3," Maddie tested the microphone at her piano. "Can I get a little more vocals in this monitor?" she asked pointing up to a speaker mounted on the edge of the gutter above the open part of the glass wall. Ben moved a couple knobs on the soundboard located on the outside of the rounded part of the house. Opposite of where the door opened. Maddie had a state of the art outdoor sound system put in when building the house. "Test. Test. 1, 2, 3…Yeah that's better. Ronnie?"

"Yeah, Inspector?" A short brown haired man sitting behind the drums answered.

"Really?" she jockingly glared at him.

"Inspector?" Rachel asked from her seat in the fire pit.

The band laughed as did Pete, Ryan, and Tina. "Short for Inspector Gadget. One of Maddie's many nicknames. Due to the fact that she's as clumsy as they come," Pete answered.

Steve smiled, biting his lip as he watched Maddie make a fake angry face. Her clumsiness made him worry more about her, but he also found it pretty cute at times.

"Anyway," she cleared her throat. "Bring it Ronnie…but watch the volume. We aren't fully set up and dialed in. It's a small group and it'll get too loud."

_Crap! How is she going to handle the loud noise of not only the drums, but the band, _Steve wondered, having not thought about it until then.

"Got it Inspector!" Ronnie grinned at her.

"All right, let's wing this. You guys have the music Ryan copied for you?" Maddie asked. A chorus of 'yeses', 'uh-huhs', and 'mmm hmms' were heard as Maddie tucked her in-ear monitors in her ears hoping it would help keep the music from killing her head. "Veronica? Susan?" Two pretty women standing to her right, each with their own microphone and music stand, nodded at her. "Alrighty then…let's do this! Ronnie…"

Ronnie began hitting his drumsticks against the metal rim of his snare drum in time to their first song. "1…2…3…Whoop!"

Maddie, Veronica, and Susan began harmonizing a cappella.

**All the colors of the rainbow**

**Hidden 'neath my skin**

**Hearts have colors don't we all know?**

**Red runs through our veins**

Veronica and Susan began singing "oo's" and "ah's" in harmony with Maddie while she continued singing the words.

**Feel the fire burning up**

**Inspire me with blood of blue and green**

Veronica and Susan returned to singing the words in harmony with Maddie.

**I have hope**

**Inside is not a heart but a kaleidoscope**

Finished, Maddie made eye contact with Ronnie as she began playing the piano in a fun and bouncy way. As she started singing, her string player joined her.

**Ah ah ah ah ahhh**

**Mmm mm mm mm mmmm**

**No words  
>My tears won't make any room for 'em<br>Oh and it don't hurt  
>Like anything I've ever felt before<br>**

_Even though I've seen her perform and sing so many times, I am still wowed by her every time. She was born to do this_, Steve thought. As he watched her from his seat in the fire pit he listened carefully to the words and found his original thoughts were confirmed. She was definitely hurting and feeling lost.

**This is no broken heart  
>No familiar scars<br>This territory goes uncharted**

Giving him a cute look, Maddie smiled and pointed to Ben as he came in playing a few chords on guitar. She immediately crossed her eyes and pointed to Ronnie as he came in with the beat. Letting them know they nailed it, even though they hadn't played the song before, she smiled while wrinkling her nose and nodded as she continued to sing.

**Just me**  
><strong>In a room sunk down in a house in a town<strong>  
><strong>And I don't breathe<strong>  
><strong>Though I never meant to let it get away from<strong> me

Breifly glancing to the fire pit she saw Lori snuggled into Steve's arm. _See, I don't know why I got even a little excited and hopeful_, she thought as she sang. Unable to stomach looking at them she looked a bit left of Steve and saw Joe. He winked at her making eye contact. To the left of him was Danny and Rachel. Grace stood in between her father's knees as he had his arm around her waist. She was smiling and moving her head to the music, unable to take her eyes off Maddie. Chin and Malia were next to Lori. It was obvious that the couple wasn't very close with her from the open space between them.

**Now I have too much to hold  
>Everybody has to get their hands on gold<br>And I want uncharted  
><strong>

Her band began to slowly build as she sang the next line.

**Stuck under the ceiling  
>I made, I can't help the feeling I'm going down<strong>

As she sang the words "I'm going down" she got louder and more passionate as the bands' momentum exploded. Ronnie began playing the tom-tom's giving the chorus a different feel.

**Follow if you want, I won't just hang around  
>Like you'll show me where to go<strong>

**I'm already out**  
><strong>Of foolproof ideas so don't ask me how<strong>  
><strong>To get started<strong>  
><strong>It's all uncharted<strong>

**La la la la ahhh**

**Oh ohhh oh**

Beginning the second verse the band backed off a bit returning to their earlier groove. It's not that the song wasn't still exciting, it was. It's just they knew how to be dynamic and play with energy without being really loud and overpowering Maddie. It's what made them pro's.

**Each day  
>I'm countin' up the minutes 'til I get alone<br>'Cause I can't stay  
>In the middle of it all, it's nobody's fault<strong>

**But I'm so low**  
><strong>Never knew how much I didn't know<strong>  
><strong>Oh, everything is uncharted<strong>

Like with the first pre-chorus and chorus, Maddie and her band began building up and then erupted into an exciting arrangement.**  
><strong>

**I know I'm getting nowhere  
>When I only sit and stare like I'm going down<br>Follow if you want, I won't just hang around  
>Like you'll show me where to go<strong>

**I'm already out**  
><strong>Of foolproof ideas so don't ask me how<strong>  
><strong>To get started<strong>  
><strong>It's all uncharted<strong>

As Maddie began singing the bridge the band softened up, not everyone playing. The piano was the main part of the arrangement here.

**Jump start my kaleidoscope heart  
>I love to watch the colors fade<br>They may not make sense  
>But they sure as hell made me<strong>

**I won't go as a passenger, no**  
><strong>Waiting for the road to be laid<strong>  
><strong>Though I may be going down<strong>  
><strong>I'll take in flame over burning out<strong>

Her band dropped out as Maddie sang and played alone.

**Compare  
>Where you are to where you wanna be<br>And you'll get nowhere  
><strong>

**I'm going down**

Ronnie hit the drums once and suddenly she stopped singing while everyone stopped playing. The band all looked at one another smiling before Maddie loudly and passionately started singing the next line; "I'm going…". Steve smiled seeing her so into it. He always loved how much she felt the words when she sang and played.

When she sang the word "down", the band all came in together. They were obviously having a great time as they laughed and smiled. Maddie was rocking out, feeling the music as she swayed to the beat.

**Follow if you want, I won't just hang around  
>Like you'll show me where to go<strong>

**I'm already out**  
><strong>Of foolproof ideas so don't ask me how<strong>  
><strong>To get started<strong>

**Ohhh, I'm going down**  
><strong>Follow if you want, I won't just hang around<strong>  
><strong>Like you'll show me where to go<strong>

**I'm already out**  
><strong>Of foolproof ideas so don't ask me how<strong>  
><strong>To get started<strong>  
><strong>It's all uncharted<strong>

**La la la ah ah ahh **

Maddie and her band played a couple more beats before Ronnie ended it alone on drums. Everyone clapped, especially Gracie.

"Yeah! Man I love it when you jam with us Mads!" her bass player yelled to her as she took a sip of her tea.

Once she swallowed, she laughed, "Sam! You say that to everyone that jams with you! You're gonna have to do better!" The band erupted into laughter. "Alright. Let's go with Machine Gun….got it?" Maddie asked them.

As each player located their sheet music for the song, Maddie spoke. "I remember being a teenager and girls were sooo mean. They teased you and turned their friends against you for nothing. And I remember saying to Steve how I could not WAIT to be a grown up, so I wouldn't have to put up with that anymore." When she said this everyone glanced at Steve smiling at him. Maddie briefly looked at him, but immediately averted her eyes seeing Lori still cuddled against him. Steve's heart ached at the emotional distance Maddie was putting between them. He wanted to get away from Lori, but just didn't want to cause issues. He figured he'd try and smooth it over with Maddie later. "Only thing is…no matter how old you are or what you do or who you are…" she paused, looking down somewhat sadly. "There's always going to be someone that…wants to ruin your day."

With that said, Maddie looked to her band, nodded, and began playing. Ronnie and her keyboardist joined her.

**Tell me off in a letter  
>Completely ignore me<br>Getting high off of saying  
>Why you don't adore me?<strong>

**Baby, please, I'm well versed**  
><strong>In how I might be cursed<strong>  
><strong>I don't need it articulated<strong>

Ben came in on guitar and once she continued singing, Veronica and Susan joined in here and there with background harmonies.

**Stand in line wasting  
>All of your time just to hate me<br>Every dime gone to ways  
>You can find that might bait me<strong>

**And drag me down, sight set proudly**  
><strong>Bring me to the ground see<strong>  
><strong>You love to be somebody's enemy<strong>

As the chorus came in Maddie sang her heart out feeling the song, her hands flying through fast, fun chord changes.

**Maybe nobody loved you when you were young  
>Maybe, boy, when you cry, nobody ever comes<br>Will you try it once?  
>Give up the machine gun<br>Machine gun**

**Locked and loaded**  
><strong>You're practically floating away now<strong>  
><strong>In your fortress you feel like<strong>  
><strong>You're more or less safe now<strong>

_She is really upset about something_, Joe thought. _ I really hope Steve can get her to open up. I have a bad feeling about this._

**But let me say I don't mean harm  
>Oh, but, baby, you'd be charming if you'd come undone<br>Get back where you started from**

**Maybe nobody loved you when you were young**  
><strong>Maybe, boy, when you cry, nobody ever comes<strong>  
><strong>Will you try it once?<strong>  
><strong>Give up the machine gun<strong>  
><strong>Machine gun<strong>

**Never mind how you've rationed your time**  
><strong>And the battle is underway<strong>  
><strong>Maybe times are gonna change<strong>  
><strong>Don't just hide in the silence behind<strong>

**What you've really been trying to say**  
><strong>What a skill, baby, aiming to kill me<strong>  
><strong>With words you don't mean<strong>

_I wish she'd tell me what's going on, so I can help fix it. It's definitely bothering her,_ Steve thought as he watched and listened to her sing.

As they prepared to go into the last chorus Ronnie did an amazing drum fill earning him a huge dimply smile and a "hell yeah" from Maddie before she started singing again. Everyone cracked up.

**Maybe nobody loved you when you were young  
>Maybe, boy, when you cry, nobody ever comes<br>Will you try it once?  
>Give up the machine gun<strong>

**Will you try it once?**  
><strong>Give up the machine gun<strong>  
><strong>Will you try it once?<strong>  
><strong>Give up the machine gun<strong>  
><strong>Machine gun, yeah<strong>

The song ended with mostly Ben and her other guitar player playing different parts along with her keyboardist. It was a very quirky and different ending than what she normally did.

The band joked around as Mads slowly stood up from her piano and walked out onto the patio. Unfortunately given the fact that she recently hit her head again, it didn't matter how slowly she got up, the dizziness was intense. Steve watched as her eyes fluttered closed for a second and she grabbed on to the piano to steady herself. _She got up slowly…that doesn't make sense. She shouldn't be so dizzy_, he thought preparing to stand. He couldn't tell if she was actually going to faint or not. Just as he started to stand she opened her eyes and took a wobbly step forward. _What the hell is going on? Why is she suddenly worse?_ He glanced to his left at Malia. They shared a confused look.

_Woah, that was close_, Maddie thought as she wobbled to the stool out in front of the fire pit where her acoustic, Gibson guitar was waiting for her. As she did, he noticed how she was shaking her left hand a bit as if it was bothering her. Daring a glance at Steve she saw him standing getting ready to come to her. She met his eyes and could see the worry and confusion there.

Lori knew Steve had gotten up to run to Maddie. So, when she saw them staring into one another's eyes she reached up and laced her fingers with Steve's tugging on his hand a bit so he'd sit back down. The second Maddie saw this she looked away, breaking eye contact with Steve. Seeing that made her feel even worse; her dizzy spell still prominent, her aching body and nauseous stomach ache worsening. As she grabbed her guitar and took a seat on the stool she missed seeing Steve try to pull his hand from Lori's. However, Lori wouldn't let go and not wanting to cause a scene Steve dealt with it. _Damn it! _he thought frustrated by the whole situation. He hoped Maddie wouldn't be even more distant from him by the end of the evening because of Lori, but he had a feeling she would. But mostly he was concerned about her health. He didn't understand, and obviously neither did Malia, why her dizzy spells were suddenly much worse.

Ben and her other guitarist took a seat next to Maddie as she tuned her guitar. Still feeling dizzy she swayed a bit on the stood, freaking Steve out. Just what he was afraid of, Maddie swayed a bit to far back and started to fall. He had been too busy watching her to notice Pete had obviously been just as worried and had walked up. Not wanting it to be obvious why he was up there, he busied himself with moving cables around, making it look like he didn't want anyone to trip. Thank God he was there because just as Maddie swayed back, no doubt going to fall backwards to the ground, Pete immediately placed his hand against her back. Seeing this Steve took a deep breath, his heart pounding. _Thank God_, he thought. He made eye contact with his Navy Seal buddy and smiled, mouthing 'Thank you'. Pete grinned back at Steve, nodding. For the first time since their fight it looked like they were going to be okay. Sure Pete was pissed how Lori was against Steve, hanging on him, but he could tell Steve was uncomfortable. Pete had noticed how he was no longer reciprocating Lori's advances, but instead focused on Maddie and showing her how he felt about her.

Their eye contact was broken when Maddie twisted around to look at Pete, giving him an uneasy smile. Steve could see him say something to her, but wasn't sure what it was. Maddie nodded and turned back around, returning to tuning her guitar. Every so often she would stop and shake out her left hand. _I wish she wouldn't play if it's bothering her that much_, Steve thought. Satisfied with the sound, Maddie turned to a third guy sitting on her other side. "Chester, you know when to come in?"

"Yeah," he nodded holding the harmonica.

"Cool." Maddie briefly glanced up from the floor looking at Steve. He smiled at her. She gave him a sad look back before gazing down at the floor. "This next one…well…" She paused and shrugged her shoulders. "It's just a song."

_That's strange. She's never this shy and uncomfortable when playing a song_, Steve thought. _There's no way it's just a song. It's definitely about something_.

Maddie looked to her right at Chester as she gave them the tempo before she began counting off on her guitar. "1…2…3…4." She nodded to Chester and as she began strumming he started playing the harmonica. The two played together for nearly thirty seconds before she began singing.

**I don't want to talk about it to you  
>I'm not an open book that you can rifle through<strong>

As he listened to the sadness in her voice, Steve's heart sunk. _She's definitely singing this to me, _he thought.

**The cold hard truth that you'll see right to**

Ben and her other guitarist joined in both playing their acoustic guitars.

**I'm just a basket case without you  
><strong>

Steve immediately felt Joe's hand on his arm for a brief second. As he turned to the older man, Joe gave him a look like "really? You doubted that she had feelings for you?"

**He's not a magic man or a perfect fit  
>But had a steady hand and I got used to it<br>And a glass cage heart and invited me in  
>And now I'm just a basket case without him<strong>

**You're begging for the truth**  
><strong>So I'm saying it to you<strong>  
><strong>I've been saving your place<strong>  
><strong>And what good does it do?<strong>  
><strong>Now I'm just a basket case<strong>  
><strong>Now I'm just a basket case<strong>

Listening to the words Steve felt nauseous. He could hear how hurt and torn she was. He felt Lori tighten her grip on his arm making him feel worse. He honestly felt so sick he thought he was going to need to excuse himself to throw up.

**I don't say much and it'll stay that way  
>You got a steel train touch and I'm just a track you lay<br>So I'll stay right here underneath you  
>I'm just a basket case, that's what we do<strong>

**You're begging for the truth**  
><strong>So I'm saying it to you<strong>  
><strong>I've been saving your place<strong>  
><strong>And what good does it do?<strong>  
><strong>Now I'm just a basket case<strong>

Ronnie joined in using a mallet on his drums.

**Won't somebody come on in and tug at my seams?  
>Oh, send your armies in of robbers and thieves<br>To steal the state I'm in I don't want it anymore**

_This is her way of telling me how much she's hurting_, he thought. Turning to Lori he carefully unlinked her arm from his. He gently held her hand, smiled apologetically and laid it on her lap. She looked at him confused, even though she knew what was going on. He gave her a sad smile before crossing his arms and turning to watch Maddie. She hadn't looked anywhere but the floor the entire time. _I wish she'd look at me_.

**You're begging for the truth**  
><strong>So I'm saying it to you<strong>  
><strong>I've been saving your place<strong>  
><strong>And what good does it do?<strong>  
><strong>Now I'm just a basket case<strong>

**Now I'm just a basket case**

**Now I'm just a basket case**

**Now I'm just a basket case**

When the song was done Maddie shook her left hand scrunching her face in pain. Playing guitar was hurting both the cut on her wrist. _Only two more songs_, she thought_. The next on guitar and the last one on piano….I thought I was tired before…but this is draining what little energy I had. _Maddie slightly rubbed her forehead, her head a ton worse than before. Yes, using the in-ear monitors as earplugs was helping, but the noise from the band was still loud and exacerbating to her headache.

Everyone was dumbfounded at the song. _I knew Steve was hurting her. She tried to play it off like it was no big deal, but I knew better_, Pete thought recalling the lyrics. "That song was awesome Shorty!" Pete told her as he made eye contact with Steve, eyebrows raised in a 'I told you so' manner.

From the look on Steve's face he was upset. Not mad. Well, maybe at himself, but definitely not Maddie. The song had torn his heart to pieces. She had just sang to him what she couldn't tell him when he'd asked her what was wrong earlier. _Damn it! I'm such an ass! How the hell am I going to fix this? Get her to let me in? _he wondered. Trying to get Maddie to look at him, he said, "Yeah Mads…it was awesome!"

"Thanks," she mumbled refusing to look anywhere but at her guitar as she fidgeted with it.

"Seriously, if all your new stuff is as good as these, record and release them!" Ryan told her.

"Nah…not these ones. They're just for me," she quietly said, feeling uncomfortable and beginning to blush. Feeling her voice starting to get tired and become raspier, she looked to Ryan. "Ry…mind handing me my tea?" Maddie placed her guitar on its stand next to her.

He smiled sympathetically at her, knowing she was embarrassed she'd just sung that song in front of Steve. "Sure." Quickly grabbing it, he handed her the mug.

As Maddie sipped from it, Gracie, who had been in a sort of trance while watching her, suddenly erupted with excitement. Leaving her father and running up to her, Gracie jumped up and down in front of the singer. "Maddie! Will you play more?"

Maddie smiled at her. "I got two more for you, but then…" She wrinkled her nose as she grinned. "You're gonna have to wait for Wednesday to hear more!"

"But I don't have tickets to your show. My mom tried to get them…it sold out in 5 minutes."

Maddie turned to Tina, her eyes wide. "Seriously? Is that true? It's sold out? Already? Tickets went on sale this morning right?"

"Completely sold out…in minutes!" Tina smiled at her friend.

"Wow…that's insane!" Maddie said. "We better put on a great show!" she laughed, but inside she wasn't sure she'd be able to pull it off. Shaking her head from her thoughts she turned her attention back to Gracie. "Who said anything about tickets?" Maddie smiled at the confused look on the girl's face. "Tickets can't get you the best seat in the house! Just ask Uncle Steve!"

Grace turned to look at her uncle, her eyebrows furrowed in a questioning manner. Steve smiled at her, "It's true! Only Maddie can get you the best seat in the house. Even better than front row."

"Really?" Gracie asked in awe. Everyone was smiling at her excitement.

"It's true," Maddie told her. "Tickets also can't get you all access backstage passes." She looked at Tina. "Can you get all the passes to them? Make sure they know where to go, how to get in, etc? All the details."

"Of course!" she told her pulling out her iPhone and making a note of it. "Gracie, you are gonna have sooo much fun! And because it's a live HBO show, there'll be a red carpet and everything! Lots of fun!"

"More like insanity," Maddie mumbled.

"Thank you sooo much Aunt Maddie!" Gracie exclaimed hugging the singer.

"You're so welcome sweetie!"

Pulling out of the hug, Gracie asked, "Can I hear the other two songs now?" making everyone laugh.

"Why of course!" Maddie laughed setting her cup of tea down and picking her guitar back up. "You guys ready?"

"You bet!" Ronnie said from behind his drums.

Maddie smiled and started playing her guitar. _Oh man this is killing my hand_, she thought. Next to her Ben joined in on his electric guitar.

**Mm mm mm m m mm mm mm  
>I wish I were pretty<br>I wish I were brave  
>If I owned this city<br>Then I'd make it behave**

The bass came in along with Matt, her other guitarist.

**And if I were fearless  
>Then I'd speak my truth<br>And the world would hear this  
>That's what I wish, I'd do ye-eah<br>**

Maddie looked to Ronnie and nodded as he came in on drums. Smiling she continued to sing.

**Ye-ea-ah  
>Ye-ea-eah<br>Ye-ea-eah**

**If my hands could hold them, you'd see  
>I'd take all these secrets in me<br>And I'd move and mold them to be  
>Something I'd set free<br>**

_Oh Mads_, Steve thought as he heard her sing about secrets she wish she could tell. _I wish you'd talk to me. _

Veronica and Susan started singing harmony with certain words throughout the rest of the song.

**I wanna darken in the skies  
>Open the flood gates up<strong>

_Ow!_ Maddie thought feeling a sudden intense pain in her left hand. _Oh crap! I must have just ripped open the cuts!_ She could feel the blood oozing from the cuts on her hand. _Maybe it's not as bad as I think. Maybe no one will notice. _

**I wanna change my mind  
>I wanna be enough<strong>

She looked over to Steve singing those last two lines to him. He smiled at her as they stared into one another's eyes. Catching something in the corner of his eye he looked down. Maddie could see the intense concern on his face as he saw the blood on the neck of her guitar. _Of course she's not going to stop. She'll keep going_, Steve thought, shaking his head.

**I want the water in my eyes**  
><strong>I wanna cry until the end of time<strong>

Entering the chorus of the song, Veronica and Susan began clapping.

**I wanna let the rain come down  
>Make a brand new ground<br>Let the rain come down**

**Let the rain come down**  
><strong>Make a brand new ground<strong>  
><strong>Let the rain come down<strong>

The clapping stopped just before she sang the last word of the chorus.

**Tonight  
><strong>

Maddie was having a hard time playing from not only the intense pain in her hand, but because the blood was making her hand and fingers slip on her guitar.

**I hold on to worry  
>So tight<br>It's safe in here right next to my heart  
>Who now shouts at the top of her voice<br>Let me go, let me out, this is not my choice!  
>And I always felt it before<br>That the world was filled with much more  
>Than the drowning soul<br>I've learned to be  
>I just need the rain to remind me<br>**

Pete knew she wouldn't stop mid song, but he'd be ready to help when she was done. He walked inside and grabbed some paper towels.

While Pete was inside, Steve was beginning to panic. He didn't like seeing Maddie hurt and not be able to help her. _Ugh! Why can't she just stop!_ he thought as a couple drops of blood hit the light colored natural stone floor below.

**I wanna darken in the skies  
>Open the flood gates up<br>I wanna change my mind  
>I wanna be enough<strong>

**I want the water in my eyes**  
><strong>I wanna cry until the end of time<strong>

**I wanna let the rain come down**  
><strong>Make a brand new ground<strong>  
><strong>Let the rain come down<strong>

Veronica and Susan clapped to the rhythm of the chorus again. Maddie set down her guitar doing it too, getting blood on her right hand. She winced each time her hands come in contact with one another. As she did she signaled to everyone to join them, which most did. She made eye contact with Steve and seeing how worried he was she flashed him a dimply smile, hoping it would calm him a bit. It didn't make him worry any less, but he did start clapping with her, leaving Lori the only one not joining in on the fun. As Lori looked around and realized this, she sighed and unenthusiastically began to clap.

**Let the rain come down  
>Make a brand new ground<br>Let the rain come down**

**I wanna let the rain come down**  
><strong>Make a brand new ground<strong>  
><strong>Let the rain come down<strong>  
><strong>Mm alright<strong>

**Let the rain come down**  
><strong>Make a brand new ground<strong>  
><strong>Let the rain come down<strong>

The band died out except for Ronnie on drums. The guys joined in singing the words too, making Maddie smile.

**I wanna let the rain come down  
>Make a brand new ground<br>Let the rain come down  
>On me, yea<strong>

**Let the rain come down**  
><strong>Make a brand new ground<strong>  
><strong>Let the rain come down<strong>  
><strong>Tonight<strong>

With the song done Maddie stood slowly and walked back to her piano, sitting down and ignoring the way everything was moving. She knew the feeling would pass. By this time the blood was running down her entire arm.

"Aunt Maddie! Are you okay?" Gracie asked, looking scared.

"I'm fine sweetie! I'll fix it in a minute."

"Madeline," Steve said as he began standing.

"Steve I promise. I'm fine. Let me finish this last song and then I'll take care of it." It was obvious he didn't like her answer as he stared at her, his aneurism face beginning to appear. He debated picking her up and taking her inside so he could bandage her hand, but knew she would freak out. That she'd only push him further away. Looking over to Danny he saw him signal him to sit down. Finally, he did, but definitely made it known he wasn't happy about the situation.

Pete had come up while she spoke to Steve and grabbed both her hands. Using the paper towels he quickly wiped some of the blood from them. "Thanks Pete! Now I wont get the piano as dirty," Maddie said. Pete knew there was no way she was going to stop just because she was bleeding. It took a lot to slow her down and keep her from doing what she set out to do. So, he knew it was pointless to argue with her.

"No problem, Shorty!" he whispered before walking to the kitchen to throw the paper towels out.

Seeing Steve take his so she could sing her last song, Maddie decided to throw him a bone and say a little something before it. "This last one…I wrote this morning. It's called 'Not Alone'." Maddie briefly looked at Ronnie, nodding for him to start. As he began giving the band the tempo, she caught Steve's eye.

"1…2…3….YES!" Ronnie counted off and he and Maddie began playing. Veronica and Susan came in singing harmony right before Maddie started singing. As she did, most of the band joined in.

**It comes calling in the evening  
>When the temperature is dropping out<br>They said it don't get cold here  
>But I beg to differ now<br>**

As she entered the second half of the first verse, her keyboardist joined her.

**There is something in the shadows  
>More than sister silhouette<br>Something sinister and strange  
>That I haven't seen yet<strong>

_Oh crap! She's singing about whatever she's afraid of. Whatever she won't tell me_, Steve realized. Although still worried about her hand he pushed it to the back of his mind for a second and focused on her lyrics, hoping she'd tell him something through them. **  
><strong>

Maddie turned her head to the right and sang the chorus to Steve.

**And I don't want to be alone  
>Sky, don't let the sun go<br>I'm not ready for the darkness  
>Swear upon a heartless soul<strong>

**And I don't want to cry when you go**  
><strong>Stay a little longer, you know<strong>  
><strong>You're making me feel<strong>  
><strong>I'm not alone<strong>

He smiled realizing the song was written for him. _Even though she acts like she doesn't want me around and is pushing me away, she does. She probably wrote this after I left her last night and she had a nightmare_, he thought angry at himself for leaving her.

Entering the second verse she turned back and made eye contact with her band.

**You don't have to fight the bad guys  
>Throwing punches out into the black<br>If you have to tell me lies, I don't care  
>Just give me some good back<strong>

**I don't want to be alone**  
><strong>Sky, don't let the sun go<strong>  
><strong>I'm not ready for the darkness<strong>  
><strong>Swear upon a heartless soul<strong>

**And I don't want to cry when you go**  
><strong>Stay a little longer, you know<strong>  
><strong>You're making me feel<strong>  
><strong>I'm not alone<strong>

**And if I only worry 'bout it**  
><strong>Worry 'bout it, worry 'bout it<strong>  
><strong>I just keep breaking down<strong>  
><strong>Breaking down, breaking down<strong>

Maddie returned her gaze to Steve as she sang the next part.

**Boy, I could do without  
>Do without, do without<br>A night of the bad dreams, sad things  
>Tell me what that means<br>**

_So the nightmares aren't there when I'm with her. Darn, I'll just have to stay with her every night and hold her_, Steve sarcastically thought to himself. Although she was pushing him away she was saying she needed him, which gave him hope that he'd be able to get her to let him in. His hope and happiness quickly faltered as he remembered she'd booked a flight out of Hawaii. _Crap! I forgot! I have to convince her to stay. I'm gonna have to step it up._

Maddie turned to Ronnie and sang the next line with just him, her bassist, and herself playing.

**I don't want to be alone**

The next line she sang a cappella with Veronica and Susan singing harmonies with her. They slowly got louder and at the end of the line the entire band came in.

**Sky, don't let the sun go  
>I'm not ready for the darkness<br>Swear upon a heartless soul  
><strong>

Maddie and the band rocked out, making silly faces and laughing with one another. They were having a great time. Although her hand was killing her and bleeding all over the place, she ignored it, enjoying the moment.

**And I don't want to cry when you go  
>Stay a little longer, you know<strong>

**You're making me feel  
>The monsters aren't real<br>You're making me feel  
>I'm not alone<strong>

**Not alone**

**Oo oo oo oo oo oo oo oooo**

Finished with the song Maddie said, "Let me formally introduce you to the most talented group of people and the most amazing human beings!" As she said each guy's name she pointed to him, everyone cheering and clapping as each one was introduced. "You already met him, but on guitar you got Ben! ….. On keys, Wally! ….. Also, on guitar, Matt! Or as we often refer to him, Mattie! The male version of me! ….. The one and only Ronnie on drums and percussion! ….. Sam on bass and cello! ….. Chester on horns, strings, and of course harmonica! ….. And these beautiful and amazingly talented women to my right that make me sound good show after show…Veronica and Susan on vocals!"

"And we can't forget Mads! We wouldn't have so many wonderful and amazing memories and experiences if it wasn't for her!" Ben exclaimed. Maddie blushed at his statement waving him off.

"Group picture!" Ronnie cried as the band moved away from their instruments. Maddie stood up wanting to join them for the picture, but like many of the other times she stood up too quickly she became dizzy. _Oh no! Not again_, she thought. Not wanting to fall she reached her hands out to the piano hoping to hold herself up. However, she was so desperate not to fall that her hands came down hard on the keys, playing a ton of different notes that should never be played together extremely loud. At the racket, people turned towards her. She smiled trying to pass it off as her just being goofy. However, Ben immediately saw what was going on and grabbed her holding him tight against himself. "Alright, everyone gather around the inspector and me!" They did without questioning, not aware of what was going on with here. The only reason he knew was because Ryan and Pete had filled him in on everything earlier when Maddie was cleaning Steve up.

"Rock 'n' roll!" Tina exclaimed as she held the camera in front of the group.

"ROCK 'N' ROLL!" they all shouted, laughing and posing as Tina took the picture. "Awesome! Got it!"

Steve immediately stood, walked up the couple stairs out of the fire pit and over to Maddie, Malia behind him. "Mads, come on." When he tried to put his hand on her back she pulled away causing his heart to ache. _Yep, the little progress I made is definitely gone_, he thought. _Damn it!_

Entering the kitchen Steve quickly lifted her onto the counter of the kitchen island before she could protest. As he grabbed everything he needed to clean her up, Malia looked at her hand. "It looks okay. She only ripped open the wounds. Just needs to be cleaned and wrapped back up." Smirking at her friend, she said, "Which it should've been to begin with. If it had, this wouldn't have happened."

"It was hard to play the piano. And no way the guitar!" Maddie defended herself.

As Steve walked over to them with everything, Malia started to take the towel from him. "I can do it. Go have fun!" Steve said.

Malia made eye contact with him, trying to hide her smile. She knew he wanted to be alone with Maddie. It was obvious to all of them what she'd been singing about and she guessed he wanted to bring it up. "Okay…Just let me know if you need anything," she told him, patting his arm, and walking away.

Steve positioned himself in front of Maddie, standing in between her legs. Starting just above her elbow he used the warm, damp towel to wipe away the blood. "Songs were awesome, Mads," he began nervously.

"Thanks," she said, sounding distant.

Steve glanced up at her and noticed she was looking to the left of him. Seeing she couldn't even look at him, he sighed and continued to clean her up. Finding the silence uncomfortable, he tried again. "The band sounded awesome! I can't wait to see you guys on Wednesday! I haven't seen a show live in…I don't even know how long."

"Two and a half years," Maddie mumbled, remembering exactly when he'd last seen her live.

"Right…." He mumbled as he moved down her arm wiping the blood away. "Does it hurt?"

"Nah," she lied.

Wrapping the damp towel around her hand and forearm to absorb any new blood, Steve sighed. "Okay…enough's enough. We need to talk."

"About what?" Maddie asked, playing dumb.

"That right there!" he cried. "Why won't you be straight with me? You know exactly what we need to talk about! I know you're in pain. Don't think I don't notice the way your arm tightens every time your hand jostles or the way you try and hide the fact your wincing. Don't think I didn't notice the way you were shaking out your hand when you were playing. So, why lie about it? At least, why lie to me?"

"If you know it hurts, why ask?" she retorted still not looking at him. She sounded a million miles away.

"Ahh! That! What is that? Stop pushing me away!" His heart was pounding and he felt his blood pressure rising as he fought the urge to pace. He was so frustrated with her. Lifting his head to stare straight at her he growled, "Look at me!"

Annoyed with him and the fact he was freaking out on her, Maddie refused. "Steve!" she yelled as he grabbed her head and with a hand on each side held it so they'd be face to face.

"Maddie, stop pushing me away! We'd made a little progress when we came downstairs! Now…it's gone."

"Who's fault is that?" Maddie snapped. Her eyes grew wide when she realized what she'd said.

Steve smirked at her, letting go of her face. "Well that's the first real thing you've said to me."

She said nothing as she blushed. _You idiot! How could you let that slip?_ Maddie chastised herself.

"You're right it is my fault. I've been an ass. But give me a chance to fix it."

"It is what it is. It's fine. I'm fine. You're fine. Everything's fine. Promise…" she lied to him again, her voice calm and sad.

His heart ached at the sad and distant sound of her voice. She was continuing to push him away. "Come on Madeline…don't do this."

Maddie was fighting the tears and knew if she looked at him that would be it. She carefully unwrapped the towel from her hand. "Are you going to help me with my hand or not?"

Closing his eyes Steve sighed. "Yeah…" he mumbled, devastated she wouldn't let him in. Carefully he finished cleaning the blood from her hand. When he was finished he grabbed the ointment and put some on both cuts. As he did she winced, trying to hide it. "Sorry Mads," he muttered. She said nothing as he wrapped up her hand. "Good to go," Steve quietly told her.

"Thanks," she whispered trying to use her right hand to hop down off the counter. However, she knew she couldn't put too much weight on her right leg. Steve watched her try and figure out how to get down, hoping she'd ask for his help.

She'd start to get down only to stop and try a different way, but then stop again. _Crap! How am I going to do this without killing my right knee and foot? _she wondered. _I can't ask him for help…he'll get the wrong idea…..I'm just going to have to try and land on my left foot. _Taking a deep breath Maddie jumped down onto her left leg, however she'd forgotten about one important thing. Getting dizzy. The dizziness was too much this time; she knew there was no fighting the darkness. "Steve," she mumbled knowing she was going down.

Steve watched her finally jump down, instead of asking him for help. _Stubborn!_ He thought to himself as he held his hands close in case she needed him. When he saw she landed safely he pulled them away and turned around walking the couple steps to the refrigerator for a much-needed beer. "Steve," he heard her softly call. It felt like everything was suddenly in slow motion as he heard the sound of her voice. Whipping around his heart plummeted to his stomach as her eyes rolled back in her head. He watched her sink to the ground. Thank God he wasn't too far and caught her just before her head hit the stone floor. Holding her in his arms on the floor he inwardly panicked. "Mads…baby. Wake up…" he whispered, brushing her wavy hair to the side of her face. He couldn't keep the relief from his face as her eyes slowly opened. "Oh thank God! … You okay?"

Realizing what had happened Maddie's face flushed from embarrassment. "Sorry…" she whispered as she tried to pull away from him and into a sitting position. Steve could see that just that movement was making her world spin as she fell back into him.

"Take it slow….Maddie, what's going on? You were doing better with this…I don't get how it suddenly got worse. Do you?" he asked helping her slowly sit up, his eyes full of concern. Although she was now sitting, he continued to hold her.

"No….I don't know…" she lied. Maddie could tell he didn't believe her and knew she had to come up with an answer quick. "I don't know…maybe I'm hungry."

"That's possible . You haven't eaten much. You literally took three bites from your dinner. I saved it, why don I warm it up and you can eat it?"

"Okay." Maddie was so close to telling Steve how awful she felt, but she didn't want to worry him anymore than he already was. Plus, she was mad at him and was afraid if she told him how she bad she felt, he would think she was no longer upset.

As she started to stand her legs buckled a little, but he was right there with his arm around her, keeping her on her feet. Waiting for the dizzy spell to wear off she leaned into him. "Okay, I'm good," she said as she took a step away from his touch, her head much clearer. His arms around her were becoming too much for her heart to handle. Maddie knew she'd hurt him, but she felt she had to protect herself.

She opened the fridge, Steve right behind her. "Here, let me do it," he said.

"No, I got it. Go back to the party. I'll be out in a second," Maddie told him.

"Are you crazy? Baby, you just fainted in my arms! There's no way I'm going outside without you," he exclaimed.

_The way he just called me baby…I loved it, but it just made me hurt that much more. Why's he calling me that? He should just be using that with Lori_, Maddie thought. "Steve, go! I'll be out in a second. I'm fine now. I promise! I only feel like that when I stand up and I won't be sitting down before I go back outside. Just please go!"

He could tell by her tone that it was pointless to argue, but it didn't mean he wasn't upset. "Fine!" He began walking away. When he was near the kitchen table he stopped and turned back to her. "You know Madeline…for someone who just sang a song to me begging me not to leave them alone…you sure have a funny way of showing it."

Maddie turned to Steve. His breath caught in his throat at how terrified and sad she looked. "You don't get it…you already left me alone. I'm already drowning in the darkness."

Her words scared the crap out of him as he felt his eyes fill with tears. He wanted to say something, anything, but he couldn't find the words. So instead, he stared at her.

Maddie wished he'd argued with her, told her everything would be okay, that he'd always be there, but he didn't. He said nothing. Only stared at her. She chuckled a little and closed her eyes, a few tears sliding down her cheeks. Shaking her head she said, "Go Steve. Just go. I'll be out in a minute."

Steve didn't know what to do or say, so again he said nothing. He just did what she asked. When Maddie opened her eyes he was gone, breaking her heart.

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><p>Thanks so so so sooo much for reading my story! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please, please, please, PLEASE leave a <strong>review<strong>! Like I said, Chapter 22 is done and ready to be posted. The more reviews I get, the sooner I'll post!

xoxo


	22. Chapter 22

**DISCLAIMER:** I do not own the TV show "Hawaii Five-0" or any of its characters. However, I do own Maddie, Pete, Tina, Ryan, Ronnie, Ben, etc.

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><p><strong>AUTHOR'S NOTE:<strong> Thanks so much for all your reviews! I know some of you are dying to see them get together and the hurt between them is driving you crazy. Trust me, I get it! However, you have to remember that this has only gone on for 3 days! It seems so much longer because this is Chapter 22. But it's not. Because of how descriptive I've been, the story has taken longer to tell. However, time will be speeding up in the next few chapters, so you'll get to the Steve and Maddie interactions soon!

As always, thoughts are in italics. Also, I describe a floating bed in this chapter. I did my best at describing it, but you might want to google it and see a picture. Let me know if you think I did a good job explaining it!

Anyway, thanks so much for reading! And again, the more reviews I get the faster I'll post. This next chapter is mostly Maddie and Steve interaction, so you all should enjoy it very much. It's really cute! So, the more reviews I get the sooner I'll post it! :o)

Enough rambling on my part, enjoy Chapter 22!

xoxo

Laura

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><p><span>CHAPTER 22<span>

Steve wiped his eyes on his walk outside. Descending the couple stairs into the fire pit Joe watched him carefully, knowing immediately that something was wrong. Taking his seat next to Joe and Lori, he couldn't get Maddie's words or the look on her face out of his head. _I know she doesn't like asking for help. She likes to handle things on her own. She's stubborn. But this is killing her. She's never said anything like that before. She sounds…oh man this is bad! _he thought. _What did she mean by I already left her alone? I don't think she's talking about leaving her last night… Hopefully Charlie has something on the text message that will give me a place to start. She's obviously not going to tell me anything. She's too scared…I'll just have to… _His thoughts were interrupted by Joe's whispering voice. "Where's Mads? Everything okay?"

"She'll be right out. And no, everything is fucked up!" Steve whispered back.

Joe was taken aback by his swearing, something very uncharacteristic of him. In fact, he couldn't remember ever hearing Steve curse like that. "What happened?" Steve told him what Maddie had just said to him including how they'd left things. "And you listened to her and left her there?" Joe angrily whispered.

Steve was afraid to answer hearing how mad Joe was. "Yeah," he hesitantly told him.

"Son, stop screwing up! Stop believing everything she says is actually what she wants. You know what? Why don't you just assume that EVERYTHING she says, she really means the opposite!"

"But Maddie's always straight with me. Why would I do that?" Steve whispered confused.

"When does Maddie lie to you?"

Steve thought about it for a second. "When something's really wrong and she doesn't want to tell me," he answered.

"Well, you know something's really wrong. That something has her absolutely terrified! Even though she said she wanted you to go, she didn't. She wanted you to stay. She was trying to tell you something. I mean 'trapped in the darkness'? And you walked away after that? COME ON STEVE!" As he spoke Joe's voice rose until he was almost yelling. The two men looked around at everyone staring at them. "Sorry! Sometimes I forget I'm not his commanding officer anymore," Joe said. Everyone laughed. The two men waited until the group all went back to their conversations before they continued. "She's in pain and needs you more than she's ever needed you before. She's a mess. She's all over the place."

"When she said that…she scared the crap out of me Joe…I've never seen her like this. I was speechless. I didn't know what to say," Steve admitted, his eyes becoming glassy.

"And she freaked out because you didn't say anything. That's why she told you to go. I mean," Joe stopped, seeing movement at the house out of the corner of his eye. He turned to see Maddie walking towards them with a plate of food and a bottle of water. He turned back to Steve. "Fix it!" he ordered.

"Yes sir," Steve whispered.

Maddie approached and stood looking at everyone sitting in the fire pit. Seeing there wasn't really any room, she spotted a nearby chair. Before she could sit down, Joe called to her. "Here princess! There's space right here for you! We can all squeeze a little."

Maddie turned to see Joe had made space for her between him and Steve. She knew she'd get a lecture from Joe if she didn't join them, so she carefully walked down the couple steps into the pit and around to the open seat. She could feel Steve's eyes on her as she approached, but refused to meet them. The second she took her seat, she felt Steve scoot towards her. She sat stiffly and ate her burger, listening to the conversations going on around her. _I can't believe I said what I did to him. How embarrassing!_ she thought.

Ten minutes later Maddie had finished her plate and turned to her right, setting it on the natural stone ground behind her and to the right. As soon as she turned back around she relaxed a little leaning back. However instead of feeling the cushion against her back she felt Steve's right arm circle behind her, his hand coming to rest on her hip and upper thigh. She immediately tensed at the contact.

"Relax," Steve whispered in her ear, giving her goose bumps. Maddie felt panicked like she needed to run, something he must have picked up on. "Everything's going to be fine. I'm not going anywhere. I'm so sorry I walked away, Mads. I want to talk about it later. But until then, just relax because everything's okay and I'm not going anywhere." She bit her lip as he whispered to her, her eyes closing. Thinking about how screwed up everything was right now she began to feel like the walls were closing in around her causing her breathing to quicken. Because Steve had his arm tightly around her, pulling her against him, he felt her breathing change. "Mads, breathe. You're okay. I promise everything's going to be fine," he whispered, kissing her left temple.

Pete, Danny, and Chin watched Steve and Maddie from their respective spots in the fire pit. The way Steve was positioned made it hard for them to see exactly what was going on, but they were able to see a little bit. Obviously they knew he had his arm around her and he was saying something to her, but his head looked to be halfway behind Maddie's. They watched her face change responding to whatever Steve was saying. Although they were staring they weren't able to see Steve kiss Maddie's temple. He had felt their eyes on him, so he turned his head so more of the back of it was facing them when he kissed her. Although they couldn't see, they knew Steve was stepping up trying to show her how he felt and they couldn't be happier as they all glanced at one another smirking.

Maddie inwardly smiled, feeling a little better. She knew Steve meant what he'd said, but she hesitated before leaning against him, still worried and upset. Steve tried to hide his grin as he felt her give in a little. She was still tense, so he pulled her closer, forcing Maddie to lean into him further.

"Maddie, are you excited about Wednesday's show? When was the last time you performed in Hawaii?" Rachel asked.

"Oh gosh…It's been a while. Maybe a couple years," Maddie answered. "Ry, what do you think?"

"Oh…huh? … Hasn't it been longer?" Ryan answered sitting next to Susan and Tina.

"Let me think, " Maddie mumbled. Her eyebrows furrowed as she used her hands, thinking back and counting. "It was almost a year and a half ago," she relayed, figuring it out. "We try and stop in as many cities and states as possible on the U.S. tour, but sometimes it just doesn't happen. I prefer staying on the tour bus as opposed to hotels every night. Because of that, they try to book the shows near one another as much as possible. So for example, if we are in Los Angeles we'd try to go to San Diego, then to San Jose, CA and then maybe to Oakland, CA. From there we'd prefer to go up to Oregon and Washington or over to Nevada or Arizona. Sometimes we can't get the nights we need and that creates a problem. In that case, if it's a big city we need to hit, we'll have to fly back there at some point. If it's not, we'll skip it. That can make it hard to fit Hawaii in and also to have a show here, we always have to fly in and bringing the stage is difficult and very expensive. It's in a bunch of trucks. It's easier to drive it from city to city than fly it in. Sometimes it's just not worth the expense to the label. But we do come here more often than other artists because I'm from here. There's a lot they can do promotion wise. What they try to do most of the time is try and schedule a show here around the time I want to be home, but most of the time it just doesn't work out."

"How big's the stage this tour?" Kono asked smirking at Maddie remembering the pictures she'd shown her of the last stage.

"Big! Really big!" Pete commented, sounding a bit annoyed.

Maddie giggled. "That's your fault. If you wouldn't worry so much, you wouldn't be so tired at the end of the shows!"

"What? Why are you tired after shows?" Malia asked.

"Because when I'm on stage he insists on following me around from his spot on the floor. Wherever I am, you'll see Pete as close as he possibly can get to me without being on the stage!" Maddie jokingly glared at him.

"Which is just one of the reasons Pete is head of your security," Steve chimed in from his spot next to her. Maddie turned and wrinkled her nose, giving her childhood best friend a pretend angry look. Steve laughed, "I should have you interrogate suspects with that face. It's THAT scary!" he mocked.

"I don't' think she'd have to make any kind of face to break a suspect. Bet she could just get them to talk," Danny said.

"Oooo I wanna try!" Maddie cried getting excited. Turning back to Steve she looked at him expectantly.

"No. No way! Are you crazy?" Steve exclaimed. He tried to look serious, but he was having a difficult time not smiling at the cute look on Maddie's face.

"Steve…" Maddie began as she started giving him the sad puppy dog look.

"No! Don't even give me that look! Madeline, I'm serious!" he averted his gaze, using his left hand to cover his eyes.

Everyone started laughing and smiling (well, everyone except Lori) at their cute interaction. Maddie giggled as she tried pulling his hand from his eyes.

"Madeline Lily! No! I will not let you interrogate dangerous criminals!" Maddie finally got his hand away from his face and he immediately shut his eyes. "No! I will not look!" he yelled laughing.

"Ok, Mads, give him a break. I agree with him on this one," Joe said to her smiling at the two.

"Fine," Maddie pouted sitting back and looking straight ahead. Steve slowly opened one eye, making sure it was safe. Seeing him do this she said, "Really McGarrett? Scared of a little look? And you need Joe to fight your battles nowadays? I thought you were some badass Navy Seal? Hiding from a girl…" She smiled at him, unable to keep her dimples from showing.

Steve smiled at her, happy to see a bit of the real Maddie. Using his right arm he pulled her closer. Shaking his head he leaned in and whispered, "I'm gonna get you back for that one. When you least expect it." The sexy growl in his voice turned her on, giving her goose bumps. Maddie turned to look at him. They intensely stared into one another's eyes, their hearts pounding as they both fought the urge to kiss each other. Chin's voice pulled them away from one another.

"Maddie, I've missed you!" Chin laughed.

"Are you kidding me right now? I love you!" Danny exclaimed. "You're the only person I've met that gets to him like that! I know who I'm calling for help when I want to do something my way and he refuses! You're his kryptonite! Steve, you're actually human! I love it!"

"Really Danno? I'd hate to kick your ass in front of your daughter!" Steve countered glaring at his partner.

"Okay…okay boys…I think there's been enough fighting for one night!" Malia asserted knowing the argument that was going to ensue if she didn't intervene. "I have a question. Why do you like the tour bus better than hotels Mads?"

Her band, Ryan, Pete, and Tina all started laughing. Maddie rolled her eyes, leaning more into Steve. "They make fun of me…obviously!" she glared at them. "But I'm never home! It's so weird going from one hotel to another. You're never in your own bed and the room's always different. At least with the bus, I have my own room. It's my home away from home. It makes me feel better."

"When we're on the bus she's a little more settled," Pete added.

"What do you mean?" Lori asked trying to join the conversation and be part of the group. The exchange between Steve and Maddie had her rattled. She'd have to change tactics.

"It must just make her feel a little bit more normal. She can go home to her bus and the same room every night. She doesn't push her luck on stage as much. She doesn't take off as much. She doesn't," Pete said.

"In other words, she doesn't pull stunts like the one you heard about earlier as often," Ryan interrupted laughing.

"Push her luck onstage?" Rachel asked.

Maddie immediately cracked up, as did Ryan. "Oh let's see. Stage diving would be considered pushing her luck," Pete answered shaking his head and giving her a stern look. "Do you know how scary it is to see her taken away by a sea of 80,000 people? Let alone how hard it is to get her back to the stage. No one wants to give her back!"

"Madeline Lily!" Steve cried from behind her, subconsciously pulling her closer to him where he knew she was safe.

Maddie turned to her left to look at him. "But it's so fun!"

Although he was shaking his head at her, he couldn't keep from smiling.

"Do you ever do that kind of stuff when Steve's at the show?" Danny asked, curious to hear the answer. "He probably gets something worse than aneurism face!"

Maddie smiled, her dimples showing as she stared at Steve. "No! She knows better!" Steve answered smiling back at her.

"So then, this show there won't be any of that?" Kono asked sounding disappointed.

"No there will be no shenanigans," Steve answered narrowing his eyes at Maddie.

"That might not necessarily be true," Ryan said. Maddie and Steve immediately looked to him.

"Ryan!" Steve cried. "Come on! I thought we were on the same side!"

"Well, I mean technically this is the last show of the first leg of the U.S. tour," Ryan told them.

"What does that mean?" Malia asked.

Maddie had a mischievous look on her face. "Mads wipe that look off your face right now!" Steve cried. "Don't even think about it! I mean it!"

"Wait, what's going on?" Rachel asked.

"The last show of the tour turns into a free for all prankfest," Pete clarified shaking his head.

"So, boss…what's the verdict?" Ben asked sitting across from them.

"Honestly guys? I hadn't even thought about it. Hadn't even dawned on me that it's the last show of the first leg," Maddie answered truthfully.

"Thanks Ryan!" Steve said, his tone both sarcastic and serious.

"I mean, this show's gonna be hard enough to prep for…throwing in pranks…I don't know. Might be too much," Maddie said.

"Who are you and what have you done with the real Maddie?" Ronnie asked.

"What do you mean?" she scoffed.

"You haven't done anything rebellious in months!"

"Really?" Maddie asked.

"Wait! Can I just throw in how much I've appreciated that?" Pete chimed in causing everyone to laugh.

"Yes! You're overdue! Plus, isn't it you that always says you don't mess with tradition? This is tradition!" Ryan reported.

"Do I have to decide right now?" Maddie asked.

"No, you don't Inspector," Sam told her. Everyone laughed at the nickname as she shook her head.

"So….ANYWAY," Maddie glared at Ryan and her band before turning her attention to Rachel. "Rachel, when are you due?"

"How'd you know?" Rachel blushed as she smiled.

"I overheard you and Kono talking earlier. Sorry! Was it a secret? Did I blow it?" Maddie asked, her eyebrows raised and her eyes wide as she bit her lip. Steve referred to this as her "oops face".

Rachel laughed. "No! Just wanted to make sure I wasn't showing yet! … I'm due December 3rd."

"Awesome! Congratulations!" Maddie smiled. Looking at a quiet and sleepy Gracie on her dad's lap she asked, "Are you excited for a little brother or sister?" Gracie nodded enthusiastically as she grinned. "Do you want a brother or sister?"

"A brother! I don't want to share my stuff with a sister!"

Everyone burst into laughter. "Good thinking Gracie!" Kono told her high fiving her.

"Do you want kids Maddie?" Rachel asked.

The question took her by surprise as she tried to keep from blushing. Suddenly she became very aware of how Steve was holding her. She tensed up and began to pull away, something he immediately noticed. "One day, sure," Maddie answered feeling extremely self-conscious. She felt like everyone was looking between her and Steve. He pulled her back against him and she felt his right hand slip under the hem of her shirt and move from her hip to her stomach. _What the hell does that mean? _she wondered, her heart pounding. She glanced around to see if anyone seemed to notice what he was doing, but they didn't.

"Would you tour?" Chin asked.

"When?" Maddie replied, confused as to exactly what he was asking her.

"Would you tour pregnant? Is that even possible?"

Maddie didn't know what to say. _I really don't like these questions. I feel so awkward answering them with Steve holding me. And now he has his hand on my stomach. What the hell is going on? _she wondered. "I have no clue. I've never thought about it."

"No, you wouldn't," Steve whispered behind her. _Oh crap! Did I just say that out loud?_ _Did she hear me? _He wondered. _Where did that come from? Why'd I just say that? _Steve began to panic.

Maddie's eyes widened hearing what he said. _Does that mean what I think it does? That he sees us having a child together? _she wondered. Her thoughts were interrupted by the feel of Steve removing not only his hand from her stomach, but also his arm from behind her. Maddie's heart ached. _No, definitely didn't mean that_, she thought looking down.

"Would you tour with your kid?" Malia asked. "I know a lot of celebrities do it."

"I don't know…" she answered softly. _I can't believe I let my guard down for a short time with him and then he does that. STUPID MADDIE! _she berated herself. "Before I even think about these questions I'd need to be in a relationship. Gotta find someone who isn't completely…"

"Psycho," Kono added for the second time that night. Pete was immediately filled with anger as he crushed his beer can causing Chin and Danny to jerk their heads in his direction.

"Everything okay Pete?" Chin asked.

"Yes. Fine," he growled recalling a night five months before.

"Let's make S'mores!" Maddie cried changing the subject as she glared at Pete. _He's going to screw up and Steve's going to find out what happened_, she thought.

Steve was too busy freaking out about what he said and his intense feelings for Maddie to catch the weirdness that had just occurred with Pete.

"I'll go grab everything!" Maddie offered needing a minute to collect herself.

"NO! I got 'em!" Pete answered not wanting Maddie to run from Steve. He had noticed how they both were uncomfortable all of a sudden. _Damn it! They looked so at ease for a little bit, joking and laughing like old times. And so natural leaned into one another, his arm around her_._ Why the hell did Steve pull away? _He wondered as he entered the kitchen. _Damn him! Do I need to kick his ass again? _The supplies in hand he returned to the group. "Here ya go!"

Once everyone had everything they needed they started to roast their marshmallows. "I've never made a S'more!" Lori announced holding hers over the flames. Her marshmallow caught on fire and Steve immediately laughed pulling her hand back.

"You left it in too long! Plus you need to rotate," he told her putting a fresh marshmallow on for her. "Let me show you." Steve placed his hand over hers on the steel rod. "Okay, see how that side is starting to melt? Now rotate it a bit." Steve guided her hand to turn the rod.

"Ohhh…I get it!" Lori laughed feeling giddy she'd been able to pull Steve away from Maddie.

Maddie was dying inside. As she used her graham crackers to pull the hot melted marshmallow from her rod she fought the urge to wipe the scalding, sticky substance on Steve's face. Adding the chocolate she took a big bite. "I'm gonna go grab a glass of milk…so good with this," Maddie said with her mouth full as she quickly stood, her S'more in one hand. Unfortunately, the last thing she was thinking about in the moment was that she needed to be careful or she'd get dizzy. "Uh oh," she murmured, as she swayed.

It was as if he was suddenly in slow motion. Steve overheard Maddie say she was going inside, immediately pulling him away from Lori. Realizing she was going to pop up and get dizzy he went to keep her from standing, but he was too late. Hearing her mumble "uh oh", his stomach dropped. She began to sway and he immediately worried she was going to fall in the fire. Steve quickly grabbed Maddie's left hand, her right holding the S'more. However, it wasn't enough. He couldn't keep her upright by just holding her hand; she was too out of reach.

Joe immediately realized what was going on. Luckily she was in front of him, so he was able to put his hands on her waist, holding onto her until he was sure she was okay.

Still holding on to her hand, Steve asked, "You okay Mads?"

Still feeling dizzy, but no longer like she was going to pass out, Maddie plastered on a fake smile. "Just testing your reflexes guys! I'm good!"

Joe let go of her, but Steve didn't. He knew she was upset and walking away because she thought he was flirting with Lori. _I was just trying to help her. I swear I wasn't flirting. I wasn't even thinking. Oh man, that looked bad_, he thought. Holding her hand tightly, he said, "Mads, Pete will go grab you milk. He's closer. Right Pete?" Steve gave his buddy a pathetic, pleading look.

"Of course!" Pete stood, understanding what was going on and wanting to help.

"Nah. I got it," Maddie replied pulling her hand from Steve's. Walking out of the fire pit, she added, "I wouldn't want to interrupt anyone's good time."

Steve groaned at her comment as she took a big bite of her S'more and walked to the kitchen. _We were doing so well! She was actually more like herself than she's been at any time over the last three days_, he thought.

"Milk sounds good! I want some too," Ryan announced wanting to go talk to Maddie.

"Me too!" Ben popped up. Both men walked off to the kitchen with their S'mores.

Waiting a second, Lori stood and said, "Is there a restroom nearby?

"Yeah. Go inside and turn left at the kitchen table. It's your first door on the right in the hall," Kono told her.

"Thanks!" Lori said, leaving the fire pit and heading towards the house.

Once Lori was out of earshot Steve sighed, throwing his head back and shaking it.

"You're an idiot!" Joe said.

"Good thing you're not sitting next to me because I'd bust open all those cuts Maddie so kindly patched up for you!" Danny snarled.

"Damn, McGarrett," Chin shook his head, irritated.

"Yeah, I got it guys! Thanks!" Steve growled.

As conversation picked back up Kono watched a silent and upset Steve sit there shaking his head, angry with himself. Wanting to try and help she stood. "That milk actually sounded really good. Anyone else want any? I'll bring some glasses and a pitcher. I'm sure Mads will help me."

Steve looked to Kono, understanding what she was doing. _She's going to make sure Maddie comes back out by asking her for help_, Steve thought. Catching his coworker's eye before she walked away he flashed her a grateful smile. Kono nodded, returning the smile.

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><p>Inside the kitchen, angry, Maddie ripped open the trash getting ready to chuck her S'more. Suddenly she felt a hand grab hers. "Don't take it out on the poor S'more!" Ryan smirked. Using his foot he closed the trash before she could throw it out. "Come on Mads…eat up! It'll make you feel better!"<p>

Maddie couldn't help but smile at her friend. As she took a bite he shoved it in her face, smearing the melting chocolate on her mouth and the tip of her nose, causing them both to crack up. "Ryan!"

"You know what would make it even better?" Ben said as he walked across the kitchen to them.

"Huh?" Maddie asked smiling as she took another bite of the delicious treat. _They're here to try and cheer me up! They are such great guys! _she thought.

"Ta da!" Ben sang holding out a bottle of tequila.

"You know us too well!" Ryan smiled. Reaching in a cupboard near the fridge he pulled out three shot glasses. Ben filled the glasses. Ryan and Ben each picked one up waiting for Maddie to join.

She stared at it, not sure she should. _Steve's going to freak out!_ she thought. _What am I thinking? He's too busy flirting with me and then Lori. She can have him! I'll have tequila!_ Grabbing the glass the two guys cheered.

"Woo hoo! When was the last time we went drinking together?" Ben asked.

"Seriously! You haven't gone out drinking with us in 4 months!" Ryan chimed in.

"Well, we can make up for that now!" Maddie smiled. "1…2….3!" On three they took the shots together. Maddie immediately made a face, swallowing quickly. Not having a lime or salt she took a big bite of her S'more. "Eww! I forgot how gross tequila is! We need a lime or something!"

"Takes too long to cut!" Ben laughed, filling the glasses again.

"The bathroom this way?" Lori asked, interrupting them.

The guys pushed the shot glasses and tequila bottle behind them. "Oh…um…yeah," Maddie uttered, surprised by her presence. Quickly recovering she walked over to Lori plastering on a smile. "Here let me show you!"

"Thank you," Lori smiled. As they walked towards the bathroom, Lori decided to put her new plan into motion. _Gotta get to know the competition_, she thought. "Hey, I was hoping you'd be interested in getting together sometime? Maybe a girl's night?"

Maddie tried to hide her shock. _No way! I don't need her to rub her relationship with Steve in my face! But I don't want to be rude,_ she thought. Remembering she was leaving Thursday, she realized it didn't matter if she said yes. "Sure! I would love to! I could definitely use a night like that." Reaching the bathroom Maddie said, "Here ya go!"

"Awesome! I'll get your number before I leave and I'll give you a call! Thanks!" Lori turned and entered the restroom. Once the door shut, Maddie returned to the kitchen.

"Did we just hear that correctly? You're going to become best buddies with the woman trying to steal your soul mate?" Ryan asked his eyes wide as saucers.

"Shhhh!" Maddie hissed putting a finger to her lips.

The three froze hearing the bathroom door open. Lori walked out of the hall and glanced to her left at Maddie and the two men. They stood in place looking uncomfortable and suspicious. She smiled at Maddie before walking outside. The second she was gone Ben and Ryan burst into laughter as Maddie grabbed a shot glass and downed the tequila. "So, you think she'll tattle on us? Should we expect your lover in here any minute?" Ryan joked, enunciating the word 'lover'.

"Shut up!" Maddie retorted giving him a light shove. "Who cares if he does?" Ben and Ryan looked at her, their eyebrows raised. "Well just in case, we better drink fast. Can you fill mine up?"

"Good call!" Ben mumbled as he poured tequila in her shot glass.

"Uno…dos….THREE!" Ryan shouted. They all laughed at him, no one taking the shot. "Okay…drink!" Ryan cried. They all took it together.

"Well, if this isn't trouble I don't know what is!" Kono smiled walking in. The three immediately stood straight up, blocking the shot glasses and bottle of tequila with their backs. "Don't worry, I'm not gonna bust you. Well, as long as you let me join!"

"Oh Kono! I miss you when I'm gone! You should come with me!" Maddie said, pulling her friend into a hug.

"I miss you too!" Kono hugged back. "Okay, let's drink some 'milk'" They all laughed hysterically at her joke.

Finally catching her breath Maddie gushed, a grin from ear to ear, "I love you guys!"

"Are you already buzzed?" Ben asked grabbing a fourth shot glass for Kono.

"NO!" Maddie lied, but then gave it away by the smirk she couldn't keep from her face, not to mention the fact she couldn't look him in the eye.

"You are terrible! You are a disgrace! When did you become such a lightweight?" Ryan cried pouring all four of them a shot.

"I'm sorry! I haven't had any alcohol in at least four months," she defended herself. Ryan smirked, shaking his head at her.

"Ok, on 'ohana'!" Kono smiled. "1…2…Ohana!" All four drank. "Oh man! That's nasty!"

"It grows on you!" Maddie said.

"Only when you're already drunk, Mads! Such a little LW!" Ryan told her.

"LW?" she asked appearing to be thinking incredibly hard.

"Lightweight…wow…it's the initials." They snickered.

"How many did you guys have?" Kono asked.

Maddie held up five fingers. "No! Mads, you got it wrong!" Ryan chuckled bending one of her fingers down making everyone to laugh. "You've had four and we've had three."

"Pour me 2. I need to catch up!" Ben did as Kono asked. She took them back to back almost gagging when she was done. They all cheered.

"That's why we're friends Kono. You're badass!" Maddie complemented, a slight slur to her voice.

Once she was done coughing, Kono looked to her friend. "McGarrett's going to freak out, ya know?"

"Whatever!" Maddie said rolling her eyes. "Pour another!"

While Ben poured another round Kono tried to talk to her. "Steve was pretty upset when you left. You know, he didn't mean how it looked. I promise! You guys were doing well! You both looked so happy!"

"Steve wants Lori? Fine with me! Even if he wanted to be with me, it can't happen," Maddie reached for her glass.

"Why?" Kono asked curious.

"1…2…Ohana!" Maddie cried and they all drank. Once she was done, she turned to Kono. "It doesn't matter."

"We better get out there before we get busted!" Ryan said.

"Do we have to?" Maddie pouted.

"Yeah…sorry kiddo!" Ryan said pulling her to his side and kissing her temple.

"We better not go out all at once. Maddie you go first. You've been in the longest!" Kono said.

"NO! I'm not going first! It'll be too weird with Steve! I'll start nervously laughing and he'll figure it out! Stupid Navy Seals!"

"Fine! I'll go first!" Ben said walking towards the door.

A minute later they pushed Maddie towards the door. As she took a step outside she spotted Steve helping Lori into his hooded sweatshirt. She immediately turned around. "I need more. One more shot and then I'll go."

"Why? What's going on?" Ryan asked peeking out the door. Seeing exactly what had made her come back, he cried, "Pour another round Kono!"

"That bad? Okay…" Kono hesitantly poured another round. She'd seen Maddie have a few beers with dinner and now shots of tequila. And then hearing Maddie say she hadn't had any alcohol in months made her hesitant to give her another shot. _She's gonna be so drunk! _Kono thought. _And with a concussion. That's not a good combination._

Maddie didn't wait for them before throwing back the tequila shot. "I need some kind of gum or something. Or he'll smell it!" she said.

"Here I have some mint spray." Ryan pulled a little bottle out of his pocket. Opening her mouth Maddie let him spray it a couple times.

"Woah! That's strong!" she cried scrunching her face at the intense mint taste.

"Now go get 'em!" Ryan ordered beginning to feel the affects of the tequila himself.

Maddie walked towards the door stepping out, but was quickly pulled backwards, almost causing her to fall. "What?"

"You've got chocolate all over your face!" Ryan laughed.

"That's right! Thanks to YOU!" she smiled as he handed her a dishtowel, which she used to wipe her mouth and nose. "Good?" she asked showing them her face.

They both giggled. "No, over here," Kono signaled to the left side of her nose.

Maddie tried again. "Now?"

"Beautiful sistah!" Kono gave her a thumbs up.

Ryan spun her around and nudged her out the door. "We'll be right behind you!"

* * *

><p>"Where's your milk?" Danny asked as Ben took his seat.<p>

"I drank it! Mads was right, awesome with S'mores!" Ben answered trying to keep the smile from his face as he remembered Kono's joke about tequila being their milk.

"Speaking of Maddie, where is she?" Steve asked worried she wasn't coming back.

"She'll be right out," Ben assured.

"Cold Lori?" Rachel asked seeing her shiver.

"Yeah. It hit me all of a sudden," Lori answered. Turning to Steve, she asked. "Are you cold?"

"No, not at all," he replied, not really looking at her.

"Well, then is it okay if I wear your sweatshirt?"

_Crap! Girls are so weird about that! Like it means something. I wonder if that will bother Mads? If she even comes back out … I mean, she's never been that kind of girl, but then again she's not herself and she and I are in uncharted waters here_, he thought. _But, I can't say no and I can't say I'm cold because I already told her I wasn't. I would look like a complete ass. Plus, I feel bad she's cold._ "Yeah, no problem!" Steve wiggled out of the zip up hoodie and started to hand it to Lori. However, she turned her back to him wanting him to help her put it on. _Seriously?_ he thought as he helped her into the sweatshirt.

"Thanks so much Steve!" Lori smiled, biting her lower lip as she gave him a flirty look. She was suddenly extremely close to him and he wasn't quite sure what to do as he smiled back. Not a genuine smile, but more of a polite one.

Maddie was walking towards the fire pit as she saw Lori and Steve smiling at one another, their bodies and faces extremely close. Her heart ached and she was suddenly glad she was drunk.

"There she is!" Joe exclaimed, kicking Steve. Steve immediately looked over seeing Maddie approach. He tried to get her attention, but she was avoiding him. _Son of a bitch! _he thought. _Of course she saw that and got the wrong idea! I just can't win!_

"Hi!" Maddie giggled. Ben turned and glared at her. She immediately clapped her hand over her mouth. As she tried to walk as normally as possible while looking at Ben, she tripped slightly. Steve squinted his blue eyes, taking her in. _She's acting weird_, he thought.

Descending the couple stairs to the fire pit Maddie slowed next to Ben, intending on sitting next to him. However, he knew Steve wasn't intentionally screwing up, so he inconspicuously placed his hand on her lower back and gave her a light nudge towards Steve. _Seriously? I'm gonna prank him good in the show Wednesday_, she thought.

Glancing over to Steve, she caught his earnest look. Her eyes traveled to his left to see Lori leaning against him. _I just can't sit next to him and have him be touchy and feely only for him to pull away and flirt with Lori. I can't handle it. Not again_, she thought. Turning to her right she squeezed by her band. "Excuse me. Sorry guys," Maddie mumbled as she bumped into every single one of them. Reaching where Pete was sitting next to Kono she slightly slurred, "Scootchie scootchie everybody!"

Steve's heart ached as he sighed. He refused to make eye contact with Joe as he scooted towards him, knowing he'd only see disappointment on his face. Now sitting where Maddie had been, he shook his head. _I just can't do anything right tonight. And if I do, it gets messed up_, he thought.

The tequila shots she'd taken were really starting to hit her and just as she was taking the last step towards her seat she tripped. Pete was right on it and grabbed her arm.

Steve's stomach lurched when he saw her almost fall and he despised the fact that he hadn't been the one to help her.

"Woah, Mads," Pete said.

Her only response was giggles. As Maddie turned to sit he held on to her in a discreet way, but one Steve picked up on. He also noticed she didn't push him away like she would have done to him. He found himself feeling anxious he wasn't next to her where he could keep an eye on her.

"You all good?" Pete asked as he watched her wiggle around in the seat trying to get comfortable.

Finally getting comfortable, she turned her head and smiled at Ben. "Allllllllllllllll good!" she answered, holding out the 'all' for a few seconds. Ben glared at her, again letting her know she needed to be careful or Steve was going to figure out she was drunk.

Maddie moved around looking for something. Finally Pete, put a hand out and stilled her. "What's going on? What are you looking for?" he whispered not wanting to interrupt everyone chatting.

Maddie refused to look at him as she muttered, "The metal sword thingy."

Steve watched her for a couple minutes noticing a change in her behavior. He wished he could hear what Pete was saying to her, but he was whispering. However, he was able to get some idea of what they were talking about from the few words he could hear Maddie say. She was trying to speak quietly, but wasn't doing such a great job.

Pete furrowed his eyebrows at Maddie in confusion. _Is she drunk? Oh…I hope not,_ he thought. "The metal sword? What the." He stopped, realizing what she was referring to. "Yeah, right here." He handed her a metal rod. As she grabbed it she didn't notice Ryan and Kono walking up, a big pitcher of milk in her hand while Ryan held a stack of plastic cups and a bottle of water.

"Here's the milk!" Kono smiled, quite tipsy herself. Hearing her voice, Maddie jerked her head in their direction.

"Milk," Maddie mumbled, giggling.

As Kono sat down next to Maddie, they made eye contact sending them both into hysterics. Ryan and Ben both chuckled a bit too, but they did a better job trying to hold it in. Watching them, Steve immediately knew the four had been drinking inside. He'd had his suspicions from watching Maddie, but he'd thought maybe she'd had a beer. However, he could tell she was definitely drunk and a beer wouldn't have done that. _Damn it!_ he thought. Danny, Chin, Joe, Pete and Steve shared a knowing look. Deciding he wouldn't bring it up and instead play dumb, Steve continued to keep an eye on her from his spot across the fire pit.

"Want another S'more?" Pete asked Maddie grabbing the bag of marshmallows she'd been looking for.

"I got it," she cheerfully proclaimed taking two marshmallows from the bag and jamming it on the rod. "Ouch," she whispered, poking herself as she did it.

Pete looked up and met Steve's concerned eyes. He felt bad for his friend. He could tell how much it was driving him crazy not to be next to her right now. Steve nodded to Maddie, wanting Pete to help her. He nodded, understanding. "Here Mads, let me help you," Pete declared taking the rod from her and holding it over the fire.

Maddie watched him roast her marshmallows. Satisfied with their light brown toasted color, she poked Pete's arm and pointed to the rod. He brought the rod to them and watched her try to pull the marshmallows from the rod. Noticing she was having a tough time making the S'more when drunk, he grabbed the two graham crackers and placed Hershey bars on them. Then he held it in front of her. She smiled as she added the sticky marshmallows to it. Pete squished the two halves together and held it out for her. Instead of taking it Maddie took a big bite from it. "Mmmmm," she loudly purred causing everyone to laugh. She reached out taking the treat from Pete.

While Malia told a story about some funny thing Chin had done the other day, Maddie focused on her S'more. Steve watched her enjoy the treat, a huge smile on his face. As she pulled it away from her mouth, he chuckled at her. "Is it good Mads?" Looking up, she faintly glared at him. In fact, it was so subtle that if he hadn't already known she was upset and been expecting it, he wouldn't have noticed. Her forehead wrinkled in confusion. "Saving some for later Mads?" He used his thumb and brushed it along the skin above his lips, signaling for her to wipe the same spot on her face. As Steve watched her slowly slide her tongue along her top lip he couldn't help but be turned on. _Ugh…why does she have to be sitting so far away? All I want to do is be near her and touch her in some way or another. Even if it's just our arms touching,_ he thought.

"If I made another S'more, would you share it with me?" Lori asked, interrupting his thoughts. He turned towards her, reluctantly taking his eyes off Maddie. "I want one, but am too full to eat an entire one! Plus, gotta watch my figure!" She laughed slightly.

_Great! I'm obligated to say she looks great, which will give Maddie the wrong idea!_ _Seriously, the universe hates me tonight! Is this evening almost over?_ Steve thought. "Um, I'm not that hungry." He smiled and lowered his voice. "But…" he paused, quickly glancing at Maddie out of the corner of his eye wanting to see what she was doing. _She does love S'mores!_ he thought as he watched her focus on her treat. Steve turned his attention back to Lori, continuing to answer. "You look great. Just be a rebel, eat the entire thing! I won't tell!"

_Come on Lori! You can convince him!_ Lori told herself. _I have to distract him away from Maddie. Once I do I know he'll forget about her. _She finished making the S'more quickly. As she squished the toasted marshmallow between the graham crackers, she flashed him a flirty look, as she bit her bottom lip and slowly raised the dessert to her mouth.

_Wow, she's really trying hard,_ Steve thought, as he watched her sensually lick her lips after taking a bite. Leaning towards him Lori whispered, "I think you really want some and are just too afraid."

Steve swallowed hard, feeling extremely uneasy. _This is bad…I want to see if Maddie's watching, but I can't even look at her right now, I'm so uncomfortable. I wish Lori would pick up on the fact that I'm not wanting this. _"Seriously Lori, I'm okay. But thank you," he said, letting her down.

Maddie had been watching inconspicuously from her spot between Pete and Kono. Her eyes grew large at the upfront way Lori ate her S'more. Although wishing she could, she was unable to peel her eyes away from the two of them even though her heart was breaking. Thank goodness for Pete who noticed her shiver. "You cold Shorty?" he asked pulling her attention from Steve and Lori at the perfect moment. Lori had just leaned in whispering to him and Maddie was convinced they were going to kiss. Why she was torturing herself and watching, she didn't know.

Maddie turned to Pete and nodded sadly. "A little."

Hearing her voice, Steve turned back to look at Maddie. He watched Pete unbotton his shirt and take it off, leaving him in a white v-neck t-shirt. _What's he doing? It's kind of chilly out. How could he be hot?_ he held it up as he assisted Maddie into it. Drunk, Maddie had a difficult time, unable to find the hole to put her arms through. Without drawing any attention to themselves Pete guided her thin, but toned arms through the sleeves. Steve sighed, watching his buddy do what he wished he was doing. And he would have if Maddie wasn't so hurt.

He watched her struggle with the buttons and worried about how intoxicated she was. _I wish she had a bottle of water or something_, Steve thought.

"Here Shorty," Pete chuckled shaking his head as he pushed her hands away and buttoned the shirt himself. Maddie giggled softly, before yawning. Steve checked his watch. _Ten o'clock. Not much longer_, he thought concerned.

"Maddie, you are literally drowning in that!" Danny laughed.

"Yeah, Mads, that's a good look for you! Super hot!" Ronnie joked.

Goofing off she stood and began striking poses in the button down shirt. The sleeves were way too long, so her hands couldn't be seen and the bottom of the blue plaid shirt went below her shorts, a little past the middle of her thigh. Smiling, Steve inconspicuously pulled his phone out and snapped a picture of her, something that did not go unnoticed by Lori. An image of Maddie in one of the button down shirts of his she'd stolen popped into his mind. Except in this image, she was wearing nothing except the shirt. _Oh God, she'll look so hot in one,_ he thought, feeling his pants begin to slightly tighten. I_ gotta stop thinking like this when we aren't alone. It's agony._

Everyone laughed as she took her seat again. _Wow that took what little energy I had left. I was hoping being drunk would distract me from how badly I feel_, she thought. Reaching down she picked up a bottle of water Ryan had inconspicuously brought her and tried opening it. However, because the sleeves were so long she was having a difficult time. "Pete, would you mind rolling these?" Maddie asked holding her arm out to him.

"Of course!" he smiled, quickly rolling both sleeves up to her elbows, so she could use her hands. Thirsty, she quickly drank half of the bottle of ice-cold water. Setting it back down on the floor she shivered, the water giving her a chill as with the occasional gust of wind.

Pete noticed this and began rubbing his hands up and down her arms, trying to warm her up. Steve immediately wished it were him sitting next to her so he could hold her and keep her warm. Well, really he just wanted to touch her, the image of her wearing only his shirt still in his mind.

Seeing Pete trying to warm Maddie Tina said, "Seeing you do that Pete, reminds me of that winter three years ago." Steve, Maddie, and Pete all started chuckling, knowing exactly what she was referring to.

"There's a story here! Do share!" Danny instructed.

"It was a couple days or so after New Years and we were in New York. Steve had been in D.C. for a few days for work and when he was finished he came up and stayed with us at the house. Anyway, it was probably fifteen degrees outside and what do these two nuts do?" Tina recounted, pointing to Steve and Maddie.

For the first time in a little bit Maddie made eye contact with him and actually smiled and giggled, remembering that night. It wasn't a huge smile, but he'd take what he could get as he grinned back at her.

"Hold on! Let me just say that she started it! If you're going to tell the story T, don't leave anything out!" Steve remarked, calling Tina by her nickname. Maddie shook her head at him, still smiling.

"Okay, well we'd gone out to dinner. Because it was so hard to get a cab due to the snowy weather we decided to walk the four blocks back to the house….in fifteen degree weather! Steve and Maddie were arguing, both claiming they were right about…I can't remember. Anyway, becoming frustrated he told her she was the most stubborn person alive and…"

"She pegs me with a snowball! No, no, an ICEBALL! Hard! And in the back of the head! And let me tell you, she's got an arm on her!" Steve interrupted.

"You deserved it!" Maddie laughed. "Claiming that I'M stubborn!"

"I absolutely DID NOT deserve it!" Steve countered.

Signaling to their current behavior Tina said, "You get the idea!" Everyone laughed. "Anyway, he pegs her hard with one right back. Before we," Tina points between Pete and her as she spoke, "even knew what happened the two were in an all out snowball war. Who knows how long it would have gone on if Pete and I hadn't broken it up? The two were soaking wet and absolutely freezing. Poor Maddie, her lips were so blue! Pete had Maddie wrapped in a few blankets, rubbing her arms up and down as she shivered uncontrollably. Steve and Maddie sat upstairs in front of the fire for hours trying to warm up arguing over who had won. They're insane!"

"You went head to head with Steve in a snowball fight?" Malia asked.

"Yeah, she did. And she showed no mercy! I don't know how she packed them so tight, but she did! And let me tell you, they hurt! They were more ice than snow!" Steve reported.

"What can I say? It's a talent!" Maddie slightly slurred, partly from being intoxicated and partly from being exhausted. As Tina told the story Maddie had somehow ended up leaned into Pete, his left arm behind her back. _Damn! That should be me holding her right now!_ Steve told himself, jealous.

"Mads!" Joe called to her from across the fire pit. Maddie looked towards him. He held his hand up in the air like he was going to give her a high five. She did the same as they gave each other an 'air high five'. "I bet you he did deserve it!" he laughed.

Steve smirked, shaking his head. "I see how it is!"

"It was pretty funny!" Pete smiled, reminiscing.

Maddie made eye contact with Steve and smirked. "For the record, I won, ya know!"

"You won the snowball fight?" he smiled.

"Yeah," she nodded.

"Oh okay," he grinned, giving her a 'sure you did' look.

"I love mischievous, stubborn Maddie," Kono stated, more to herself than anyone in particular.

"Me too," Ryan added.

"Yeah," Ben said.

"Guys! Quit trying to egg her on for the show Wednesday!" Pete warned.

"Who said anything about the show?" Ryan responded winking at Maddie.

"Let's just first make it to Wednesday," Maddie slurred, sounding sleepy.

"LAME! When did you start playing it safe?" Ronnie inquired.

"Yeah, old lady?" Ryan ribbed.

"Boring!" Matt added.

Irritated and tired of hearing and getting crap for not being the same person she was a few months ago and for changing, Maddie retorted, "When I started getting…" She immediately tensed. Realizing what she was about to reveal.

Everyone looked at her expectantly, waiting for her to continue.

"Getting what Mads?" Steve asked knowing she was about to accidentally reveal something about what was going on.

Deciding her only option was to play up being drunk, she slurred, "Getting what? I dunno. Oh tequila! Just that you guys don't know what's going on in my head. For all you know, I have a ton of things planned and you aren't cool enough to know about them!"

"You better not!" Steve and Pete said simultaneously.

"Well, as much as I've enjoyed this evening, it's getting late and I better get Rachel and Gracie home," Danny stated looking down at his daughter snuggled in his arms fast asleep.

"Yeah, we have an early day tomorrow," Ben announced, the band slowly getting up.

"Oh, okay," Maddie said. "I'll walk you guys out." Knowing she was going to have a dizzy spell, especially since she was intoxicated, Pete stood first. She rose and immediately wavered, however he wrapped his arm around her waist steadying her. They stood there for a minute until Maddie felt better. Once she did she pulled away from Pete and walked forward, trying to hide her limp. However, he wasn't far behind, just in case.

_He was definitely the right choice for the job, _Steve thought watching Pete keep Maddie on her feet in such a way that wasn't obvious. _He's very in tune to her. It's nice to know she has someone like that when I'm not around. _He followed everyone out of the fire pit and in the house.

Lori sat a second longer watching everyone walk inside. "Well, I was able to distract him most of the night," she whispered, a little bummed over the outcome of the evening. _I wonder if he's leaving or staying here? _she thought, hoping he was heading home.

"You coming Lori?" Kono asked having returned for her sweater she'd left at her seat.

"Oh…yeah," she stuttered, Kono having had surprised her. Rising, Lori followed her coworker into the house.

* * *

><p>After standing just outside her front door saying goodbye to everyone, Maddie walked back inside, leaving Steve alone with Lori.<p>

"He loves you Maddie. Stop pushing him away," Chin told her as they walked into the kitchen.

"Yeah, obviously," she said sarcastically as she pulled Pete's shirt over her head, setting it on the counter. "I was picking up on that especially when he was all over Lori."

"He made some poor choices tonight, but he realized and tried changing them. Everything that happened in the fire pit was all Lori," Malia said as she set everything she needed to sew Steve's arm up on the counter. "Plus, you two had some really sweet moments together." She smirked at Maddie.

"Okay, fine. We had a couple moments and okay, they were nice,"

"Only nice?" Malia asked chuckling.

"Fine, they were wonderful, but I guarantee it's not me he's thinking about outside right now with Lori.

"Why do you think anything's happening out there?" Pete asked joining the conversation.

"Because they were standing extremely close and looked at me as if trying to hint they wanted some privacy."

"Maddie, have you just told him why exactly you're upset?" Chin asked.

"No."

"Why not?"

She looked down, embarrassed. "I'm scared," she admitted.

Pete scoffed. "There's nothing to be scared of! You've known him since you were four years old. You can't get much more safe than that!"

"There's A LOT to be afraid of," Maddie softly replied, a few tears sliding down her face. Not wanting to talk about it anymore she said, "I'm gonna go pack the rest of the music stuff up." The three watched her limp towards the patio stumbling a few times from the alcohol.

"Do you think they'll figure it out?" Malia asked Chin.

Sitting down next to her, he was quiet as he thought about it. "I think so. As long as McGarrett continues to show her how he feels and can somehow get her to realize he can take care of himself. That she doesn't need to protect him."

"I hope they figure it out. They are meant for one another. They're so cute together," Malia smiled.

"Where's Maddie?" Steve asked entering the room looking around.

"She's outside. She's taking a couple things back to the studio. She doesn't want to leave it out," Chin answered.

"I'm gonna go see if she needs help. She is exhausted and drunk. Not to mention I know she feels terrible even if she won't speak up," Steve said.

"Here, you let Malia patch you up and I'll go help Maddie," Chin offered.

"Thanks Chin," he said sitting down next to Malia.

"I'm going to bed. Long next few days," Pete said, leaving the kitchen to go upstairs. "Good night!" he called.

"Night Pete," they all responded. Chin walked out back to help Maddie.

Looking at the cuts on his left cheek and left forearm Malia asked, "Are you sure you don't want to go to the hospital?"

"Yeah."

"Okay, well I have something I can use to numb the area a little, but it's still going to hurt," Malia told him, a concerned look in her eyes.

"That'll be just fine! I'll be okay! I can handle it! Don't worry Malia," Steve assured her, rubbing her upper arm in a supportive friendly gesture.

Sighing she began taking off the butterfly strips Maddie had placed on the inside of his arm. "Well, then let's do this."

* * *

><p>Chin walked into the kitchen just as Malia finished stitching up Steve and was beginning to pack up. "I helped her put everything back," Chin relayed.<p>

"Great! Thanks for helping her!

"I'm gonna go see Mads real quick. I talked to her doctor for a while today. I guess he's been flying to her once a week on tour."

"What'd he say? Everything alright?" Steve asked.

"Unfortunately, I cannot tell you because of doctor patient confidentiality, but I would continue to keep a close eye on her if I were you," Malia advised. "Anyway, I'm going to give her some fluids tonight."

"Good, I think she got sick during the party."

"Really? How many times?"

"I don't know. I just saw her toilet seat up. But, I know that's what happened," Steve explained.

"Well, just keep an eye on her. I'll go start a new IV and you can attach the saline bag when she gets into bed. She needs this to help her get through the next couple days. She was still dehydrated and now that she had all that alcohol…well, it just made it worse. So I'll go do that quickly and then we'll head out," Malia told them before walking out.

"She's in the studio!" Chin called after her. Turning towards Steve, he said, "She's upset."

"I know." Sitting at the counter Steve put his head in his hands. "She keeps pushing me away."

"Well, she's hurt. She has so much going on and you did screw up a lot tonight."

"I know. I didn't realize she felt this too. She told me repeatedly to try things with Lori." Chin laughed, shaking his head. "Yeah, I know! Joe explained it to me," Steve snapped.

"Sorry," Chin apologized.

"After dinner I tried showing her that it was her I'm interested in, not Lori. I mean don't get me wrong, Lori's great…"

"But she's not Maddie," Chin interrupted.

"Yeah," Steve sighed. "She was a little better, but…" Steve recalled how he freaked out thinking about having children with her and pulled away. _I screwed that up_, he thought. "I just don't know how to fix this."

"Just keep trying. Don't give up on her. She needs you right now. More than she's ever needed you before," Chin told him.

"I know. She said something tonight…that," Steve paused, remembering her words, the sound of her voice, and the look on her face. It made him nauseous just thinking about it. "She said that I already left her alone. That she's trapped in the darkness. But, Chin, you should've heard her voice. And she looked absolutely terrified. I have to figure out what she's refusing to tell me."

"We'll figure it out Steve. Danny, Kono, and I are already meeting you at Five-0 in the morning. Lori has plans, but she said she'd try to make it in the afternoon. If not, she'd help on Monday."

"Wow, thanks Chin. I know it's your day off."

"No big deal! Maddie's like a little sister to me. We'll figure this out." Chin paused, hesitant to ask what he was going to. "Uh…what happened outside with Lori just now?"

Steve knew the question would come up. "Nothing, I said goodbye," he lied not wanting to tell them how she had pushed herself against him and tried to kiss him. However, he'd been quick and pretended like he'd heard something and moved his head causing her lips to fall on his cheek.

"You're going to have to talk to her at some point," Chin told him.

"I know, I will. But, tonight wasn't the night."

"And, I think you have a few things to clear up with Mads," Chin voiced.

"Yeah, I know," Steve sighed.

"Alright, we are good to go," Malia said walking in from outside. "Just attach the bag when you get her in bed." She set the saline on the counter next to him.

"Will do. Thanks Malia!" Steve hugged her.

"No problem," she said, rubbing his upper back before pulling out of the hug. "Well, we are going to head out. Have a good night and good luck!"

"Thanks."

"We'll let ourselves out. Go ahead. She was in her studio, but I saw her stumbling towards that big hammock thing between the pool and her studio," Malia told him.

"How drunk?" Steve asked.

"She's drunk, but she's coherent and can carry on a conversation," Malia smiled.

"Okay. Thanks! Goodnight guys!" With that he walked out the back while they let themselves out.

* * *

><p>Steve walked across the lawn towards the large, circular floating bed (similar to a hammock) hanging from a wooden beam surrounded by trees, so it blended in. It was located in between the pool and her studio. The base was a cream, thick, down, circular pad, very comfortable. Large plush, pillows the same color as the base went all the way around the perimeter of the circle except for one spot. This spot acted as the opening used to get on and off. Both sheer and non-sheer curtains hung around the circle used either for privacy or to shield you from the sun. Or you could also tie them together in a bundle and leave them towards the back to either have the sun beat down on you or to look up at the stars.<p>

Steve smiled as he approached it, seeing Maddie lying down inside. _I wonder if she's even awake?_ _She looked pretty sleepy at the fire pit, _he thought. Stopping a few feet away, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. _Just talk to her. Why am I so nervous? It's just Maddie! Just go with the flow. She's planning to leave, so I HAVE to fix this! _he told himself. Feeling as confident as he was going to, he walked the last couple feet stopping just at the entrance.

"Go away," Maddie slurred, a beer in her hand.

_Damn it! That's just what she needed, more alcohol, _Steve thought reaching in and grabbing it from her. Holding it up to the strands of lights in the surrounding trees he saw she'd already had half of it. Knowing she'd try and get it back he did what he'd done upstairs in her bathroom. He chugged the beer. "Ah," he said finishing. "That's good beer." He smirked at her scowling face.

Lying on her back, Maddie propped herself up on her elbows as she watched him. "Hey!" Maddie exclaimed annoyed he'd taken and drank her beer. "Uncool!" she mumbled lying back down.

"I'm coming in," he warned, climbing through the opening and lying on his side next to her. He propped his head up on his elbow and faced her. She continued to lie on her back staring up at the stars through the sheer curtains. Steve laid there watching her, neither one saying a word. Finally the silence became too much. "We're gonna have to talk about this, ya know."

"There's nothing to talk about," Maddie softly slurred, her voice sad.

"Madeline…" Steve sighed, moving a bit closer to her.

"Go home Steve. Or better yet go see Lori. I'm fine here."

"I'm not going anywhere. No matter how hard you push, I'm staying right here with you. And, why would I go see Lori?" Steve asked although already knowing the answer. He hoped she'd finally tell him what was bothering her. Slowly he slid even closer to her.

"Go."

"Nope."

"Go!" Maddie raised her voice.

"No. I'm exactly where I want to be and I'm with the person I want to be with. Look at me," Steve instructed. Maddie refused. She could feel the tears behind her eyes and refused to cry in front of him for the millionth time in the last three days. _I used to never cry and now I'm hardly ever not crying_, she thought, irritated with herself. Steve reached over and flipped Maddie onto her side, so she was facing him.

"Steve!" Maddie yelled, looking down still not meeting his eyes.

Gently he lifted her chin, forcing her to make eye contact. "There's those gorgeous eyes I can't get enough of," he smiled, brushing hair behind her shoulder.

She scowled at him, ignoring his flirty comment. "Just because you're bigger than me and have all those muscles," she began to get distracted looking at his great body. Her hand trailed over his chest for a second before snapping out of it. "Doesn't mean you can man handle me and make me do whatever you want!" Maddie cried, lightly pushing against his chest.

Steve smirked at her, pulling her closer. "Too bad…there's a few things I'd like to do with you."

_Uh oh! Why does he have to be looking at me like that and pulling me closer when I'm this horny_, she thought. "Stupid tequila," she whispered shaking her head.

_Not exactly the response I was hoping for_, Steve thought, confused. He furrowed his eyebrows, "What about tequila? What are you talking about?"

Maddie's eyes widened, not realizing she'd said that out loud. "Uh…" She smiled uncomfortably. "Nothing, I gotta go." She blushed, popping up quickly.

"Wait…what's," Steve asked stopping when he realized what was happening.

"Woah…" she murmured feeling the world spin. "Too fast," she said as she slid down, once again laying on her back.

"You okay?" Steve asked sitting up so he could look down on her. She nodded looking extremely pale. "Did something happen? I mean, you were still getting dizzy, but not anything like this. It's as if the progress you made just disappeared."

Maddie's eyes moved from side to side as she bit her lip. Knowing that look he sighed. "Maddie…tell me. What happened?"

"Trust me, it's no big deal! You won't care when I tell you!" she told him.

"You think I don't care?" Steve cried, hurt. "What the hell Madeline? How could you think that?"

She propped herself up on her elbows. _Are you kidding me? I didn't even mean it like that! He's really going to yell at me for that? He's mad because I think he doesn't care? HELLO!_ she thought, her temper flaring. "Why are you getting mad? You're the one flip-flopping back and forth," Maddie yelled. She mimicked his voice, "I'm alone with Maddie, let me flirt with her. Oh wait…now we are in public I don't want anyone thinking that I could possibly feel that way about her. Plus, there's Lori…forget Maddie! And you're surprised that I think you don't care?"

Steve was shocked she was actually telling him what was wrong…well screaming it at him at least. "You think I'm ashamed of you?" he whispered, devastated.

"Let's just forget it Steve," Maddie said, starting to slide on her butt towards the opening of the floating bed.

"Why? So, you can just take off Thursday morning?" Steve snapped.

Her back to him she closed her eyes at his words. Taking a deep breath, Maddie turned around, sitting in front of him. "Did Pete tell you?"

"I saw your laptop," he whispered sadly, obviously hurt.

"Awesome. So, now you're snooping in my stuff?"

Steve shook his head. "Don't do this Maddie. Don't run. Not from me. We can figure this out." Maddie said nothing. "Don't go. Stay. You owe me that. You owe us that. Things will get better, I promise." He watched her stare off into space as a few tears rolled down her face. "How about this?"

Maddie hesitantly made eye contact with him, his heart broke at the pain and fear he saw in her eyes. Steve wiped a few tears from her face as he began. "We send Pete on vacation for three weeks. You stay here in Hawaii and I'll stay with you. If things aren't better and you still want to leave by the end of the three weeks, I won't stop you. You can go."

_God I want to, but I don't want to at the same time_, Maddie thought. As he sat there patiently waiting for her answer, his heart pounded, afraid she'd say no and he'd lose her forever. _I owe it to him after not being there for him when his dad was murdered, but what if something happens to him? And can I handle seeing Lori and him together? _

When Maddie looked away from him, his heart dropped. _She's going to say no_, he thought, swallowing his tears.

_Everyone's told me to give him a chance_, she thought. _But…I just don't know_. After another minute of dead silence while she thought it over, Maddie turned to look at Steve, having made a decision. She felt bad seeing the sadness in his eyes. "Okay," she whispered. "Deal."

"Seriously?" Steve asked his face breaking out into a smile.

"Yep," she sadly said.

Seeing and hearing how hurt she was brought him back to reality. _She only agreed to stay for three weeks. Nothing's fixed between us. She still won't tell me what's got her so upset_, he thought. "One thing," he began.

"Hm?"

"No more pushing me away and," he paused looking her square in the eyes. "We go with flow," Steve proposed.

Okay," Maddie agreed, wondering if he meant what she thought he did when he said 'go with the flow'. _Guess I'll find out_, she thought.

"Alright, this is a start!" Steve smiled at her, taking her hand in his.

Feeling tired she laid down on the soft mattress while he held her hand playing a bit with it. After a couple minutes of this he said, "Alright baby. Let's go. It's late and you need some rest."

"Okay," she mumbled.

Steve slid out first standing on the grass in front of the opening. "Come on."

Maddie rose and immediately felt dizzy, but was able to scoot the foot to him. Sitting on the edge of the bed, her legs dangling over, her eyes opened and closed while her head swayed from side to side. "Okay, what's going on? Why is that happening? Tell me what happened?' he insisted, as he stood between her legs his hands on the middle of her thighs.

She waited a second for the world to stop spinning before she spoke. "I hit my head."

"What? What do you mean? When?" Steve asked, immediately growing concerned.

"When I was walking to the studio to grab my guitar. I tripped and fell. I didn't want to fall on my knee, so I moved midair. Instead, I feel on my side and my head hit the ground."

Steve reached forward placing his hands on her head, concern on his face. "Where? Which side?"

She moved his hand to the spot. "You already have a big bump! How's your head?"

"Headache," she told him.

"How bad?"

"Pounding," she admitted.

"The entire night?"

"Yeah."

"Maddie…why didn't say anything?" She shrugged her shoulders, not wanting to tell him how she couldn't when she was so upset over seeing him with Lori. "Did your headache become worse after you fell?"

Maddie knew he was not going to like her response, but she'd promised to stop pushing him away. She nodded. "A lot worse. Unbearable headache."

Steve's heart pounded as worry filled him. _I wish she'd spoken up a long time ago. But at least she's finally telling me. That's something!_ he thought. "How else do you feel? Is it just your headache?"

"Not as bad as I did before the tequila shot," she giggled as she shivered from a gust of wind.

Noticing she was cold, Steve slid his arms up and down her bare ones. "Let's go inside. We'll figure it all out once upstairs and warm." He kissed her forehead before pulling back and holding out his hands to her.

Hesitantly Maddie took them and he helped her up. She stumbled for a second as she put weight on her right leg. "Ow!" she mumbled, her knee and foot killing her. However, that was the least of her problems. "Oh man!" she whispered, everything getting warbly as she became dizzy again.

"Come here." Steve scooped her up into his arms. Exhausted, she leaned her head against his upper chest, stifling a yawn. "Baby, you're a mess," he whispered kissing her forehead as he carried her to the house.

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><p>Thanks so so much for reading my story! Please let me know what you think by leaving a review or sending me a private message! Thanks again!<p>

xo


	23. Chapter 23

**DISCLAIMER: **I do not own the show "Hawaii Five-0" or any of it's characters. However, I do own Maddie, Pete, Ben, Tina, Ryan, Ronnie, etc.

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><p><strong>AUTHOR'S NOTE: <strong>Hi everyone! Thank you sooo much for your patience! You guys rock! I loved all your reviews!

Ruby and Jenni: I LOVE that you love this story soo much! You're reviews make me smile!

Johanna24: I am sooo happy "Hawaii Five-0" has a new fan! Wonderful to meet you! Thank you so much for your kind review! I'm glad you are enjoying the story! I'm anxious to know what you think of this chapter.

H50Lady: I really appreciated your review! I love that you like this side of him. People aren't one way all the time. And as badass as Steve is I do believe that he has this side to him, just the right person has to bring it out. In my story that's Maddie. In the show we've seen a softer, more romantic side come out a couple times. You also know it's there by some of the advice he's given to Danny. So, I really appreciate that you like this side of him. I mean, you're all about to see his badass side, so that still exists in my story. Anyway, I really needed to hear what you said in your review so THANK YOU! :o)

Niclabelle: You know I always love reading your reviews! I get excited whenever they come in, anxious to find out what you thought! I love how specific you are in them! Many many times they have put my mind at ease, so thanks girl! LOVING your story! CANNOT wait for you to update!

Dutchess of Lantern Waste: I think it's awesome you love Steve and Maddie so much as a couple! Its risky to write a fic where you pair him with an OC. People either love it or hate it. A lot of people won't even read them. So, I'm so excited you love them together! Thanks so much for all your reviews! I really enjoy reading them and finding out what you thought of the chapters.

Ella: You have to remember that it's barely been 3 days even though it seems it's been FOREVER! (I'm writing it so detailed that it's moving slow.) Compared to over 25 years of being best friends. That would be a scary thing suddenly realizing you are in love with your best friend. Maddie wants to be with him, but she's terrified. There's A LOT she's hiding and exactly how bad it's gotten will start to come out. I think you'll understand a bit more why she is so afraid to be with him. And he has definitely not been a saint himself. He's just as scared because he doesn't want to lose her as his best friend. She's family to him. Joe talked to him for a reason, understanding that Maddie was too lost and mixed up with whatever she's keeping to herself to initiate anything with Steve. He had to be the one and Steve realizes that in this chapter. Therefore the ending. But even though things get a little better they are both scared and don't want to lose one another. A lot of their past will come out and I think everyone will start to understand why there are both being wishy washy. Anyway, I'm glad you are enjoying the story and I love your reviews! Keep telling me what you think! I seriously LOVE IT! I really like discovering what people are thinking about the characters and story!

Francis2: Thanks so much for your reviews! I'm glad that you liked a lot of the moments in the last chapter, especially because I kept writing and deleting and then starting over. So, I'm glad you liked it!

MizzPink: I'm glad you like this side of Steve. You are right it is different. I know we haven't seen this entire side of him in the show, but I do believe it's there. I think they have shown little glimpses here and there. I just believe that it takes the right person to bring it out of him. I think Maddie is a good match. She's known him for over 25 years, so she knew what Steve was like when he was younger. When his family was together. So, yes, I do believe he'd show this side of himself to her. But, you're about to see his usual side in the next chapter! :o)

mandy-chick00: Haha, yeah it's a long story and we aren't even close to the ending! I can't believe it only took you all night to read the first 19 chapters! You must be a fast reader! Anyway, I'm anxious to know what you've thought of chapters 20-23. Love to hear from you!

H50-Nurse: I have read some stories on here that I just love so much and continue to check back to see if they've been updated. I can't believe my story is like that for you! Your review made my day! THANK YOU! Hope you enjoy this chapter!

Anyway, thanks sooo much for each and every one of your reviews! YOU GUYS ROCK!

I'll stop rambling and get on with it. As always, thoughts are in _italics_.

PLEASE continue to review! It makes me write faster! I'm heading back east for 2 weeks on May 23 and not sure how often I'll be able to update. I'll definitely update at least once during the 2 weeks, but I've found that the more comments (good or/and bad) I get the more I update. I'll write and update as often as possible until May 23.

Anyway, ENJOY!

xo

Laura

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><p><strong><span>CHAPTER 23<span>**

Once upstairs Steve laid Maddie on the bed. She immediately snuggled into the pillow closing her sleepy eyes. He smiled down at her as he brushed some hair from her face. Not wanting to bother her, he turned and walked into her closet. Standing in the middle he immediately felt overwhelmed by all the clothes. _Who needs this many clothes? _he wondered. _Where does she keep her pajamas? _Suddenly he remembered the clothes of his she'd stolen. He opened the drawer and pulled out a short sleeve Annapolis t-shirt. "I wondered where this went!" Steve laughed to himself. "What a little klepto." Holding the shirt he realized she'd need something to wear with them. _But she'd look so hot in just this…NO, don't go there! She and I aren't there yet…and if she doesn't wear anything besides this shirt I won't be able to control myself_, he told himself as he opened all the surrounding drawers. "Ah ha!" he cried out triumphantly as he found her drawer of leggings. Reaching in he pulled a pair out. _Man, these look so small! Like a kids! I mean I know she's short and tiny, but is she really that small?_ He furrowed his brows as he pictured her in his head. _I have to make sure to notice how tiny she is. _He quickly shut the drawer and made his way back to her room.

As he exited her closet Steve looked towards her bed. Smiling as he met her blue eyes, he whispered, "Hey sleepy…" She flashed him a tiny smile as he sat on the edge of the bed next to her. "You really don't feel well, do you?" he asked taking in how pale she was and the look in her eyes. She shook her head. "Mads I wish you would have said something earlier."

Steve unbuckled her sandals and pulled them off her feet setting them on the carpet. She giggled as he did so. "Don't tickle me!"

He belly laughed. "I didn't even touch your feet, drunk-o!" He reached out his hands to her. She took them and he pulled her up to a sitting position. She leaned her head against his shoulder, groaning, while she waited for the dizzy feeling to pass. Steve sighed happily, although still worried about her, as he wrapped his arms around her, placing his cheek against the top of her head. _I just love having her in my arms. It just feels right and I know she's safe there_, he thought.

Maddie lifted her head once the dizzy feeling subsided and stared into Steve's eyes, their faces extremely close. He fought the urge to lean in and kiss her only because she wasn't feeling well and he knew that he wouldn't be able to stop once they started. Plus she was drunk. He didn't want to do anything with her when she was intoxicated. Not when they really hadn't done anything before. Anyone else, he probably wouldn't care, but this was different. She was different. He didn't want them to rush into things and screw everything up, including their friendship.

_He is so handsome! Those eyes…that mouth…ugh. I just want his hands all over me! _she thought. "Stupid tequila," she mumbled.

"Huh?" Steve asked, confused. _That's the second time she's cursed the tequila_, he thought. "Is it making you sick?" His sweet concern for her only made her want him more.

She shook her head as she struggled with her hormones. _Why does alcohol have this effect on me? _Maddie wondered, frustrated that she wanted him so badly when she know nothing could happen. As they continued to look into one another's eyes she couldn't help but wish he'd kiss her. _The fact that he's not just makes me wonder if he really doesn't think of me like that. I mean, he said it himself; I'm like his sister. Although he tried to take it back, I can't help but wonder if it's true. That he only took it back because he felt bad for hurting and upsetting me._

As they continued to gaze into one another's eyes, Maddie noticed all the cuts she'd patched up for him. Slowly she reached her finger up and gently touched the cut on his left cheek, the one Malia had just stitched up for him. "How bad?" she whispered.

"How bad what?" he slightly smiled at her, loving the way she was touching him. _So caring_, he thought.

"Your cut."

"Not bad," Steve assured her.

She looked down pulling his left arm away from her body. "Ooo. That looks painful!" she noted.

"Nah, it's okay."

"That's a lot of stitches. Can't believe you were okay with her doing it in the kitchen. Didn't it hurt?"

"It wasn't too bad actually. I've dealt with much worse."

Maddie's gaze returned to his face, her eyes showing deep concern. "Everything looks painful. I'm really sorry Steve."

"Baby, you didn't hit me. You have nothing to be sorry about. Trust me, I'm fine." Steve's arm, returned to her back. "It's you I'm worried about."

She wrinkled her nose at him. "We've talked about this…stop. I'm okay! Promise!" She leaned forward and kissed his nose, however it took everything she had not to kiss his lips instead.

_I have to get some distance between us because I can't control myself much longer_, he thought. Unfortunately for him, Steve made the mistake of briefly glancing down to her lips as she slightly bit and licked her bottom one. He immediately felt a warm, tingly feeling in his lower belly. _Come on Steve, remove yourself from this situation. Say something_. Taking in a shaky breath he asked, "Do you need help getting changed? Or are you okay to do it yourself?"

Maddie smiled at him biting her lower lip. "I'm good." Her hands moved to his chest and began rubbing it only making her want him more. "Tequila wants me to answer differently," she whispered looking at him mischievously.

_Ugh, does she have to rub my chest and wrinkle her nose like that? Damn it? She is making this so difficult! _Steve thought. Hearing her response he looked at her in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

Maddie sexily smirked at him as she giggled, further turning him on. "Nothing."

"You can't say something like that with that cute mischievous look on your face and then tell me nothing!" Steve smiled. "Tell me!"

She continued to giggle as she smiled and lightly pushed him away. He took a step back, staring at her. Continuing their eye contact she slowly stood, flirty, sexy smile on her face. A smile he discovered drove him crazy and made him want to put his hands all over her. _This is a new smile she's giving me. And damn is it hot! I just want to grab and kiss _her, Steve thought trying to control his urges as he bit his lower lip. _I don't know if she's giving it to me because she's drunk or because she has feelings for me._

Keeping as much weight off her right leg as possible she quickly unbuttoned and unzipped her denim shorts. Steve took another couple steps back as he watched them slowly slide down her gorgeous legs. "Wha…what…I…um…I'll…uh…turn around," he stuttered as he nervously moved his body from left to right trying to decide which way to turn. _Take a breath Steve. Calm down_, he told himself hoping it would work. That the tightening he was feeling in his pants would not get worse. That the intense urge to have her gorgeous legs wrapped around him as his hands explored her body would disappear.

Still obviously drunk, or she wouldn't be doing what she was, Maddie laughed. "it's okay Steve. It's just underwear. Like a bathing suit!" Her heart sunk when he continued to turn around, his back now to her. _Yeah, definitely doesn't have feelings for me_, she thought seeing how he responded.

_Just a minute longer and she'll be dressed. Hold it together for that much longer. You can do this_, Steve told himself. _Think of anything besides the fact she's nearly naked behind you. _

Maddie pulled her top off, leaving her standing in her matching black lace underwear and bra. "Tell me when you're done," Steve mumbled hoping this torture would be over soon.

As she unhooked her bra, dropping it on the bed, she quietly and sadly responded, "Would not turn around now. Won't wanna see this."

His brows furrowed in confusion. _She sounds sad all of a sudden. Does she think I don't want to watch her right now? Are you kidding me? That couldn't be further from the truth!_ he thought. _Say something. Say something, Steve. _Steve hesitated before clearing his throat. "I definitely wouldn't say that, Mads," he softly told her.

Her eyes widened and her heart began to race. She froze, unsure of what to do or say. _Is he saying what I think he's saying?_ she wondered. Not sure what she should say she said nothing. After slipping the shirt he brought her over her head she sat on the edge of the bed. Putting all her weight on her left leg had made it tired. Grabbing the leggings she pulled them over her feet and began tugging them up her legs. Once she got them to her thighs she slowly stood so she could pull them up the rest of the way. However, Maddie put too much weight on her right leg causing her to hiss in pain.

"You okay? Need help?" Steve asked his back still to her.

_Yes, I want your help just so you can touch me and be close_, she thought, the tequila once again heightening her hormones. "I'm okay," she quietly answered a sadness still evident in her voice. Maddie tugged the leggings over her little bubble butt. "I'm done," she told him.

Steve hesitantly turned around to face her. As he did she was pulling the gem headband from her hair. The one that had been laying across her forehead. He chuckled looking at her.

"What?" Maddie asked, suddenly feeling self-conscious. _Awesome! So the second he sees me he laughs? Of course_, she thought.

Steve immediately picked up on her uneasiness. "You've got an indent of the headband thingy, or whatever that is, on your forehead," he told her gesturing to his head as he spoke.

Her face blushed and she laughed. "Oh. It'll go away."

Now silent they stared at one another smiling, both seeming nervous. _Things have definitely changed_, he thought. _What if this goes wrong and I lose her?_ His mind was suddenly running a million miles an hour as they both stood there. _But I was going to lose her anyway_, he acknowledged, trying not to freak out.

The awkward silence was getting to her. She stood and swayed a bit from side to side from being drunk. "I'm gonna go get ready for bed." Before she even had a chance to make a move toward the bathroom Steve was at her side.

"Here let me help you," he said.

Although she wanted nothing more than his help she said, "It's okay. I can do it." Maddie took a step forward with her right leg, wincing as she put weight on it.

"We had a deal Madeline! No more pushing me away. I know I hurt you, but I'm trying to fix it. You're in pain. Let me help you." Maddie stared into his pleading blue eyes as she thought it over. Smiling sadly at him, she slowly reached her hands forward laying them on his chest. Grinning at her he nodded and lifted her into his arms carrying her into the bathroom. He set her on the counter next to the sink. "This good?"

Her hands next to her on the counter, Maddie shyly nodded.

"Okay, I'm gonna go change and then I'll be back for you." Before he turned to leave, Steve reached out with his left hand and caressed her cheek as he stared into her eyes. Smiling at her he turned and left her alone in the bathroom.

"Tequila, you're killing me," she murmured feeling an intense tingling between her legs at his touch.

Although he heard her comment, Steve ignored it for the time being. He'd ask her about it in a minute.

_He's flirting. Okay, so maybe everyone was right. Maybe he does have feelings for me. I promised him I'd go with the flow…maybe I'll go with the flow tonight. I want him. Maybe he'll make a move. He did before, _Maddie thought as she sat on the counter staring off into space. She recalled what they did in the movie theater the day before and in her bed briefly the night before. As she remembered every little detail, how she felt kissing him, how he felt hard against her, a huge grin appeared on her face.

Steve had already changed out of his cargos and polo shirt. Now barefoot wearing a white v-neck t-shirt and grey sweatpants he stood across from Maddie, leaning against the shower door as he watched her. A small leather bad in his hand. His eyes studied her body. _She looks like she's drowning in my shirt. Yeah, it's big on her, but she just looks really small sitting there. And her arms and legs are so thin. I mean, sure she's toned, but she looks a little bit too thin. It's not horrible, but she's definitely too thin. _

Seeing the huge smile present on her face, he couldn't keep the large smirk from his. _She has NO IDEA I'm here! _he thought as he watched her deep in thought _I wonder what she's thinking about? Something that obviously makes her happy_.

"Whatcha thinking about?" he asked walking towards her. She immediately jumped, nearly slipping off the counter. Thankfully he was close enough to grab her. "Woah…sorry Mads."

With her right hand against her heart she breathed out a sigh of relief. Turning to him she playfully shoved him. "Steve! Stop sneaking up on me!"

"Sorry! You never used to scare so easily!" Smirking at her he asked, "What were you thinking about anyway?"

Her entire face turned red, embarrassed he'd seen her thinking about him like that. She immediately looked away. "Nothing," she mumbled.

"If it was really nothing, your face wouldn't be the color of a tomato right now and you'd be able to look at me!" Steve laughed.

Reaching for her toothbrush and toothpaste on the counter near her, she flipped the water on and stuck the toothbrush in her mouth ignoring his comment.

Steve leaned in, his mouth near her ear, his breath tickling her. "That's okay…I'll get it out," he whispered seductively.

Maddie swallowed, her eyes wide. _Damn tequila_, she inwardly cursed feeling her panties get a bit wet. He pulled away from her and set the small bag he'd been holding on the counter. He smirked at her reaction and then opened the bag, pulling out his own toothbrush.

The room was silent as they brushed their teeth. Still sitting on the counter, Maddie leaned to her left and spit in the sink. Once she'd rinsed her mouth she began to scoot towards the edge of the counter. Standing in front of the other sink at the counter still brushing his teeth, Steve caught her actions out of the corner of his eye. He took a couple steps towards her and reached out his left hand, still brushing his teeth with his right. Maddie held his hand tightly and dropped down onto the floor. The weight on her right knee and foot was excruciating and had she not been holding onto his hand so tightly she would have fallen. He continued to hold onto her hand as he leaned forward into her sink and spit. Rinsing his mouth quickly he turned to her. "What are you doing? You okay?"

She nodded swaying a bit. "Wash my face," she slightly slurred.

"Okay." Still holding her hand Steve helped her take a couple steps so she was standing in front of the sink. Once she was holding the counter with her left hand he released her right one. "I'll be right here," he said standing behind her, his hands lightly on her waist.

Giggling she bent over wetting her face. The giggles continued as she rubbed the face cleanser into her skin. They turned into full on laughs as she playfully wiggled her butt at him.

Steve sighed doing his best to concentrate on making sure she didn't fall as opposed to the fact her cute little butt was practically touching his groin. He groaned as she wiggled it lightly touching his sweats. His mind immediately returned to the previous days activities in the movie theater. After all, that's how it all started. Her giggling brought him back to reality and he couldn't help but chuckle at her. _Maybe getting drunk was exactly what she needed to let loose a bit and stop worrying about whatever she's hiding from me_, he thought.

"Steve?" Maddie called.

"Yeah?" he answered being pulled from his thoughts. She didn't even need to respond as he saw her trying to reach across the counter for a towel, her face dripping wet, her eyes closed. "Oh, right." He took a step to the left and grabbed one with his long arm, his right hand still firmly on her waist.

Maddie dried her face on the soft, pale blue towel he'd handed her. Setting it on the counter next to her she reached for a bottle of saline and small case. As she pulled her contacts from her eyes, he continued to hold on to her waist, not noticing he was playing with the waistband of her leggings. He also didn't know it was driving her crazy. Every time his fingers lightly brushed against her skin, she became more turned on. _I wish he'd just make a move or something. God, I want him right now_, she thought.

Finally finished, Maddie put some moisturizer on her skin and then reached for her glasses, putting them on. "Okay, no making fun or laughing," she told him.

"I would never do that!" Steve claimed.

Although her back was to him she knew he was smirking. She didn't have to see it; she could hear it in his voice. "Yeah right," she said as she turned to face him, his hands only hovering around her. He smirked biting his lip as she faced him, dimply smile on her face as she stared into his eyes. Her tortoise colored plastic glasses couldn't have made her cuter, her wavy hair wild. He couldn't control himself anymore. He had to kiss her in some way or another, so he leaned forward kissing her nose. She laughed as he did so.

"You're silly!" Maddie told him. "Woah!" she laughed as Steve suddenly picked her up carrying her out of the bathroom. She wrapped her arms around his neck, her fingertips lightly brushing the back of his neck sending shivers down his spine. _Her touch really gets to me_, he thought.

After observing how skinny and small she was Steve wanted to notice how she felt in his arms. Yes, he'd carried her a bunch over the last few days, but he hadn't been paying attention to how she tiny she felt in his arms. He'd been too consumed with worry to notice. Now paying attention he realized she was very light. He could carry her for hours and not get tired. This worried him a bit. _I'll just have to fatten her up over the next three weeks_, he thought.

As they neared the bed Maddie pointed to her closet door. "My tootsies are cold. Socks."

Steve changed courses and walked to her closet. "You are such a girl!" he told her as they stood just inside the door, surrounded by rows and rows of clothes, shoes, and accessories.

"How would you really know for sure?" she slurred flirting with him.

Looking into her eyes he asked, "Is that an invitation to find out?"

She was speechless as she stared at him. _Yes, _she thought. "Oh tequila, I curse you."

"Why do you curse tequila? I don't get it," he questioned.

Ignoring him she pointed to the right. "Over there!" Steve walked in the direction she'd just directed him to, wondering what she was talking about when she brought up tequila.

Walking down an aisle he asked, "Okay, where are your socks?"

Maddie's forehead crinkled in thought. "Oh wait. Just kidding. Over there." She pointed in the opposite direction as she giggled.

"This is why you don't have a closet this size. Perfect example!" Steve smirked.

"Psshh. What do you know? I bet you wear the same pair of underwear in the jungle for a week," she laughed hysterically.

"That could not be further from the truth! I change my underwear!" Steve shook his head at the fact he was actually defending himself on this topic. He looked at her trying hard not to smirk.

She was laughing so hard her eyes were tearing up. "I wish Danny had just heard you defend your underwear habits to me! Or Pete! Why is this wasted on me?"

"Because it only happens with you! I would never have responded to anyone else." Steve stopped looking around. "Where are the socks Mads?"

"Right there! That drawer!" she pointed to the middle drawer in front of them.

He squatted down holding her and she opened it, pulling out a pair of white socks. "Got 'em!" she cried happily, wrinkling her nose as she looked at him.

Steve sighed, shaking his head at her ability to get to him with the littlest things. _I've never been like this with anyone else. Only her. In fact, if people saw us like this…I would never hear the end of it. No one would take me seriously_, he thought, turning and walking out of the closet.

As they approached the bed, he carefully lowered Maddie to it. She immediately flopped on her back, her legs dangling off the edge of the bed. "The boys can't say I'm a wuss. I proved I still got it!"

"Got what Mads?" Steve asked grabbing the socks she'd abandoned on the bed.

"I can drink with 'em! I mean, just cause I haven't had an ounce of alcohol in months, doesn't mean I'm lame and can't hang. I mean hello, I had more than they did tonight and I'm totally fine," she slurred.

"Yeah, totally fine," Steve mumbled sarcastically. "How much?" he asked grabbing her bare left foot wanting to put a sock on it.

Wrinkling her nose and biting her lip she stuck her hands in the air counting the drinks on her fingers. What she didn't realize was that she was wiggling her toes and feet around as she did so making it impossible for Steve to put her socks on. "Um…I dunno. Five or six shots and then the beers. I wasn't counting."

"Geez Maddie! Why'd you have so much tequila?" Steve tried again to put her sock on. He chuckled as her dark purple painted toes wiggled around. "Stop wiggling your toes! I can't get the sock on!"

Maddie lifted her head, laughing at him. "Sorry!"

Her foot stilling Steve slid the white sock over her petite foot. "What the hell? Do I really need this? It's super itchy!" Maddie randomly exclaimed as she scratched wildly at the IV Malia had put in before she left. Steve immediately, but carefully grabbed her bandaged hand, not wanting to hurt it. "Leave it alone Mads. It'll stop itching. If it doesn't I'll tape it differently. But give it time and under NO circumstances are you to pull it out!"

Maddie looked at him mischievously. "I'm serious Madeline! That stays in!" he demanded, the look on his face leaving no room for argument.

"Fine," she complied, somewhat pouting as she pulled her hand from his.

Returning his attention to her bandaged, bare, right foot Steve looked to see if he needed to put a clean dressing on it. She wiggled her toes around to drive him crazy. He looked up at her intending to give her a stern look, but when he saw her smiling face he just couldn't. He tried to look at her foot again, but she continued wiggling it cracking up. "You are so drunk! Let me see it! You goof!" he exclaimed chuckling at how much enjoyment she was getting from this._ It's good to see her smiling so much and I really missed that laugh of hers!_ he thought. Still laughing she stopped. "So, why'd you take so many shots?" he asked as he checked it out.

Maddie immediately stopped laughing remembering the events of the evening and how much he'd hurt her. He slid the other sock over her bandaged foot, careful not to cause her pain. Her change in behavior didn't go unnoticed by Steve. "Mads?"

Sighing she answered, "Just to blow off steam."

"Why would you," he began, however was interrupted by the ringing of his cell phone. When he changed he'd set it on the bed. Maddie reached for it.

"Here you go," Maddie muttered handing the phone to Steve.

"Thanks," Steve replied. "Hello?" he answered. "Oh hey Malia! I didn't recognize the number. Thanks for calling me back." After he'd changed he had called Malia to tell her about Maddie hitting her head again. However, she hadn't answered and he was forced to leave a message.

Maddie laid on the bed while Steve walked to his bag he'd left near the couch in her bedroom. While he spoke to Malia he folded his discarded clothes putting them back in his bag. Turning her head to see what he was doing, Maddie giggled at his cleanly behavior. Steve looked at her wondering what she was laughing at. Seeing her staring at him, he smiled and furrowed his brow silently asking her what was so funny.

She flashed her dimples at him. "What a good little Navy boy you are Stevie!" He only smiled, unable to take his eyes away from her. _Oh those dimples_, he thought as he listened to what Malia was saying.

Maddie's attention was pulled from him by the knock on her bedroom door. "Come in!" she yelled much louder than she realized or intended.

" Well you're still obviously drunk!" Tina laughed as she walked through the door and over to Maddie.

"Tina!" Maddie sat up. "Woah, you're spinning!" she whispered not wanting Steve to hear and worry. "What's up?"

"I just hung up with Johnny. I was able to arrange for you to come in later tomorrow. Give you a couple extra hours to sleep, hopefully get rid of any hangover you have."

"Awesome! Thank you! Have I told you how much I appreciate you?" Maddie asked, putting her arm around her friend.

"Not today, but every other day!" Tina laughed.

"Well, let me cover today. I don't know what I'd do without you! You're the best! Thank you!"

"You're welcome!" Tina smiled. "Who's he talking to?" she asked motioning to Steve with her head.

"Malia. They're talking about me," Maddie loudly whispered. Turning to him, she wrinkled her nose and said, "Which isn't very nice! I'm right here, ya know?"

Steve ignored her as he told Malia how Maddie hit her head again.

"It's cute how he worries about you Mads."

Maddie turned to her friend, her eyes wide. "Are you crazy? If you think it's so cute let him worry about you!"

"You know you'd be upset if he stopped."

Maddie looked at Tina, her face falling a little as she thought about it. "Yeah, I would. It is sweet. Just makes me feel bad…and guilty."

Picking up on the need for a topic change Tina said, "The band is going to start working on the new tunes before you get there tomorrow. So… I need the sheet music for them. Did you write the songs out?"

"Why yes sir, I did!" Maddie smiled. "They're in the studio."

"I know I look tired, but do I really look like a guy? Seriously, its that bad?" Tina joked.

Cracking up Maddie patted her friends back. "Maam, I meant maam. Sorry!"

Tina couldn't help but laugh with her. _It's so good to see her smile and laugh. I can't remember the last time I heard her contagious laughter_, she thought. "Anyway, I'll go get them! Thanks Mads!"

"You'll have a hard time finding them. I'll go with you," Maddie whispered as she slowly began to stand up sliding her feet into the pair of slippers she kept by her bed. She held onto Tina's upper arm waiting for the dizziness to subside. "Okay, let's go while Mr. Worry Wart isn't paying attention."

"Um…" Tina hesitated knowing Maddie need to stay off her right leg as much as possible before tomorrow. Not to mention Steve wasn't going to like Maddie walking all the way to the studio, especially with him not there to watch her. Sure, Maddie was small, but Tina wasn't sure she could catch her and hold her up if she fainted. Before she could convince Maddie to stay, she felt her tug her arm. "Okay."

Steve caught sight of the movement out of the corner of his eye. "One second Malia." He turned towards them. "Hey, hey! Mads, where are you going?" The two slowed in the doorway.

"Stevie, be right back. Work stuff. Just gotta give her music for the morning," Maddie explained. "Don't worry baby. Be right back!" With that the two disappeared into the hallway, Maddie limping badly.

Steve froze, his eyes wide in shock. _Did she just call me baby? _he wondered, smiling. _That's an improvement._ Coming back to the moment he realized that they were gone. "Crap!" Hearing Malia's voice asking if everything was okay, he said, " Yeah. Sorry. Anyway, what were you saying I should watch out for?" _I'll speed this call up and then go catch up to them, _he thought, worried and not liking the fact Maddie was out of his sight. _What if she faints? I don't think Tina can catch her. _

* * *

><p>Maddie was struggling on the walk to the studio. Although she refused to admit it, she was in a lot of pain. Tina tried to help her as much as she would let her, which wasn't much. As they entered the piano room, Maddie sat on the bench beginning to play. "Tina…I don't know how I can sleep in the same bed as him tonight."<p>

Tina sat next to her. "Why? What's wrong?"

"I forgot how turned on I get when I drink alcohol. And he's just so…ugh!" Maddie admitted her eyes wide as she confided in her friend. Although her attention was on Tina she continued to play the piano.

Tina chuckled at her friend's predicament. "Uh oh! Vodka?"

"Oh no! No vodka! Or else I'd have already ripped Steve's clothes off and just attacked him. Whether he liked it or not. Vodka…man that stuff gets me good. I had tequila! Still makes me horny, but nothing compared to vodka!"

"Oh yes, I've seen you when you've had vodka! I'm well aware of what it does to you!" she laughed remembering a couple scenarios. "Everyone has their kryptonite. Mine is champagne."

"Good to know! I'll have to make sure I give you champagne around a certain bodyguard of mine!" Maddie teased. Wiggling her eyebrows in a suggestive manner, she lightly elbowed Tina.

Tina immediately blushed. Maddie shook her head at her friend. "I've gotta figure out a way to get you two together! Now I know maybe I should use champagne!"

"Don't you dare!" Tina cried.

Again, Maddie wiggled her eyebrows at her. "But seriously, I shouldn't have had that tequila only for the reason that I am so horny right now. It's taking everything I have not to jump Steve."

"Well, I don't know what to tell you about the horniness, sweetie. Except, use it to your advantage. Hook up with him."

"I don't think he wants to."

"I find that really hard to believe. I'm pretty sure he wants to play with you! If you know what I mean?"

"Oh my God! I have the best idea!" Maddie exclaimed, turning to the piano and immediately playing chords, humming along.

Tina knew she'd just been inspired and needed a minute. As she watched her friend play and scribble notes and words on a blank piece of sheet music, she was in awe of her. _Here she is drunk and she is still so talented. Wow_, Tina thought.

"Okay, I'll finish the rest tomorrow." Maddie laughed, setting the pencil down. "Soo funny! Anyway, what were you saying?"

"Just that I think you're wrong that he doesn't want to go there with you. Especially with the way he's been looking at you and taking care of you. There's major feelings there Mads. Trust me! And if you try and instigate something and he doesn't want to, you can always blame it on the alcohol. Worth a try," Tina told her friend. "Never know…"

Maddie thought about it for a second, remembering how amazing it was when they were kissing in the movie theatre. _But then Lori happened_, she thought. "Nah…he'd rather be with "Lori Small Boobs!"

Tina hysterically laughed at what she'd just called Lori. "Seriously though, she has no boobs! I mean NONE! Nothing compared to you! I mean you are very blessed in that department! I don't know where you get them?"

"Get what?" Steve asked, entering the room.

"I told you to stop doing that!" Maddie cried, holding her hand to her heart.

"Sorry!" Steve apologized. "You aren't sure where Maddie got what?" he asked Tina.

"Her boobs!"

Maddie's face turned bright red. "Tina!"

Steve chuckled at how bad she was blushing.

"I mean really Maddie! You're so teeny and then wham! There they are!"

Although a bit uncomfortable with the conversation Steve was finding it amusing. He wasn't going to lie; he'd noticed her breasts many times. Tina was right, for someone as petite as Maddie, they were large.

Maddie's forehead wrinkled as she frowned. "Like bad? Too big?" Maddie asked as she crossed her arms against her chest, suddenly feeling self-conscious about her breasts.

"I don't think so, but then who better to ask than a man?" Tina turned to Steve, a mischievous look on her face. "What do you think Steve?"

Now he didn't find the conversation amusing. He suddenly looked extremely nervous and uncomfortable. "Um…I don't know if I'm the best person to consult on this particular topic."

_Why? Because I'm like your sister?_ Maddie thought hating Tina for doing this to her.

"Actually you're perfect! Come on, what do you think?"

"Tina!" Maddie yelled glaring at her, her face turning redder and redder. She was freaking out inside and found herself wishing she was absolutely falling down drunk right now.

_They're amazing and all I want to do is put my hands all over them?_ _No Steve, you CANNOT say that! _he thought. "Umm…no, they're not too big," he awkwardly answered.

Tina met his eyes flashing him a knowing look. "Perfect don't you think?"

He stared into Tina's eyes trying to hide the smirk from his face, knowing exactly what she was doing. He knew she wasn't going to let up until he answered. "Yes, they're perfect!", he nervously rushed out. Thinking about her boobs was turning him on and he desperately needed to change the subject. "Alright Mads, back to bed!"

"Wait! I have to give Tina the music!"

"Then what have you been doing out her this whole time?"

Maddie met his eyes, a mischievous look on her face. "Inspiration hit!"

"That look better mean you have a great song and not that you're gonna pull some stunt during the show," Steve told her.

"Of course! Just a new song! Awesome!" Maddie replied, telling him only half the truth.

"Okay, grab the music and give it to Tina. It's getting late and I know you don't feel well!" Steve now stood behind her, his hands on her shoulders.

Maddie grabbed all the pages of music from the piano and quickly flipped through them, occasionally setting pages to the side. Finished, she handed a small stack to Tina. "Here you go T!"

"Thanks Mads! I'll copy these for the guys and give them to 'em in the morning!"

"Thanks!" Maddie slowly began to stand, Steve hovering. She paused, making him think she was dizzy.

"Dizzy?" he asked.

"Not too bad," she responded, carefully taking a step with her right foot. He saw the pain flash across her face.

"Let me carry you to the house."

"No, I'll be okay!"

"Mads…."

She said nothing, however she did grab onto his arm for support. He walked next to her letting her use him as a crutch as she slowly limped. He could tell the walk out here had made the pain worse. Before she could walk with a small limp, but now she could barely put any weight on it. Not to mention she was barely moving. At this pace it was going to take them at least twenty minutes to just get to the kitchen.

Tina wanted to give them some time to themselves, so she said, "I'm gonna go copy these quickly and then fax them to Ben at his hotel. I want to catch him before he heads to bed!"

"Okily dokily! Thanks for everything T! Night! See you in the morning!" Maddie said.

"No problem! Night! Oh and don't forget what I told you! Worth a try!" Tina winked at her friend gaining her a glare. With that she took off for the house leaving the two walking extremely slow.

"What did she tell you? What's worth a try?" Steve asked.

Maddie's face quickly grew red. "Nothing."

"Uh huh. And that's why you're face is the color of a fire truck," he chuckled. She looked up at his beat up face, clear strips everywhere, and glared. "You know…I've never seen you blush as much as you have today."

"Stop noticing things. It's annoying," she mumbled continuing to hold onto him as she took small steps towards the house.

He belly laughed. "Yeah, okay Mads." As he laughed he felt Maddie lean further into him. He could tell she was exhausted and in a ton of pain. She was good at putting on a show when she had to, but right now wasn't one of those moments. "Come on baby. Let me just carry you."

"I can do it Steve."

"I didn't say you couldn't. I know you can. But you don't have to right now. I know you're in pain and that you don't feel well, so let me just help you," Steve told her.

"You can't carry me around the next few days in rehearsals or during the show Wednesday. I gotta do this. Plus, doesn't it hurt the stitches in your arm when you carry me?"

"No, you're not touching them when I carry you," he lied. In reality, it did hurt when he had her in his arms, but not that much.

"No, I gotta do this," Maddie continued, however she was slowing down, something he didn't think was possible. Maddie stopped, her eyes fluttering closed for a second before opening them again.

"That's it," Steve whispered scooping her up.

"No…I can do it," she claimed, but instead of fighting him she leaned her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes.

"I know baby," Steve whispered kissing her forehead. He walked them to the house, every so often looking down at her pale face and closed eyes.

* * *

><p>Arriving in her room Steve gently set her on the bed. Just as he began pulling off one of her slippers, his cell phone rang. "Mads, can you hand it to me?"<p>

Maddie opened her eyes looking around for the ringing object on the bed. Finally spotting it a bit behind her, she grabbed it. As she picked it up, she caught sight of the screen. Lori's beautiful smiling face looked back at her, taunting her.

"Here you go," Maddie muttered handing the phone to Steve.

"Thanks," he replied. Looking down at the screen his stomach dropped. _Really? Could this be worse timing?_ he thought. He looked at the screen and then to Maddie staring at the ceiling. He was unsure of whether he should answer it. _It could be work related_. "I have to grab this Maddie. I'll be right back," Steve told her.

"No problem! Go ahead!" she replied, doing her best to sound cheerful and happy, the opposite of how she was actually feeling.

Steve walked out of her bedroom shutting the door behind him. "Rude awakening_,_" Maddie whispered. _At least she interrupted before anything could happen between us. The tequila is clouding my judgment,_ she thought. _I'll just get in bed and hopefully I'll be asleep before he comes back. That way we don't have to deal with the awkward silence. _Maddie pulled herself into a sitting position, immediately feeling dizzy and nauseous. "Please don't puke, please don't puke," she chanted to herself as she pulled back the down comforter and blankets. Scooting up to the head of her gorgeous and extremely comfortable bed, she slid in, shutting off the light as she did so. Maddie laid on her right side with her eyes closed wishing things could go back to how they used to be. When she hadn't realized she was head over heels for Steve and there wasn't a psycho after her, threatening Steve's wellbeing if she had anything to do with him. A couple tears slid down her face.

* * *

><p>Steve had answered the phone as soon as he'd closed the bedroom door. As he spoke to Lori he walked down the stairs and into the kitchen. She had wanted nothing but to chat with him. <em>Look what you started Steve<em>, he told himself. As she spoke he continued to look at the clock on the microwave, anxious to get back upstairs to Maddie. The last thing he needed was for her to get the wrong idea and start withdrawing and pushing him away.

He got the feeling that Lori was calling just to determine whether he was at his place. Not that it was any of her business, but he thought maybe if he told her he was with Maddie she'd realize that things just weren't going to go anywhere with them.

After ten minutes of talking about nothing in particular, Steve said, "Well Lori, it was nice talking to you, but I have to go. I left Maddie upstairs in bed. I need to get back to her."

Lori's heart broke at his statement realizing that not only was he still staying at Maddie's house, but they were sharing a bed. "Oh okay, yeah, no problem! See you at work Monday, maybe tomorrow if I am done with my previous plans. Have a good night!" She hung up before he could respond not wanting him to hear her cry.

"Great Steve. Great. Way to go! You have royally screwed everything up," he said to himself sighing and shaking his head. Thinking about it all he sat for a minute before something caught his eye. "I almost forgot!" he whispered reaching for the bag of fluid he needed to attach to Maddie's IV before heading upstairs.

After walking down the hall he sighed and opened her bedroom door. Taking a step inside he was welcomed by darkness. _Hmm…maybe she's asleep_, he thought.

The bag of saline in his hand he tiptoed to her side of the bed. "Mads?" he whispered.

Although she was awake Maddie said nothing, hoping he would think she was asleep.

When she didn't answer, Steve reached his hand forward to the lamp on her nightstand and turned it on the lowest brightness. The fact she didn't hide her face and make her little sleepy noises told him she was only pretending to be asleep. _Fine, if that's how she wants to play this, I'll play along_, he thought. Carefully reaching forward for her right arm he hooked the saline bag to the IV Malia had put in before she left. Finished, he rigged it to hang on her bed that way she had less of a chance of getting tangled in it while sleeping. Smirking, Steve bent forward and kissed her forehead. "Good night beautiful…" he whispered and then turned the lamp off.

Maddie's heart sped up as his lips met her forehead and he called her beautiful. _Seriously? Why is he torturing me?_ she wondered, the tingling feeling between her legs increasing.

He had hoped she'd have opened her eyes when he said goodnight. _She's upset. I don't know how to show her I'm not going to pursue anything with Lori without having to talk about my feelings for her and hers for me. But I just don't think we're there yet_, he thought as he climbed in his side of the bed. He lay there antsy, wishing she were in his arms.

Steve laid on his back staring at the ceiling while Maddie laid on her right side, her back to him. After five minutes he couldn't take it anymore. He'd been anxious to hold her all evening and had been looking forward to bedtime where he could do so with no prying eyes. "I know you're awake," he softly said. She said nothing, so he reached over and began rubbing her back. "Come here. I want to snuggle."

_Oh, come on! He's killing me! It's like he knows I'm extra sensitive to his touch tonight!_ Maddie thought, her eyes wide-open ash she stared into the darkness.

After a few minutes of rubbing her back earning him no response he brought his arm back to his side, sighing. Deciding it was time to clarify a few things, Steve cleared his throat before softly saying, "Mads…I didn't sleep with Lori last night. Nor did I any other night. She kissed me and after a second I pulled away. That's all that happened."

_Really? I thought for sure they slept together! I mean, he wasn't answering his phone when Pete called him, _Maddie thought as she laid there, her heart racing. _Do I say something? He doesn't need to tell me this…unless he really does have feelings for me and doesn't want me thinking he slept with her. _She suddenly became incredibly nervous, unsure of what to do.

Steve was disappointed when she still said nothing. He didn't know what else he could say to her except things he didn't feel either was ready to talk about. Just as he was about to admit defeat and say goodnight, he felt the bed move. Before he knew it Maddie was scooting towards him. A huge smile broke out on his face and he used his right arm to pull her the rest of the way to him. "Now that's so much better," he sighed happily as he wrapped his arms around her kissing her temple.

Maddie continued to remain silent, still not knowing what to say to him. However she snuggled into him, breathing him in. _I love the way he smells_, she thought.

After a few minutes of lying there in the dark, quiet room, Steve spoke up. "You know, you could've just asked me, instead of letting it bother you." She said nothing, too embarrassed. "Just so you know, there was no kiss goodnight or anything tonight. Barely a hug." He waited for some kind of response from her. "Are you really not going to say anything?" he asked, rubbing her back with the hand connected to the arm that she was lying on. With his other hand he began lightly rubbing the top of her right hand and forearm with his fingertips as it laid across his stomach.

_He is torturing me!_ she thought as goose bumps broke out on her body from the way he was touching her. So gentle, so loving….so teasingly. _Say something Maddie. Anything,_ she told herself. "I dunno what to say," Maddie admitted shyly.

"She speaks! She's alive!" he joked before becoming serious and asking, "Why didn't you just tell me why you were upset when I asked you?"

"I'm too drunk for this conversation, Steve."

"No you're not. In fact, you're just drunk enough. Honest, but coherent," he told her. "Now answer."

Maddie sighed, knowing he was right. "Because I was scared."

Steve furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. "Scared of what Maddie?"

She paused afraid to answer. "Of a lot of things."

Steve reached over and flipped his nightstand light on. "Look at me," he ordered. Sighing, Maddie reluctantly tipped her head up to meet his eyes. "Talk to me. What kept you from telling me the truth?"

She looked away from him for a second before she met his eyes again. "Scared of the reaction."

"My reaction?"

She nodded, looking down. "Maddie…I don't know what's going on with us. And I don't want to overanalyze it. I think we owe it to ourselves to just go with the flow. However, you have to talk to me. We can't get back to how things used to be if we shut each other out. And I don't want to lose you. I can't lose you."

"You won't," Maddie quietly told him as her heart broke into a million pieces. _Get back to the way things used to be? Yeah…when we were friends. I thought he wanted more than that for a minute. I'm so stupid_, she thought. The tears were threatening to fall, but she refused to cry in front of him anymore. _You have to let this go Maddie. Just forget you love him…you're just friends. Act like you used to act and you can get through the next few weeks with him_. Knowing the tears were going to fall any moment she began to pull away from Steve.

"Wait! What are you doing? Where are you going?" Steve asked trying to hold on to her. _Is she upset? Why is she pulling away?_ he wondered, his heart racing.

"I just have to use the restroom. Be right back," Maddie whispered.

"You sure? You sound funny," he said sitting up in bed staring at her, however she wouldn't look at him.

"Yeah. I'll." Her voice broke as she tried to hold in her tears while she began unhooking the bag from her IV. Clearing her throat she continued, "just be a minute."

Hearing the break in her voice his heart ached. "You're upset. Just…stay here. Talk to me. What just happened?"

Maddie tried to play it off like he was crazy. "No. I'm completely fine! I promise! Don't worry we're good. Anyway, I'll be right back."

"At least let me help you," Steve offered.

"I got it," Maddie rushed out, crawling off the bed and standing. He heard her sharp intake of breath at the pain she felt in her right leg.

"Mads," he began.

"No. I got it Steve." Her voice was forceful and the look on her face left no room for argument effectively stopping him from trying to help. She turned around and limped as quickly to the restroom as possible. The pain was so excruciating that she didn't even realize she was holding her breath. As soon as the door closed he jumped out of bed and ran to it, knowing something was wrong. Steve heard her turn on the faucet and furrowed his brow in confusion. _What is she doing?_ he wondered. With the water running he was finding it hard to hear what she was doing, so he pressed his ear to the door. It was then he heard it. Her sobs. His heart broke at the sound of her so sad. It wasn't just that she was crying that upset him. It was the fact she had left him and locked herself in the bathroom to do it. That she didn't want to be near him when she did it. That she was trying to hide it from him. _Why is she so upset? Shouldn't she be happy? Didn't we just kind of clear the air? _Steve thought back replaying every word of their conversation. Suddenly it dawned on him, understanding what had upset her. _Crap! I'm an idiot! I didn't mean that how it came out! I meant that I wanted it to go back to when it was so comfortable between us. I didn't mean to go back to just being friends. Damn it! _Steve wasn't sure what he should do. Should he knock on the door? Insist Maddie let him in? Should he just wait there at the door until she opened it? Should he get back in bed? He fought the urge to knock demanding she open up, but he thought that would just make her more upset. _I'll just let her be for a minute. Let her cry and get it out_, he thought even though it was agony for him to do nothing.

Steve stood at the door listening. After a few minutes he heard the cries stop, followed by footsteps and movement. _What's she doing now?_ he wondered. The water turned off and he heard her walking towards the door. Quickly he ran back to the bed returning to the same position he'd been in before.

* * *

><p>Inside the bathroom, Maddie quickly turned the sink on to mask her cries as she sunk to the floor crying for what she knew she'd never have with him. She wasn't being particularly loud even though she was sobbing. They were sad, gut-wrenching sobs. Sobs filled with grief and loss. After five minutes of crying she knew Steve was going to start to get worried and knock on the door. <em>Pull yourself together Maddie<em>, she told herself. Standing up she limped to the sink. Leaning against the counter she stared at her reflection in the mirror. "Pathetic," she told herself. "You're pathetic! When did you turn into such a crybaby? Pull yourself together! This isn't you!" She quickly splashed some cold water on her face.

She swallowed hard after her pep talk, wincing at the pain she felt in her throat as she dried her face. "Crap! I definitely am getting sick! I can't afford to with this show." Rummaging around in her bathroom bag she still hadn't unpacked fully, she found the prescription bottle. Opening it, she poured two pills in her hand. Grabbing a cup she held it under the running sink, filling it. Maddie quickly took the pills swallowing them with water.

Finished she shut the water off and looked around. _Gotta hide these! Steve will freak if he sees them! I'm not in the mood for a lecture!_ she put the morning dose in her bottle of vitamins and the rest of the bottle safely tucked away in her makeup bag knowing Steve wouldn't look there.

Giving herself one last look in the mirror she took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. Her face was only a bit red from crying, the cold water having helped quite a bit. Walking towards the door she unlocked it and entered her bedroom.

Maddie noticed he'd turned his nightstand light off and saw he was exactly where she'd left him. _Maybe he's asleep_, she thought. _I hope he is._ Sitting on the edge of the bed she hooked the bag of saline up to her IV. Slowly she climbed back in bed, trying to be as quiet as possible. She snuggled into the bed her back to Steve. She could feel the tears behind her eyes and the sadness in her chest. _Don't cry. You're fine. Everything's okay. Just close your eyes and go to sleep_, she told herself.

Steve laid there on his back as she climbed into bed. He had been hoping she'd come back and snuggle with him, but he couldn't say he was surprised when she didn't. Knowing he needed to do something his heart pounded. _This will change us_, he told himself trying not to freak out. Taking a deep breath he reached out his right arm sliding it under her and pulled her to him.

Now back in the same position they'd been in before, he asked, "Why were you all the way over there?"

"I thought you were asleep. I didn't want to wake you," Maddie lied her voice small.

Taking a deep breath Steve used his left hand and tipped her face up to look at him. As he stared into her gorgeous eyes his heart pounded. _What is he doing? This is just mean_, she thought doing her best to hold her tears in. Just as she was about to ask him what he was doing his lips gently met hers.

To say she was shocked was an understatement. His lips lingered on hers as the fingers of his left hand gently caressed her cheek. He pulled away slightly, smiling at her. Maddie's eyes were wide with surprise as she stared at him. Already missing the feel of her lips Steve closed the small distance and kissed her again. Once more his lips lingered against hers for a second before pulling away. It was taking everything he had to not just start kissing her. Normally he wouldn't have a problem doing that, but this was Maddie. This was too important to rush. There was too much at stake.

Steve pressed his forehead against hers as he smiled at her. She understood what he was saying and she couldn't have been happier. However, she wasn't thinking about why this was a bad idea. She wasn't thinking about the threat against Steve. She was only thinking about how much she loved him and wanted this. So, she let herself enjoy it. Biting her bottom lip Maddie shyly smiled back. Slowly it grew and before he knew it she was flashing her dimples. He shook his head his forehead still against hers as they gazed into one another's eyes. "Those dimples," he whispered before kissing her nose and then her forehead. "Goodnight Mads."

She rested her head on his chest, snuggling further into him as he pulled her closer. "Night Steve."

Although both nervous, they couldn't have been happier in that moment as they quickly fell asleep wrapped in each other's arms.

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><p>"SON OF A BITCH! She is MINE!" he screamed punching his hand through the wall next to him. He stared at the screen of the two of them sleeping together. He hit rewind and watched them kiss again, lost in each other's eyes. "She knew better! I told her what would happen if she had any contact with him!"<p>

He quickly stood and walked to the nearby closet of the dark apartment. He changed into black cargo pants and a black t-shirt slipping on a pair of gloves of the same color. Grabbing the big, filled, black duffel bag he headed out to his truck. "Well, enjoy tomorrow you bitch!" he mumbled to himself climbing in and driving in the direction of the venue she'd be rehearsing and performing at.

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><p>I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Dying to know what you thought! Please, please, please REVIEW!<p>

xoxo


	24. Chapter 24

**DISCLAIMER: **I do not own the TV Show "Hawaii Five-0" or any of its characters. However, I do own Maddie, Tina, Pete, Carl, Ryan, etc.

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><p><strong>AUTHOR'S NOTE:<strong> Thank you guys so much for being patient with me! I know lately there's been some time in between my posts. I was spoiling you when I was updating every day, which was killing me because I was literally NEVER going to bed. I was staying up ALL NIGHT and day. I can't do that right now. I have been back east writing and doing pre-production for my album, which I'll be recording in July back home in Los Angeles. It's not that I am losing interest in my story or that I won't finish it, it's just that I have to write songs right now. I can tell you that whenever I've had a chance to work on this story, I have. I know everything that's going to happen. It's all planned out. It's just finding the time to write is difficult. My schedule in the studio is much lighter the next few days, so I will hopefully be able to post Ch.25 this week. That one is a good chapter, so I'm excited for you guys to read it. A lot of action and turmoil.

I had five days free last week and was planning on posting at least 3 chapters, but unfortunately I got a corneal abrasion. Can I just say, I do NOT wish that on anyone EVER! It is sooo painful! Not to mention, I couldn't really see and I couldn't handle ANY light, so working on the computer was out! I'm so sorry!

Anyway, I appreciate all your wonderful reviews! I love that you love this story so much! I'm sorry that it's been torture for you lately because I can't update everyday. It will get better soon, so don't worry!

Some shoutouts/responses to some reviewers...

RUBY: I am so sorry I've kept you waiting! I know you are anxious for this chapter! I hope you enjoy.

ELLA: I love that you love the story so much! You don't have to worry about me not finishing this. I think about writing it ALL THE TIME, unfortunately I can't spend every waking moment doing it and at some point I have to sleep. I don't know what you're talking about when you mentioned "Set Fire to the Rain" fan fic. I think you have me confused with someone else. I've never written a fic with that title. THis is going to be an extremely long fan fic, but it will be finished and you guys will find out what happens with everything. It's complicated and intricate, which is one of the reasons I'm writing it so detailed.

DUCHESS OF LANTERN WASTE: I always love getting your reviews so I'm gonna answer part of your question. No, it's not the guy from a few months ago. But he will make an appearance soon. ;o) Maddie hasn't talked to Steve in 2 years. A lot has happened since then...for both of them. There's a lot she hasn't told him, but then he hasn't told her ANYTHING about Wo Fat and everything with that. You better believe that will come out along with some of her secrets. It will be fun!

NICLABELLE: I am sooo glad you thought the comment about her boobs was funny! I'm surprised you were the only one that said anything about that! I am trying to make the characters as human as possible. I think putting little things in like that make them more relatable and more real. Can't wait to find out what you think about this chapter.

H50LADY: I have to tell you that I smiled so big when I read your review and you said something about how sweet Steve is to Maddie. I think it's cute! Of course, he is still his bad ass self, which you'll see in the next chapter! And he still screws up royally in certain social situations, as you see in this chapter.

STELLIEROX: I am so flattered you enjoy my story so much that you look for the update everyday! I have read a few stories where I've felt like that and I never realized someone felt that same way about mine! Thank you so much! That really is a wonderful compliment!

CHARMEDPIPER1: Seriously I know EXACTLY how you feel! There's been a few stories where I've loved them soo much and can't wait to find out what happens that I check for updates a few times a day and re read my favorite parts too! I can't believe someone feels that way about my story! What a compliment! I'd LOVE to know some of the parts you like to re-read! It will help me know what parts the readers are enjoying the most (I mean besides when they kiss! lol). Private message me if you'd be willing to share and tell me more! Thanks so much for your kind words and continuing to read this story!

As always, thoughts are in _italics_.

I'm excited to see what you guys have to say about this chapter. I have a feeling I know what some of you will say and I'm prepared for that. I ended it the way I did for a reason...but I promise it won't last long. It had to be this way for the next chapter. The next couple chapters will be extremely exciting. A lot of suspense and just in terms of Steve and Maddie's "relationship". That's why I ended this chapter the way I did.

Well, I know you are all anxious to read the chapter, so I'll shut up! Please, please, please let me know what you think! ENJOY!

xoxo,

Laura

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><p><span>CHAPTER 24<span>

Tina walked down the hall towards the stairs making her way to the kitchen for a desperately needed cup of coffee. Standing on the balcony she looked down into the open downstairs checking to see if anyone was awake. Her heart sped up as she saw Pete dressed in jeans and a t-shirt sitting on a barstool at the high counter reading the paper. She smiled slightly and began descending the stairs.

"Hey T!" Pete greeted never taking his eyes off the paper.

"How'd you know it was me?" she asked coming into the kitchen. She looked over at him just as he looked up.

"Just did," he smiled.

"Must be a Navy Seal thing." She grabbed a mug and turned to the coffee maker.

"Must be," he smirked as he once again focused on the paper.

Holding her now filled mug Tina walked across the kitchen towards Pete. Leaning forward, her elbows on the counter she breathed in the steaming liquid. "Ahhh."

Although pretending to read the paper, Pete was watching her. He stifled a chuckle as she closed her eyes enjoying the smell of her coffee. "You know, a lot of people would say that's the behavior of an addict."

"Hey, I've always been extremely upfront about my coffee addiction. Can't start my day without at least one cup." She took a sip of the delicious blend, sighing as she swallowed.

"At least…" he smirked.

"You're one to talk!" She laughed. "What's that? Cup 4?"

Pete made eye contact pretending to be offended. "For your information it's cup 2. I was being a gentleman and made sure to leave you some. That way you wouldn't have to start a new pot and wait for it."

"Aww…are you trying to tell me something Pete?" Tina smirked, batting her eyes at him playfully.

"Yeah…you're that unpleasant to be around before you have your coffee that I sacrificed my own needs so I wouldn't have to deal with you," Pete told her, an extremely serious look on his face.

Tina stared at him unable to tell if he was joking or not. After a minute of complete silence he erupted in laughter, unable to hold it in any longer. "You should have seen your face! Oh my God! I wish I had that on video!"

"Ha ha! You're soooo funny!" Tina mocked as she laughed, her face turning a slight shade of pink. Embarrassed he'd fooled her she changed the subject. "Are we the only ones up?"

"You mean…are the lovebirds up yet?" Pete corrected.

"Yes…are they?"

"No. Don't think so." He returned to his paper.

It was silent for a minute as she drank some of her coffee, enjoying every single sip. Finally she set it down, looking at the clock. "Do you think we should make sure she's awake?"

Pete too glanced at the clock across the kitchen. Sighing he said, "Yeah, probably. Go for it!"

"NO! What if they're naked or…who knows?" Tina cried. "You go!"

"I don't want to see that!" Pete scoffed. "How about this…I'll text Steve. If he doesn't respond by 8:15 we'll go up there together." He met Tina's eyes. "Deal?"

She stared at him, thinking it over, before saying, "Deal."

Pete picked his cell up, quickly sending his buddy a text. "Alright," he began, setting the phone back down beside him. "We'll see if Romeo responds."

Standing across the counter from him, Tina stood straight up, no longer leaning forward on her elbows. "You done with any part of the paper?" she asked.

"Mmm hmm," he responded making no move to hand her anything.

She stared at him waiting for any kind of movement from him. Finally she laughed. "Can I have it?" she asked slowly.

Pete smirked at her pulling out the sections he'd read. He held them out to her. As she reached for them he quickly pulled them away. "What's the magic phrase?"

Tina tried to appear angry and irritated, but couldn't hide the smirk slowly forming on her face. Sighing she rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Pete is the greatest human being to ever walk this earth?"

"I know, right?" He handed them to her while chuckling.

"You're ridiculous."

"And yet you still hang out with me!" He smiled at her, wiggling his eyebrows up and down.

"Only because we work for the same person. Trust me, it's not because I want to," Tina claimed.

"Ouch! Fine! Don't talk to me then!" Pete said, feigning insult as he returned his attention to reading the paper.

Tina pretended to read her sections, but was really watching him, thinking how much she missed their time together while she was gone.

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><p>Steve woke to the chime of his phone. Foggy with sleep he reached his hand to the left feeling around for the noisy object. His hand finally coming in contact with it, he pulled it to him. Holding it in front of him he saw the new text message alert. "Pete," he mumbled. Quickly opening it he read the message. <strong>McG, wake up. She's gotta be at the venue 10. GET UP! Let me know you got this!<strong>

Sighing Steve shook his head. _I wish she didn't have to do any of this_, he thought. Quickly he responded to Pete letting him know he was awake and he was about to wake her. Once it was sent he set his iPhone back on the nightstand and turned towards Maddie, who still laid snuggled in his arms. He stared at her peacefully asleep, taking her in. _That was the best sleep she's gotten since she's been here. Thank God!_

Steve let himself watch her for another minute before he reached forward with his left hand, caressing her cheek before pushing some hair behind her ear. "Mads," he whispered.

Nothing. No sound. No movement.

"Mads," he said, a bit louder this time.

Again, nothing.

_Wow, she's really asleep,_ Steve thought, the idea making him happy. "Maddie." He shook her shoulder slightly. He furrowed his brows at the lack of response. "That's weird. She normally would have started making noises and burrowed into me more."

"Maddie!" He called a bit louder, shaking her a bit harder. He felt his chest tighten with anxiety as the panic began to manifest from her lack of response. _Maybe I should have woken her up every 30 minutes last night? I mean, she did hit her head again. Oh my God…what if…_ he thought, worst-case scenarios popping into his head. "Madeline! Wake up!" He nearly yelled as his heart began to race. The panic he was feeling increased tenfold at her continued silence. "Baby come on! Wake up!" Scared, Steve subconsciously leaned forward kissing the tip of her nose and then her forehead. "Come on baby, open those eyes. Please wake up!"

Steve felt the corners of his mouth turn up as her eyes began to flutter. Pulling away from kissing her nose one more time he came face to face with a bleary eyed Maddie. "Hey you…you scared me," he softly admitted, his racing heart beginning to calm.

Her forehead wrinkled in confusion at his statement.

"I've been trying to wake you up…and nothing," he revealed lighting caressing her cheek with the back of his hand.

"Sorry," she croaked out, her voice barely there. Hearing the state of her voice both their eyes widened as they stared at one another. "Uh oh."

"Shhh…try not to talk as much as possible. You'll be okay. It'll come back." Steve gave her a reassuring smile although he wasn't so sure he believed what he was saying. "We gotta get up, Mads."

"Uh uh." Maddie shook her head, burrowing in to Steve. He smiled as she cuddled into him. He wished they could stay like that all day, but he knew that just wasn't an option.

"Come on...Gotta get ready, then breakfast before you're off to rehearsal."

She shook her head in his chest before leaning her head back to stare into his eyes. She smiled, right before she brought out the sad, puppy dog look.

"No! Mads…don't give me that look! If we could I'd say let's stay like this all day, but we both have to work. Come on…put the look away and let's get ready."

Slowly the sad puppy dog look fell from her face. "Fine," she mumbled, reluctantly pulling out of his arms. Rolling on to her back she threw her arms above her head and stretched, making a silly, sighing squeal as she did so.

Steve immediately belly laughed. "What was that?" She giggled turning to look at him, dimples present. _God, she's too cute_, he thought staring at her. It was as if there was a magnet pulling them towards one another as they laid there lost in each other's eyes. Finally he realized they were getting closer and closer to one another. _Gotta get up. Won't be able to stop if we start_. Steve quickly closed his eyes breaking the moment with her. He opened them as he sat up, getting out of bed. "You have one minute," he informed her, walking into the restroom.

Now alone Maddie smiled as she touched her lips remembering how he had kissed her, twice, before they fell asleep. _What the hell are we doing?_ she wondered. She started thinking about all the reasons they shouldn't go down this path, but quickly stopped herself. _Just don't worry about it right now_, she told herself. _At least let yourself enjoy it for a little bit. _

"Up and at 'em!" Steve cried, interrupting her from her thoughts as he sat on the edge of her side of the bed. Maddie turned to look at him. "How'd you sleep?"

She smiled shyly, her cheeks turning pink. "Good," she answered, her voice no more than a raspy whisper.

"Only good?" he asked, smirking at her.

Her face pinked even more. "Best I've slept in four months….that better?"

"Much," he smiled, staring into her eyes. Finding her right arm he slowly unhooked the now empty bag of saline from the IV. Carefully he untaped the IV and slowly pulled out the needle. He eyed Maddie out of the corner of his eye as he grabbed a cotton ball off the nightstand and used his right hand to apply pressure where he'd removed the IV. With his other hand he dropped the used needle into the small red biohazard container Malia had left. "Does it hurt?" Steve asked as he continued to firmly hold the cotton ball to her arm.

Maddie had been staring at him the entire time he'd been removing her IV. _He takes really good care of me_, she thought. _Always has. Has always been this way with me since we were kids. Of course as we grew up he became more overprotective._

Steve narrowed his eyes at her as he watched her staring at him lost in thought. _I wonder what she's thinking about?_ he wondered. "Mads?" He watched her mind stop running and her eyes became less intense as she was pulled from her thoughts.

"Hm?"

"Does it hurt?" Steve asked once more slightly shaking her arm as he continued to apply pressure to the spot her IV had been.

"Oh! No," Maddie responded her voice becoming worse each time she spoke.

"Good," he smiled. "Where'd you go?"

"Just thinking."

"About what?" His gorgeous blue eyes pierced into hers as he waited for her response.

"Just that…you're really good to me. You always have been," Maddie relayed.

Steve wasn't sure what to say. That was the last thing he was expecting her to say.

Maddie knew him well enough to know he was unsure of what to say as he fidgeted a bit with her arm. "You're overprotective of me. Worried I'll break Steve?"

Steve sighed not really knowing where the conversation was going. "No…I don't know Maddie. I…just…I just worry about you."

"Why?" she questioned hoping to understand why he was so different with her. What was it about her that made him this way? She saw a side to him no one else ever did. Why was he like that with only her? She wondered if she could figure it out maybe it would help her figure out who was targeting them and why they were doing it. Sure, she understood why she'd be stalked. She was in the public eye, but Steve? Why did they choose Steve? It's not like she was photographed with him. When the threats started coming in she hadn't even seen him in nearly two years. It was out of the blue and she wanted to know why. She thought if she could get inside his head maybe things would start to make sense.

Steve shrugged his shoulders, feeling uncomfortable with the direction the conversation was taking. "I don't know. I just do. I don't want anything to happen to you."

"Why?" she asked.

"What is that? The word of the day?" he snapped, the anxiety and uncomfortable way he was feeling getting to him. Maddie smirked at him. "Why don't I want anything to happen to you? What kind of crazy question is that?" It was obvious he was becoming agitated, feeling extremely uncomfortable over her questions.

"Steve…"

"Fine!" He shook his head. "I care about you. I don't know what I'd do if something happened to you!" He glared at her. "Is that what you wanted to hear?"

"Hey! Calm down! I'm just trying to figure it all out. I'm not trying to upset you," Maddie assured him as she patted the top of his right hand.

Steve calmed as his eyes narrowed at her response. "Figure what out Maddie?"

She realized her slip. _Crap!_ she thought. "Oh…uh…just that," she stumbled.

"Just that what?" he asked hoping she would finally fill him in on what she was hiding.

"Nothing…I have no idea what I'm talking about," Maddie lied shutting down.

"Mads…you can talk to me ya know?" Steve gently told her lacing his fingers with hers.

"I know." She paused, looking away from him as she tried to compose herself, hide the fear and uncertainty so he couldn't read her. _One good thing about having a Navy Seal as a best friend…you learn to hide things. Sure, it takes A LOT of work and effort, but it's possible. At least for a short time_, she thought. After a minute she turned back to him her internal walls firmly in place. "Must just be the concussion. I'm talking crazy!" Maddie laughed.

His heart sunk as he noticed the mask she'd just put in place. He shook his head slightly at the way she laughed the conversation off. Knowing she was done opening up for the time being he had no choice but to let it go. He knew he wouldn't get anywhere with her if he pushed. However, he'd continue to be there for her and hopefully she'd decide to fill him in.

Turning his attention to her right arm Steve pulled the cotton ball from the inside of her forearm. Seeing there wasn't much blood on it, he said, "Shouldn't bruise too much."

"Too bad it won't match the other ones," Maddie joked, trying to lighten the mood she'd unintentionally created.

Steve looked at the other bruises around the same area, all places she'd had an IV over the last couple days. "Well, if you would have just left them alone…" He looked at her pointedly.

"Now we both know that isn't my style. And as long as we're talking about it, it isn't yours either!"

He couldn't help the smirk that appeared on his face as he shook his head. "Okay, up you go!" Steve reached forward taking her uninjured right hand and helping her sit up. He studied her face to see if she seemed dizzy. "How is it? Any better?"

Maddie nodded, clearing her throat, hoping it would help the quality of her voice. However, it made no difference. "Yeah, much better. Still there a bit, but nothing like last night." In reality, she was still dizzy. Yes, it was better than the night before, but it was still pretty bad. She just knew she couldn't tell him the truth. He'd only continue to worry about her while he was at work, something she just couldn't let happen. Maddie was scared that whomever was stalking her and threatening his safety would make his move in the next few days. She needed him to be focused. If he was focused she knew he'd have a better shot of surviving if the psycho did go after him.

Steve sighed out of relief. "Good!" Maddie watched him briefly close his eyes as he repeated himself, figuring he was really talking to himself rather than to her. "That's good!" He smirked at her, his eyes meeting hers. "I knew you just needed to start getting some sleep." He watched her shake her head doing her best to keep from smiling. "Let's see how the knee and foot are."

Maddie already knew how the knee was. It was worse. She could feel it. Not only was the pain worse, but without seeing it she could tell it was more swollen. "Sure."

Steve stood and pulled the covers from her body. She eased herself towards the edge of the bed doing her best to try and keep the pain from showing on her face as he watched her intently. _If just this movement is this painful, I can't imagine how it's going to feel to put pressure on it_, she thought. _Just gotta try and hide it. He looked so relieved when I told him the dizziness was better. Anything I can do to make him worry about me less over the next few days. He'll be working and won't be able to be around me…I don't want him distracted because he's worried and then have something happen to him._ Just the thought caused a wave of nausea.

Steve saw her face change. "You okay?" he asked, concern evident in his voice.

Maddie smiled up at him. "Of course! Sorry, just tired. Wish I was still asleep." Taking a deep breath she braced herself for the excruciating pain she knew she was about to endure. He took her hands as she stood. _Oh my God! Son of a bitch! _she inwardly cursed feeling an ungodly amount of pain coming from her foot and knee. _How the hell am I going to rehearse and perform with this leg? …. I'm gonna have to have Doc work his magic._

When she didn't stumble or groan, Steve slowly released Maddie's hands taking a step back as he studied her. "How does it feel?" he asked, concerned he was unable to read her.

Maddie forced a smile. "Not bad. Not great. But not terrible. Of course it' sore, but it's definitely better," she lied.

He narrowed his eyes, studying her, unable to tell if she was telling the truth or lying. _Weird_, he thought. _She doesn't look like she's being honest, but she doesn't appear to be lying either. _He glanced down looking at her knees through her leggings. "Mads, your knee is definitely more swollen than last night. You sure it's not worse?"

Maddie swallowed the groan that wanted to escape, and inwardly winced at the soreness she felt in her throat. _Great! I'm getting sick. Just what I need right now_, she thought. "Yeah, I'm sure."

"Okay, well we'll put ice on it at breakfast." Steve still wasn't sure she was telling the truth. _I'll just have to really watch her over the next hour, _he thought. "You gonna shower?"

"Yeah," she responded. She met his eyes as she bit her lip. "You?"

"Yeah," he answered staring at her. Immediately an image of the two naked in the shower together popped into his mind. _No! Don't go there Steve! Just make sure she's okay and then go to the guest room shower, _he told himself_. _"Let me walk with you. Make sure you're alright."

"Okay." Maddie nervously began walking to the bathroom. Although she was moving slowly, she was able to hide the limp. How? She wasn't sure, given how much pain she was in. She noticed Steve staying close to her and wondered if he suspected she was lying. _Wouldn't surprise me_, she thought. _He's not easy to fool._

Standing in front of the shower, they awkwardly looked at one another. After last night's talk and kiss things had definitely changed between them. Something that scared them both. Steve wanted her, but also didn't want things to change for the worse between them. Especially if they didn't work out. He couldn't lose her as a friend. The awkwardness they were currently feeling made him feel like the walls were closing in around him. _Just take a breath Steve. You just kissed her last night. She's got a lot on her mind, you have a lot on your mind. This will get better. We'll get comfortable with one another again. It'll all be fine. Just listen to Joe_, he told himself, hoping it would help ease the tightness in his chest.

Finally the silence became too much for Maddie and she began studying the floor. Steve reached out and grabbed her some towels. "Here," he said, handing them to her. "If you're good here, I'll go shower in the guest bedroom next door. Just yell if you need me, okay?"

"Okay," she responded, her voice still barely there. With one last look at her, he turned walking out. "Before you go, can you flip the middle switch there by the door?"

"Sure!" Steve did what she asked. "What's it do?" he asked when he didn't see any lights turn on or off.

"Heated floor. You have one in your bathroom too."

"Crazy! I'll test it out," he smiled and then turned and left.

Once Steve was gone, Maddie flipped the water on and undressed, her pajamas falling to the floor. She pulled the wrap off her left hand and entered the shower, plopping down on the tiled seat as the warm water slid down her naked body. Tears of pain immediately made their way down her face, mixing with the water. Sighing she leaned forward, carefully unwrapping the now wet bandage from her right foot. In complete agony she leaned her head back against the shower wall, letting the warm water run down her body, her tears mixing with shower water before making their way down the drain.

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><p>Showering had been a difficult task for Steve due to his stitches. But luckily he'd had stitches so many times, he'd discovered a way to shower that still kept them dry. Of course for it to work, he had to shower fast. (Luckily the Navy had taught him how to do that.) It wasn't the easiest method, but it worked.<p>

Dressed in khaki colored cargos and a greenish-teal polo shirt he walked to Maddie's bedroom and knocked on the door. With no answer he became a bit concerned and hesitantly opened the door. "Maddie?" he called, peeking his head in the door.

No answer.

_Hmm_, he thought. Steve walked across the bedroom and knocked on the closed bathroom door. He felt his body relax when he heard her extremely soft, raspy "yeah".

"Can I come in?"

"Sure."

Steve entered her bathroom to see her quickly throw a handful of pills in her mouth. She took a big swig of water, swallowing them.

"What are you taking?" he questioned.

"Vitamins," Maddie lied, her heart pounding. _I can't deal with a lecture from him right now_, she thought. _Just play it off Mads. Act like everything's fine._

"That seemed like a lot of vitamins. Are you sure?" he asked, sounding suspicious.

"Yep!" Turning to him, she smiled. "You ready?"

"Yeah, I'm ready!" he answered. _Wow, she looks beautiful_, Steve thought, taking her in. _A little thin, but beautiful._ She stood wearing skinny dark wash jeans and a simple white, racer back, ribbed t-shirt with her black motorcycle boots. Her damp hair was pulled up in a messy bun. She had light natural makeup on that made her skin glow. She still looked tired and pale, but better than the night before. Relief filled him. _She's going to be just fine. Everything's going to work out great._

In insane amounts of discomfort she slowly walked out of the bathroom, following him out of the bedroom and downstairs to the kitchen. The entire time Steve kept a close eye on her staying close, just in case.

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><p>"Well there they are!" Tina cried as Steve and Maddie entered the kitchen.<p>

Maddie forced a slight smile and waved as she concentrated on hiding how much pain she was in. She immediately sat in the first seat she came to. One that just so happened to be next to Pete at the bar counter. He turned to her, taking in her appearance and behavior.

Steve didn't sit down, but instead walked into the kitchen and over to the refrigerator. "What sounds good to you Mads?" he asked glancing at her over his shoulder.

She shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know," she squeaked. At the awful state of her voice Pete and Tina immediately looked at one another, their eyes wide. _Shit_, they both thought.

"You don't have to make breakfast Steve. I can do it." Maddie began to stand.

"No!" Steve exclaimed. "I got it. Just sit there and relax." He continued to stare at her as he stood across the kitchen. "So…nothing sounds good?"

"I'm up for anything. Surprise me I guess," she whispered.

"Okay." Steve turned around, his back now to her as he perused the contents of the refrigerator. Knowing he couldn't see her Maddie closed her eyes taking in deep breaths as she tried to breath through the pain. Something that did not go unnoticed by Pete.

'Pain?' he mouthed to her once he was able to catch her eye.

Maddie looked at him unsure whether she should admit to being in agony. She didn't want him tattling on her and worrying Steve when she knew he would be working. _He said he wouldn't do that anymore. Trust him_, she thought. Finally, she nodded at him.

Pete reached out and rubbed her shoulder letting her know he was there for her. She flashed him a small, sad smile. Maddie could feel the tears behind her eyes begging to be released. Her inner resolve was stronger though and she kept them from falling. No easy feat.

Steve had just turned around, his hands filled with the items he needed to cook breakfast, when he saw Pete rub Maddie's shoulder. _What is going on? She looks sad and much paler than she did upstairs. He looks…sympathetic? Like he's comforting her,_ he thought, confused by their interaction.

Maddie looked up and noticed Steve just standing there staring at her, concern on his face. Her face immediately pinked and she flashed him a smile. "Whatcha making?" she asked, hoping to distract him from what he'd just seen Pete do. _Of course he picked up on Pete comforting me! I can't catch a break here_, she thought.

It took Steve a moment to answer as he continued to eye Maddie. He lightly licked his bottom lip, an unconscious habit of his, before he answered. "Omelets. Sound good?" Maddie smiled sweetly at him as she nodded. A smile that tugged on his heartstrings. "Okay then!" Steve immediately turned to his left towards the stove and set the items in his hands on the counter.

"This should be good," Pete sarcastically commented.

Steve turned and briefly glared at him before bringing his attention back to breakfast. "Watch it or you won't get any."

"Are those the kinds of threats you use on suspects? If so, I'm surprised you solve any crimes!"

Maddie and Tina couldn't help themselves, they laughed lightly. It was always funny to watch someone give Steve a hard time.

"Oops!" Steve mumbled. Although his back was to them they could hear the smile on his face. "That will be yours. A little shell never hurt anyone."

"McG!" Pete cried. "I prefer that my omelets aren't crunchy!"

Steve said nothing as he continued to cook.

"McG?" Pete asked.

Steve continued to ignore him, knowing he was worried about his food. Pete had always been particularly picky about what he ate, especially for a man.

"McGarrett?" Pete's voice had a trace of anxiety in it. "Did you really drop egg shells in there?"

Steve had the biggest smirk on his face as he continued to cook breakfast, his back to them. _That'll teach him to give me a hard time_, he thought.

Pete turned to Maddie, his forehead crinkled in concern. "Maddie? Is he serious?"

"Wow, you are the biggest baby when it comes to food!" Tina commented as she refilled her cup with another serving of steaming coffee. "Are you sure you're a Navy Seal?"

Pete only glared at Tina before returning his attention to Maddie. "Mads?"

Maddie couldn't help but giggle at her head of security. Reaching out her left arm, she rubbed his upper back. "He's kidding, P. Don't worry, no crunchy parts. In fact….Steve makes the BEST omelets, so you should consider yourself lucky to have one!"

Steve turned around meeting Maddie's eyes, a smile growing on his face. The look in his eyes was so intense and filled with so much meaning she couldn't help the blush that crept over her face as she smiled back, slightly biting her bottom lip.

"I'm holding you to that!" Pete cried, pulling the two best friends from their moment. "If I taste anything crunchy…"

Maddie raised her eyebrows at Pete. "What? What will you do?"

"I'll stay on you like glue over the next few days. Never letting you out of my sight!" Pete smiled evilly.

Maddie groaned loudly. "I hate you." She looked straight ahead. "Steve, there better not be any shells in his omelet."

Pete smirked, reveling in his victory.

"You better not be letting her out of your sight to begin with!" Steve exclaimed walking towards the kitchen table, carrying the plate of finished omelets. Steve met Maddie's eyes, giving her a serious look. Maddie's only response was a shake of the head as she looked away. Sighing, he walked back into the kitchen towards the refrigerator. "Food's ready."

"Sweet! Thanks Steve! I'm starving!" Tina announced abandoning the newspaper she'd been skimming and walked towards the table, her cup of coffee securely in her hand.

"No problem Tina!" Steve said as he grabbed the glass jar of orange juice from the fridge.

As Pete stood he noticed Maddie hadn't moved, but instead seemed to look nervously around. Steve and Tina were too busy to notice.

_Would it be too obvious if I just sat here and ate while they sat at the table? It's too painful to walk_, Maddie thought as she tried to figure out what she was going to do without drawing attention to herself. Suddenly she was pulled from her thoughts by a hand extended in front of her. As she looked up her eyes landed on Pete. He stood holding his hand out to her. Hesitantly she took it, closed her eyes and began to slide out of the tall bar stool. Maddie squeezed her eyes shut preparing for the searing pain she knew she'd feel when her foot touched the ground. However, she was pleasantly surprised when it didn't come. Yes, it was painful, but not like it should've been. Her eyes slowly opened and realized that Pete was holding her weight up with his one hand, helping her keep as much weight off her right leg as possible. She glanced up and quickly flashed him a small appreciative smile.

'Piggyback ride?' Pete mouthed to her.

Maddie hesitated as she thought it through, but ultimately decided Steve would figure out how much pain she was in if Pete threw her on his back just to walk the few feet to the table. She shook her head and slowly took a step forward, subconsciously holding her breath. At the intense pain, she felt a stinging behind her eyes and a tightness in her chest. Pete continued to hold her one hand, trying to help her as much as he could without making it obvious. Finally they made it to the table.

Just as Pete was walking away from Maddie to take his own seat, Steve turned around heading back towards the table completely clueless that his friend had to help her get a couple feet.

Steve grabbed another chair and set it next to Maddie. She noticed how the heavy, well-made, wooden chair seemed to weigh nothing as he carried it, his well toned biceps showing in his shirt. She found herself wondering what it would be like to be fooling around with him, letting him take charge. Images of him pushing her against the wall, kissing her as he picked her up, her legs wrapped around his waist, popped into her mind. _Woah, don't go there Mads_, she told herself hoping to calm down.

"Mads?" Steve said trying to get her attention. He'd already said her name a couple times.

Her eyes widened as her attention was pulled away from her fantasy. Seeing the questioning look on his face, she immediately began to blush. "Hmm?" she whispered, her voice barely there.

"Put your leg on the chair," Steve directed. She hesitated, still embarrassed she'd been caught fantasizing about him. _Chill Maddie. He doesn't know what you were thinking about_, she told herself.

Seeing it was taking her a second to rest her leg on the chair, Steve squatted and gently lifted her right leg on the chair. As he carefully surrounded her knee with the bags of ice he'd put together for her, he furrowed his brow smirking at her. "What were ya thinking about?"

"Nothing." Maddie's face turned bright red and she immediately looked away, unable to meet his smirking eyes.

As he stood his face broke out in large smile having a feeling whatever she was thinking about had something to do with him.

Steve took his seat across from Maddie, wanting to be able to see her face and keep an eye on her.

* * *

><p>Everyone was still eating when Steve watched Maddie set her fork down and slightly push her barely eaten plate of food away from her. "Uh uh." He shook his head. "More." He pointed at her plate with his fork.<p>

"I'm finished," Maddie told him.

"Your stomach feel okay? Are you still nauseous?" he asked concerned.

Maddie nodded. "I'm just full."

He suddenly remembered the pills he'd seen her swallow nearly an hour before. _I hope she's not taking what I think she's taking_, he thought as he studied her. "Why?" he asked, hoping it wasn't what he thought it was.

Maddie shrugged her shoulders at him avoiding eye contact. It was a good thing Steve was so focused on Maddie and missed the look Tina and Pete shared or his suspicions would have been confirmed. Both knew he'd freak out and knew that was the last thing she needed right then.

"Come on Mads…you have a long day. You need the food. Couple more bites," Steve tried to reason with her.

Absolutely having zero appetite, but not wanting him to worry about her, Maddie picked her fork back up and forced herself to eat quite a bit more of her food.

* * *

><p>As they all listened to Tina tell a story about her brand new niece and goddaughter, Pete's phone chimed. He glanced down at it, reading the text message that had just come in.<p>

"Time?" Maddie asked.

Pete shook his head. "Almost. They're about ten minutes away."

At the realization that he wouldn't be with her for a few days, Steve's stomach clenched. She might have looked better, but he knew she wasn't okay. Something was wrong and she wouldn't tell him. He didn't like the thought of being away from her when she was obviously in trouble.

Seeing the anxiety and worry written on his face Maddie said, "Tina, can you grab what I need for rehearsal? I can't rehearse choreography in this… Pete, there's a road case and guitar packed up in the studio. Can you grab it? It needs to go with us? Also, the small Pelican case with my in-ears."

"Of course! The usual? For…" Tina began, hesitantly glancing at Steve before finishing. She stood, gathering everyone's plates and taking them to the sink.

Maddie knew exactly what she was asking. She wanted to know if she should grab four days worth of clothes. "Yes." Tina knew that if Steve realized Maddie was most likely going to be working straight through and not coming back to the house to sleep, he would lose it.

Pete could tell Steve was picking up on something and was about to ask for some clarification, so he changed the subject as he too stood. "Alright, that it Mads? Anything else?"

"Don't think so, but maybe just glance around? You know what I need."

"Definitely! Be back shortly!" As Pete was walking out of the room Tina was heading upstairs, leaving Maddie and Steve alone. Exactly what Maddie was trying to do.

The two sat there for a long time in silence as they stared at one another, a severe intensity in their eyes.

It was this that Pete and Tina came down to minutes later. They caught each other's eye and went outside to wait for Frank and Carl who were coming to pick them up.

Five minutes later Pete hesitantly walked back inside. "Mads, they're here. We gotta go." The two were still sitting at the table staring into one another's eyes, neither one saying a word.

"Okay, we'll be right out," Maddie told Pete, never once looking away from Steve.

"Okay," Pete quietly responded walking back outside.

The two best friends continued to stare at one another for a minute before Maddie finally broke their silence. "Steve, I'll be fine."

He hesitated, taking her words in as he continued to stare across the table at her. "Promise me something?"

"What is it?"

"Keep me up to speed on what's going on?"

She smiled slightly at him. "Okay, but don't worry, I could do this in my sleep. It's what I do. It'll be a piece of cake," she lied hoping to make him worry less.

"If I call, you have to answer or at least call me back. No disappearing."

Maddie's heart sunk, as she was reminded just how badly she'd hurt him by ignoring him the last four months. "I promise." She looked away from him for a second trying to get her emotions in check. Turning to him she said, "Promise me something?"

"Okay," Steve mumbled.

"Don't worry about me. Focus on your job."

Steve could see the fear in her eyes. "Maddie, nothing is going to happen to me. They are just nightmares. That's it."

Maddie's eyes shone with unshed tears. "Steve…"

"Okay, I promise!" Steve slowly stood and walked over to her. "Better get you outside." Carefully he pulled the bags of ice from her knee and held them in his left hand extending his right hand out to her. Without hesitating she took it and he helped her slowly stand.

Maddie effectively hid the pain she was feeling as she stood in front of him. "You okay?" he asked her.

She nodded taking a careful step forward.

"How's it feel?" He walked next to her their shoulders brushing against one another every couple steps. She wanted nothing more than to hold his hand, but he wasn't offering it.

Maddie swallowed deeply, preparing to deceive him. As she did so she was reminded of her sore throat, which seemed to be a bit worse_ Hopefully the meds start to kick in soon_, she thought. She inwardly sighed at her current physical state. "Sore, but okay," she answered, completely lying, as they stepped foot outside. She looked to the waiting black SUV, Pete standing at the rear passenger door for her.

Just as he was about to question her further the passenger window rolled down. "Hey Smooth Dog!"

Steve inwardly winced at the nickname, remembering the last time he'd been called that. _Nick Taylor_, he thought. _Right before I discovered he was betraying our country. Right before I killed him._ His eyes left Maddie's and found his old seal buddy in the front seat. "Hey Carl! How ya been?"

"Good! Good! So….you two together yet? Have you realized you've never really been just friends?"

Maddie's heart raced. _Man I could kill Carl right now! Leave it to him!_ she thought as she tried to keep from blushing. She tried to hide her smile as she noticed the slight pinkness that appeared on Steve's cheeks.

Steve laughed uncomfortably, fear taking over. "Come on, Carl! You know we're just friends." He laughed it off, as if the idea of the two of them together was hilarious. "I mean, seriously?" he scoffed.

Maddie's heart ached and her stomach dropped at his words. _Then what was last night? … I guess this is just a joke to him, _she thought feeling like a complete fool. She felt the immediate stinging behind her eyes and knew there was no way she'd be able to hold the tears in this time. _Get out of here Maddie_! _Don't let him see you cry_!

Pete's head whipped in the direction of Steve and Maddie as he heard Steve's response. He knew he needed to get Maddie out of there. Unfortunately the damage was done. He knew exactly how she'd deal with this. For that, he almost punched Steve.

Steve's eyes shut as he realized what he'd just said. He couldn't even look at her. He didn't want to see the look on her face. He couldn't see it because he knew he wouldn't be able to handle the hurt he'd see there. The hurt he himself had put there. _That's not how I feel at all! The complete opposite actually! Why the hell did I just say that? _He wondered, his heart racing. In reality he knew why he'd said it. He had felt cornered by Carl's question and panicked. He'd let his fear of change get to him. _Damn it!_

"Come on Mads! We gotta go! Long couple days," Pete reached out for her.

_Say something. Fix this!_ Steve thought. Finally he looked up at Maddie. His stomach dropped at what he saw. She was doing a pretty good job of hiding her feelings, but her eyes gave her away. Looking into her eyes, complete and total pain and hurt stared back at him.

Maddie swallowed, so distracted by what he'd just said that she forgot to keep from wincing at the pain in her throat.

Steve furrowed his eyebrows at the look of physical pain on her face. _What was that? Is that her knee?_ he wondered. _Forget the look Steve! That's the least of your problems right now! You just hurt her…AGAIN! FIX IT!_

"Well, I gotta go…I'll…" Maddie began, but he interrupted her.

"Wait…Mads...Come inside for a minute," Steve whispered.

"I gotta go." She turned her back on him preparing to take an excruciating step towards the car.

Steve reached out and gently grabbed her arm, turning her back around to face him. "No, come inside for a second and talk to me."

Maddie's heart was aching so badly it felt like it was being strangled. She didn't realize, but she was holding her breath. She knew it was only a matter of seconds before she started crying. "Sorry, McGarrett. She has to go. Come on Maddie," Pete said, knowing Maddie needed to get away from Steve. She turned her back to Steve again and took a step towards the car with Pete at her side.

"No hug goodbye?" Steve asked, desperate to try and get to her anyway he could. He had to let her know what he said wasn't the truth.

Maddie hesitated. She didn't want to make a scene, so she reluctantly turned back around to her old friend. He didn't give her a chance to do anything. His arms pulled her tightly to his body. Steve waited for her to reciprocate, but her arms just hung at her sides, causing his heart to hurt even more, something he didn't think was possible. "Maddie…"

She didn't want to talk about it, so she reached her hands up and uncomfortably placed them on his waist. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean it," Steve whispered in her ear.

Maddie immediately pulled out of the hug. Something that was incredibly difficult since he wouldn't let her go. "I have no idea what you're talking about," she responded, her walls firmly in place to protect her from getting even more hurt from him.

"Don't do this. Come inside for a second. I don't want you entering the kind of schedule you have like this. Let me explain," Steve quietly pleaded with her. He tried to catch her eye, but she wouldn't look at him.

"I…" Maddie cleared her throat, hoping to get rid of the emotion and sadness in it. "I gotta go…I'll see you…" Maddie stopped, not knowing what to say. To be honest she didn't want to see him again. Pretending with her last night had been beyond mean. _I can't believe I've been protecting him this entire time!_ she thought. "I'll just see you." She turned her back on him.

"You'll see me Wednesday. You'll see me Wednesday, at the show Maddie," Steve adamantly told her his heart pounding as it broke.

She said nothing as she took a couple steps towards Pete. Her current broken heart was too much on top of the excruciating pain she felt in her leg and she stumbled as she put weight on it. Crying out in pain she froze. Steve was immediately at her right side, Pete on her left. "Maddie? You okay?" His stomach dropped at the look on her face as she met his eyes, realizing she'd been lying to him all morning. Before he could find anything else out Pete scooped her up and set her inside the back seat. "Wait! Pete, she's in pain! She lied! She's in agony!" Steve told his friend.

"I know, Steve. It'll be taken care of," Pete responded, trying to hide the anger in his voice. "We gotta go." Pete took his seat in the back next to Maddie, Tina on her other side. Steve put his hand on the door, keeping Pete from closing it.

"Can you at least make sure she's okay. Make sure she eats and drinks water? That she gets some sleep?" Steve asked, his voice sad. He handed Pete the two bags of ice he'd been holding. "Keep this on her knee. It's swollen and apparently it's killing her." He stared at Maddie as he spoke hoping to get her to meet his eyes, but she sat in the middle staring straight ahead.

"I got her. She'll be fine. We gotta go," Pete growled. However as he met his long time pal's eyes he couldn't help but feel sorry for him. Steve was panicked. He knew he'd screwed up, that he didn't mean what he said. Pete gave him a sympathetic smile before pulling the door closed. As soon as the door was shut, the black SUV with tinted windows lurched forward leaving her driveway and heading down the hill towards the gate to her estate. As it exited the gate, two more black SUV's filled with the rest of her security team pulled out. They'd been waiting just outside the gates trying to keep the massive amounts of paparazzi as far back as possible, hoping to discourage them from following Maddie. That's when things always became dangerous and when accidents happened. One SUV pulled in front while the other one pulled behind the car carrying Maddie, effectively sandwiching her car safely between them.

* * *

><p>"Damn it!" Steve yelled, running in hands through his hair. He stood there for a few minutes, wondering how he could have screwed up so badly. Things were better between them. <em>Well minus the fact she lied about being in pain!<em> he seethed. He couldn't have been more worried about her now. And what made it worse was that he was sure she wasn't going to answer her phone. Hell, he didn't even think Pete wasn't going to answer if he called him. "Way to fuck everything up!" he grumbled.

* * *

><p><strong>AUTHOR'S NOTE: <strong>Okay, don't be upset by the ending! I promise this little tiff between them will NOT last very long. It just needed to happen for the next chapter. The one where she rehearses and performs. After that, their relationship will progress. I PROMISE! :o)

Please, please, please REVIEW!

xoxo


	25. Chapter 25

**DISCLAIMER:** I do not own "Hawaii Five-0" or any of it's characters.

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><p><strong>AUTHOR'S NOTE: <strong>As promised, here is Chapter 25 earlier than you guys have been waiting! I'll try to finish Ch. 26 tonight and post it by tomorrow night! I'd really like to know what you think of this chapter because you see Steve's rougher side. Or at least a peak at it. I hope you like it!

As always thoughts are in _italics. _

Can't wait to hear what you guys think!

Thanks so so so much for your wonderful reviews! Keep 'em coming!

Well, enjoy!_  
><em>

xoxo

Laura

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><p><strong>CHAPTER 25<strong>

The car was completely silent for a few minutes, no one really knowing what to say. Tina had immediately placed her right hand on Maddie's left forearm, every once in a while rubbing it. It was her way of letting her know she was there for her. A way to try and give her friend comfort without being too obvious about it. Letting her know that everything would be okay. Tina knew her well enough to know that she didn't want to make a big deal out of it with everyone in the car, that subtle was the way to go. She met Pete's eyes above Maddie's head, sharing a knowing look as they shook their heads.

Pete was so mad at Steve as he watched Maddie trying to act as if nothing had happened, that he hadn't just hurt her. He reached his left arm behind her and gently rubbed her back for a second.

Maddie slipped her sunglasses on trying to hide the tears that were beginning to fall from her eyes._ Are you really surprised that he just did something like this?_ she asked herself. _She wanted to say no, but she was. She had really thought he meant what he had said last night. _The aching in her chest increased as the realization of the situation hit her. _Maybe he was so desperate for me to not be upset with him anymore that he faked all that? But what the hell? Who does that? I mean would he even do that? I don't even know. Maybe he just isn't the same guy I knew_.

"So what was that all about? You and Steve seemed a little weird when we were leaving," Carl asked finally breaking the silence and pulling her from her thoughts.

Carl was a great guy. She loved him like a brother, but he also could piss her off. He tended to stick his nose where it didn't belong. He did it because he cared and she understood that, but it was the way he'd go about it. A perfect example would be what he'd just said to Steve. He'd put them both on the spot in front of a group of people and look how it had turned out. Part of her wanted to blame him for what had just happened, but at the same time he didn't force Steve to say what he did. Steve could have said anything, even just ignored the question, but he didn't. But, the more Maddie thought about it, the more she was happy she found out he'd been lying sooner rather than later. _Sure, Steve said he didn't mean it, but then why'd he say it? He did the same thing last night. He told me I was like a sister to him and then once he realized that had hurt, he tried to take it back_, she thought.

"Mads?" Carl asked, waiting for her to answer.

Maddie hadn't answered because she didn't want to talk about it. She didn't need the rest of her security team, most of which were his old Navy buddies, to know how he'd played her. That she'd been stupid enough to fall for her best friend. In fact she wanted to forget about everything that had happened with him over the last three days. However, she knew that if she didn't answer it would just make Carl more curious and he'd never let it go. "Who knows? It's Steve," she lied.

Carl had a feeling he knew what was going on. That the two were finally realizing that they weren't just friends and they were having trouble handling it. He hoped that maybe he could help them. Glancing back at Maddie he saw how upset she was even though she was trying to hide it. "Hmm…what was he saying to you? Couldn't hear him. He was speaking too quietly. But he seemed panicked about whatever it was." He hoped she'd be honest and they could talk about it. He had been close with Steve when they were on the same Seal team, so maybe he could provide some insight.

Maddie sighed, "He just didn't want me to do the show. But it's fine. Everything's just perfect!" It was obvious she was trying to convince herself of that and no one else. However if she didn't believe it, no one else was going to and from the sound of her voice and the look on her face, she definitely didn't.

Desperately needing to change the subject, she said, "Has everyone arrived? Crew? Dancers? Everyone?"

Tina nodded. "Yeah. Pretty much. Hair and makeup should be here around 1pm, which is fine because they aren't needed right away."

"Got it," Maddie mumbled. Silence fell over the car as they drove the remaining twenty minutes to the Blaisdell Arena. The entire time Steve's words replayed in her head as she thought back to his actions and behavior over the last few days. Every so often she'd casually wipe away tears under her sunglasses, trying to play it off as if her eyes were just watery. She knew she was just making it worse on herself by rehashing it all in her head, but she couldn't seem to stop. Maddie couldn't wait until they arrived at the venue. Work was just what she needed to distract herself from her broken heart, not to mention everything else. _Good think I have a lot to do over the next 4 days_, she thought.

* * *

><p>Steve stood in her driveway frozen for at least five minutes as he replayed what had just happened over and over and over again. "Why the hell did I just say that? …I mean things were better! She's so hurt…I don't even know if I can fix this one." The mere thought caused his lungs to burn as he felt like his world was closing in on him. He found himself doing his best to take deep breaths, hoping to calm himself. "No…I HAVE to fix this. I WILL fix this! There's no other choice here! I cannot lose her. I refuse to!" He reached into his pocket for his phone and pulled it out. He quickly went to his favorites, his eyes immediately landing on Maddie's name at the top of the list. His right thumb hovered over it, trying to decide what he would say to her, that is if she actually picked up. But odds were, he'd be talking to her voicemail. <em>Maybe she just needs a little time. Let her digest everything. Maybe she'll realize I was telling the truth when I said I didn't mean it<em>. However he knew he was just being hopeful. _She doesn't believe me and to be honest I don't blame her. _Deciding that he'd let her be for now and wait to try calling her a little later, he put the phone back in his pocket.

Steve decided he'd just throw himself into trying to figure out who sent Maddie the photo. He knew if he didn't have something to work on, he'd drive himself crazy worrying and stressing over her.

Quickly he jumped into his blue Chevrolet truck and headed towards Five-0 headquarters, the devastated look in her eyes after his stupid comment all he could see. It was as if it was tattooed in his mind.

* * *

><p>As the three black SUV's pulled up to the Blaisdell Arena they had a difficult time getting through the gate and into the closed off private area. Fans had camped out waiting to get a glimpse of the superstar and hopefully be lucky enough to meet her. It wasn't just fans; there was quite a bit of paparazzi there too. Some of which followed them from her house. The three vehicles were slowed down by the people swarming them as they tried to make their way into the gates.<p>

"God they piss me off sometimes!" Maddie exclaimed referring to the paparazzi, her voice cutting in and out. "Look at them pushing the fans out of the way! That's terrible!"

Pete eyed Maddie. "I know it is Mads. I know how you are. You're gonna wanna go out there and meet those fans now, but besides the fact you don't have time, I don't think it's safe. You can barely stand on your right leg and you still have a serious concussion. I'm putting my foot down on this one."

"I know Pete. I understand," she agreed. The car came to a complete stop. Pete's arms immediately went around Maddie as the car shook a little bit. She looked at him and couldn't help but wish it wasn't Pete holding her, but Steve instead. _Stupid Maddie! He played you. Let it go!_ she told herself. Pete used his right hand and called someone.

"You're gonna have to get out. Help us get through. They know she's in this car…. Great, thanks."

Before she knew it, her bodyguards that were in the car behind them got out of their vehicle and were able to get the crowd to back off so Frank could drive through the gates.

As they safely pulled into the arena's secure parking lot right near the private entrance they'd all be using, one the public wasn't allowed at, Maddie felt Tina exhale loudly. She turned to her assistant and long time friend. "I forgot…you have had a month of normalcy."

"Yeah." Tina's voice came out somewhat small, something very uncommon for her. "I hate it when that happens."

Pete eyed Tina trying to keep the concern from his face. "You okay T?"

She looked up at him and couldn't help the small smile that formed as she saw the soft look in his eyes."Yeah Pete. I'm okay. Just never been my favorite thing."

Carl and Frank exited the vehicle and each opened a back door. Frank helped Tina from the car, while Carl stood waiting for Pete to get out. "Mads, scoot towards me," Pete instructed.

She did what he asked and Pete was able to reach in and scoop her up into his arms. As they started walking from the car to the entrance she and her crew would be using (well one of them), Mo suddenly appeared next to her and Tina. "Hey Mo!" Maddie greeted.

"Hey sweetie! How you doing?" he asked smiling at her.

"Never better," she lied.

Mo grinned at her before turning his head to Pete. "The dogs sniffed the arena. It's clear. Safe for her."

"Great," Pete responded. "Thanks for taking care of that."

Maddie shook her head knowing what they were talking about. "I still think it's a little overboard to have bomb sniffing dogs check the venue's before I get here."

"I'll leave the music aspect to you, you leave the security aspect to me," Pete asserted. "All that matters is your safe."

Pete walked through the doors, Maddie safely in his arms. Tina stood to his left with Mo on her other side. Carl was on Pete's right, while Frank was directly in front of Pete. The other twelve members of her security team were spread out around them.

Pete began giving orders to each man as they walked down the hallway while various members of her crew yelled out greetings to Maddie. She waved back from her spot in Pete's arms.

As they made their way deeper into the Arena, Maddie took in her surroundings. It was complete chaos. Well, not chaos. It was incredibly organized. Everyone knew what their job was and was doing it, it's just that there was so much to do in such a short amount of time. What they were all trying to pull off together was normally done in three weeks, not 3 days. She felt her chest tighten as the reality of the situation began to set in. _How the hell am I going to do this?_ she wondered.

As they neared the back entrance to her massive stage Maddie realized that she was now only with Pete, Tina, Mo, Carl, and Frank. Everyone else had been given specific tasks and posts by Pete.

Pete walked out on the stage, the band already behind their instruments. A padded stool sat near them and he gently lowered Maddie onto it. "This good?"

"Yeah, it's great. Thank you," Maddie answered.

"I should probably get something for you to rest your leg on. Elevate your knee."

"Pete, I'm okay." Maddie turned to look at Tina. "Doc's coming right?"

"Yes. He'll be here in an hour and a half." Before Maddie could ask the next question Tina answered it for her. "And yes, he'll be here until Friday morning."

"Great," Maddie squeaked. Unable to stop thinking about Steve, she knew she needed to distract herself with work. Well, that and she had A TON to do. She needed to get started. "Thanks so much guys! But…this is a closed set while we are working on new material."

"I don't like this Maddie," Pete conveyed. "I'm staying."

"No, Pete. I'll be fine. You'll be just outside. I mean I'm not going anywhere." She looked down at her leg, smirking.

Pete looked around nervously before taking a step closer to her. He leaned down to her, hesitating before speaking. "So, Steve and I spoke about this a number of times and every time he was very clear. Fine, you can have a closed set, but not without me," Pete told her.

Maddie was fuming. _Who is Steve to tell me what to do? Especially after pulling what he did! _she thought. "I don't care what Steve wants. He's not the boss of me," she whispered back, anger in her voice.

"Maddie…he's just worried," Pete told her. At the incredulous look she gave him he held his hands up in front of him emotionally defending himself. "Don't get me wrong, I'm not taking his side or saying that he's not being a complete ass because he is. It's just…I know you Maddie. Don't try and get back at him by being stupid. Don't risk your safety."

"Steve and I are fine. I have no idea what you're talking about," Maddie calmly told him as she shrugged her shoulders.

"Oh Mads…" Pete began.

She refused to talk about it or acknowledge it. She just wanted to forget about everything Steve, but she'd never be able to do that if everyone kept bringing him up. "This is a closed rehearsal. We have a lot to do. We need to get started," she interrupted Pete.

He sighed wishing he could get through to her. _Damn it Steve_, he thought as he took in the shut down, protective state Maddie had gone into. She stared at Pete, a defiant look in her eyes. Eventually he shook his head and conceded. "Alright, let's go."

Pete, Mo, Carl, Frank, and Tina headed towards the back of the stage, exiting. Before Pete stepped off the stage he turned around. "Just call me if you need me." Maddie nodded, flashing a small, sad smile at him. Reluctantly he turned and made his way backstage and down the hall, joining the others. Together they went through a few doors, completely out of earshot of Maddie and the band.

Once they were gone, Maddie turned to her band. "Alright, let's get started. We have A LOT to do in a short amount of time. I've added a couple songs besides the ones Tina gave you. So, let me hear what you guys have worked on so far this morning and then we'll get to the ones you haven't heard."

"Mads, your voice…how the hell are you supposed to sing?" Ben asked walking towards her with his guitar in his arms.

"I'll be fine. Don't worry about me. Let's just worry about learning these songs." Although Maddie's heart was aching as it broke into a million pieces, she knew the best medicine for her right now was to just work. _Just lose yourself in this. Push through it Maddie, _she told herself, hoping the pep talk would help her. She sighed, rubbing her forehead, noticing the slight headache that she'd woken up with was slowly getting worse. Not only that, but her body was slowly starting to ache. _Of course, I HAD to get sick…because I didn't have enough on my plate already_. Deciding to keep it to herself and just ignore it she smiled as Ben counted them off, beginning their first song.

* * *

><p>Steve quickly walked into headquarters, his mind moving a million miles an hour as he subconsciously bit at his bottom lip. As he walked further into HQ he noticed Chin, Kono, and Danny standing around the table in the middle of the room, staring up at the TV.<p>

"What's on TV? Anything good?" Steve asked as he came up behind his team.

"Mads is on the news already," Chin told him, not taking his eyes off the screen.

Steve's chest tightened, worry filling him. "Is everything okay?"

Kono turned, flashing him a reassuring smile. "Boss, she's fine. It's just showing her arriving at the arena." She turned her attention back to the TV as Steve did the same. He watched the three vehicles pull up only to be stopped by fans and paparazzi. Because of the tinted windows you couldn't see what was going on inside, which made him more nervous. _I wonder if she's scared or upset_, he thought.

"Wow, I can't believe she has to deal with this," Danny mumbled, referring to the chaos.

"This is nothing. I was with her in the car the last time she played here and…let's just say it was scary as shit. People pounding on the windows, shaking the car from side to side. I was beginning to panic, but she just sat there completely calm. Pete of course, took care of it. But it's still really scary."

His eyes glued to the screen, Steve remained quiet. Suddenly her bodyguards from the car behind her exited and got people to step back, allowing the SUV carrying Maddie to make it through the gate. Steve exhaled a breath he hadn't realized he was holding. The four coworkers and friends watched the car stop and park. Steve unnoticeably nibbled the inside of his cheek out of nervousness as he watched Pete pull her from the car, immediately carrying her towards the building. His heart fluttered as he saw her, but it was short lived as she was taken inside. Even then, the press filming this was so far away that you couldn't really see her face. _God, I wish I could redo this morning_, he thought his stomach churning.

The footage was over now that she was in the building and out of sight. A newswoman came on the screen talking about something else, so Danny picked up the remote and turned the TV off.

"How was Mads this morning?" Kono asked. "She seem better?"

Steve's stomach tightened. "She was fine," he replied matter-of-factly.

"Just fine?" Danny asked, noticing the closed off tone to his partner's voice.

Steve sighed, not wanting to talk about Maddie because it only reminded him that he'd just hurt her. "Yes, fine," he said shortly.

"She get any sleep?" Chin asked.

Steve inwardly smiled, remembering how it felt to kiss her and how amazing it was to wake up with her cuddled in his arms. Things he wasn't sure were going to happen again after his screw up this morning. "Yeah, she did."

"So then she's doing better today?" Danny asked knowing something was weird with Steve.

Their questions were only making him feel guiltier for hurting and upsetting Maddie, something he just couldn't handle anymore. His anger got the best of him. "Yes! She's fine! Just like I told you when this conversation first started…days ago! She's in pain with her knee and her voice is basically non-existent, but she's fine! Now, I'm pretty sure we have a job to do. Making sure she's safe! So, can we do that instead of..." Steve paused, moving his hands in circles in front of him as he finished his rant. "…this!"

The three co-workers eyes flitted between one another wondering what the hell had happened with Steve and Maddie for him to be so upset. There was no doubt in any of their minds that whatever had him in this state had to do with her.

When they said nothing Steve only became more irritated. "Does the complete silence mean we have nothing? Is this your way of telling me that? I mean how is that possible? We are…" He was freaking out. Now not only could he not stop screwing up with Maddie and hurting her, but he couldn't find whoever was bothering and upsetting her so much. This was too much for him.

"Steven! Stop! Take a breath!" Danny interrupted him.

Steve's lips pursed and his jaw clenched in anger.

"We do have something," Chin added. "Is everything okay?"

"Yes, it's fine! What do we have?" Steve snapped.

Danny quickly answered, knowing that even a second of silence would only prove to upset him further. "Charlie was able to get a name from the phone that sent the text to Maddie. Walter Seasius."

Steve felt both relief and fury course through his veins. Relief that they were going to catch the guy screwing with Maddie, but also anger at the person who'd upset and stressed her out so much that she'd stopped sleeping and fainted in front of his eyes. "Great! Let's go!" He was already walking away, heading towards the exit before anyone had taken one step.

"Wait…"Chin said.

"What? Why?" Steve asked impatiently, turning around to face him. However, he didn't come back, but stayed rooted in the middle of the hall.

"Well, you said that you were pretty sure this wasn't the first time she'd heard from him. Right?" Danny asked.

"Yes, although she said she'd never received anything like this before," Steve responded.

"Once Charlie got the name from the account, I had him pull the call history. There's no other calls or text messages to Maddie on there. McGarrett, I went through it myself," Chin explained.

"I don't care. Charlie says that message came from Seasius' phone. Then let's go!" Steve impatiently said, turning back once again and hurrying towards the elevators.

Chin and Kono looked at Danny, concern and apprehension on their faces. "Yeah, I know," he told them. "I think we all better go on this. He's too emotionally invested. I hope I'm wrong, but I think I'm gonna need some back up."

"Oh yeah, you definitely are!" Chin said remembering the stories Steve's dad used to tell him about how overprotective Steve became when someone screwed with Maddie.

Seeing that Steve was nowhere in sight, Kono said, "I think we better book it. Boss is already gone. Hopefully he didn't leave without us!"

"Yeah that would not be good," Danny said rushing down the hall with the others.

* * *

><p>By the time they got outside Steve was already in the driver's seat of Danny's car, impatiently waiting for him. And impatiently was an understatement. Kono and Chin got in another car while Danny quickly hopped into the passenger seat of his own.<p>

"Thank you so much for waiting for me Steven," Danny sarcastically said as he shut the door. However, before he could even get his seat belt on Steve pressed his foot down on the gas causing the car to lurch forward. "Geez!" Danny cried.

Steve said nothing, only squealed out of the Five-0 parking lot, not bothering to slow down even a little as he turned right onto the street causing the car to slide.

Danny's right hand immediately reached up, taking hold of the handle on the ceiling. "Great…so it's one of those days." He turned to his partner, taking in his body language as he raced along the street, swerving in between cars as he came across them.

Finally Steve got tired of Danny staring at him. "WHAT?" he questioned, his voice slightly raised, the irritation evident.

"Really?" Danny asked incredulously. Steve said nothing as he clenched his jaw even more. "You have aneurism face so bad…only the way Maddie gives it to you."

With pursed lips, Steve shook his head and rolled his eyes. The mention of Maddie's name caused the devastated and hurt look on her face that morning to pop into his head, the guilt and aching in his heart increased. Steve's automatic response was to apply more pressure to the pedal, the car's speed increasing dramatically.

"Oh my God!" Danny cried.

"What now Danno?" Steve roared.

"Slow down! I have a daughter for God's sake! A daughter I love VERY much! That I'd like to see grow up!" Danny exclaimed, his grip tightening on the ceiling handle.

Although he didn't want to, Steve slowed just the littlest bit, maybe 5 mph. "You're such a drama queen, you know that?"

Danny's eyes widened at his partner's statement. "I'm a drama queen?" His left hand came to touch his chest as he said this, before he brought it back out, his palm facing up.

"Yes, you are," Steve stated.

Danny nodded exaggeratingly as he licked his lips. "Wow. Okay. I'm sorry I don't enjoy risking my life for no reason! I'm sorry that I don't like to fly down the road with a revved up, fearless, Navy Seal behind the wheel, flying in and out of traffic! If anyone's the drama queen here, it's you! You're the one acting out because he had a fight with the love of his life!"

Steve's face twitched in anger, Danny's comments and lectures only proving to upset him worse. "I didn't say anything about Maddie! And I never said she was the love of my life! And I'm NOT upset!" he lied. Realizing he needed to turn right at the light in front of him, he raced across three lanes of cars and took the turn, never bothering to slow down even the littlest bit. They were going so fast that as they turned it felt like the car was going to flip. As Danny tightened the muscles in his body to keep it from leaning towards the middle of the car as they turned he yelled, "Seriously, Steven, SLOW DOWN!"

"How about this? I'll slow down if you promise not to say another word the rest of the drive?" Steve bitterly proposed.

"Ouch. Someone got up on the wrong side of the bed this morning!" Danny responded.

Steve sighed loudly, shaking his head. "Is it a deal or not?"

"Fine! If it'll insure that I live to see Grace at dinner tonight. Yes!" Danny irritatingly replied using his hands to speak.

"Great!" Steve bit back.

"Yes, great!" Danny muttered.

"Do you always have to have the last word?" Steve fumed.

"Do you always have to take your anger and frustrations out on the road?" Danny retorted.

Anger flashed across Steve's face as he slammed on the breaks.

"Son of a bitch McGarrett!" Danny hollered as he was forced to straighten his arms out, placing his palms against the glove compartment to keep from flying forward.

"What? You bitched the entire time about how fast I was going and now that we're stopped you're gonna bitch about that too?" Steve exclaimed. "No wonder Rachael left you!" The second it was out of his mouth, he wished he could somehow take it back. Unfortunately, that wasn't an option. Steve's eyes fluttered closed as an uncomfortable silence descended upon them.

Shock overtook him and Danny didn't say a word. He couldn't believe his partner and friend had gone there during their argument. Especially knowing what he was dealing with. How hurt he was after he and Rachael decided to get back together, so excited about the new baby, only to discover that it wasn't his. That it was Stan's. He couldn't blame Rachael for trying to work it out with Stan now that they were expecting, but it didn't mean it hurt any less. And here his partner and best friend went there knowing how upset he was about it? Danny silently unbuckled his seatbelt, reached over and opened his car door.

"Danny," Steve uttered as his partner stood up and exited the car. However, his only response was the closing of his door. He didn't slam it, which surprised Steve, but simply closed it. As if Steve had not just said one of the most hurtful things he could have.

Sitting in the car alone, he dropped his forehead to the steering wheel, his hands still holding onto the leather wheel tightly. "Wow Steve, you're on a roll today," he whispered.

Chin and Kono had pulled up and were standing outside of their car parked next to Steve's as Danny walked by them obviously upset. "Danny?" Chin asked, but he only continued to walk by him.

"Wonder what that's about?" Kono stated.

"Don't know cuz."

They stood watching Steve sitting in the car, his forehead against the steering wheel. They thought about tapping on the window letting him know they were there, but decided against it. Finally, he looked up and exited the vehicle.

"Everything okay McGarrett?" Chin asked.

"Couldn't be better," Steve responded coldly as he walked past them towards the entrance to Walter Seasius' apartment building where Danny was waiting. Chin and Kono shared a look before following.

"Ready?" Danny asked as his three coworkers joined him.

"Yeah," Steve answered. Kono and Chin could definitely feel some tension between the two partners. It wasn't terrible, but it definitely existed.

"Steven, don't do anything stupid," Danny instructed. Yes, he was upset and angry over what Steve had just said in the car, but right now wasn't the time to address it. They didn't know anything about this Walter character, whether he was dangerous or not, so they needed to focus on the job.

Steve's only response was rushing through the building's front door and towards the elevator pushing the "up" button. As they waited for it to arrive he impatiently shook his right leg, anxious to get to Walter Seasius for some answers. As soon as the elevator doors opened he ignored the people getting off and pushed through them. Danny shook his head, rolling his eyes at his partner's rude behavior. "I'm so sorry Ma'am," he apologized for Steve.

As the doors closed with the four safely inside Danny said, "Seriously Steven? Sometimes I swear you act as if you've never been out in public! That you've just been running around a jungle killing people your entire life."

Steve ignored Danny's comments while his mind ran a million miles a minute. He couldn't stop thinking about how furious he was at Seasius for upsetting Maddie prompting her into her current weakened state. He couldn't wait to get his hands on this poor excuse for a man. "What floor?" he grunted, his index finger hovering over the elevator buttons.

"He's apartment 407," Chin answered.

As Steve hit the respective button, Danny sighed loudly, shaking his head. "Yeah, just ignore me! Act like I'm not here! Wonderful!"

For an older building the elevator was surprisingly fast and before they knew it, it dinged, signaling they were on the fourth floor. The doors hadn't even completely opened before Steve was already out of the elevator and running down the hall towards apartment 407.

"Damn it Steve! Wait!" Danny whispered angrily as the others rushed to follow him. Hopefully getting to him before he went all Rambo on the guy.

"Walter Seasius?" Steve yelled, knocking on the door with his fist. No answer. Steve wiped his hand down his face and tried again, this time using his entire fist to knock. "Walter Seasius! Five-0! Open up!" Again there was no answer. He sighed, and paced in front of the door as he thought.

Chin, Kono, and Danny were just approaching when they saw Steve get "the look". "No Steven! Whatever you're thinking, DON'T!" Danny seethed. "I'm serious! We don't know anything about this guy. He could be armed for all we know. We aren't in vests or anything!"

"I couldn't find anything on him except one warning for speeding, and that was seven years ago," Chin informed them.

However, Steve wasn't listening. He took a step back and threw his foot against the door. The white door burst open, a few small fragments of wood flying through the air at the impact.

Before anyone could yell at Steve he was through the now open doorway and in the apartment, gun in hand as he walked forward taking in his surroundings. The others had no choice but to follow his lead, their guns now drawn as well. As they cleared the first room, the living room, Danny shook his head, mumbling under his breath.

"Clear!" Kono whispered. Steve pointed to a doorway to the right of the living room and then signaled for Chin and Danny to go check it out. He then turned to Kono and pointed to the door in front of them, off the left side of the living room. She nodded, understanding what he was telling her.

He took a step into the room, his gun out in front of him. He looked both ways and then motioned for Kono. She joined him, entering further into the room while Steve had her back. Once they were sure no one was in the room, she whispered, "Clear."

Extremely alert, Steve pointed to the door off this room. He assumed the room they were about to enter was the bedroom. Again, he entered through the door, gun drawn. Kono rushed to join him as he heard a man holler, followed by Steve shouting, "Five-0! Hands where I can see them!"

As Kono entered the room she saw a man in his thirties sitting on the bed, his leg elevated in a huge brace. He was good looking for his age, although he was not dressed to impress.

"What's going on?" the man questioned, his hands in the air. It was obvious to both Steve and Kono that he was scared, not to mention surprised.

Hearing the commotion, Danny and Chin had rushed to join them. They took their places next to Kono and Steve, their guns out.

Knowing his team had him covered, Steve re-holstered his weapon and dashed forward towards the man. "Are you Walter Seasius?" he demanded.

The man's forehead wrinkled in confusion. "Yes. What are you doing here? How'd you get in? What is going on?" he nervously questioned.

Steve's anger got the better of him as the image of Maddie pale and fainting flashed in his mind. He grabbed Walter, pulling him up. Walter cried out in pain. "What are you doing? Ow! I just had surgery!"

"Steve!" Danny yelled re-holstering his weapon and hurrying forward to stop Steve.

Holding him up he pushed him into a sitting position on the edge of the bed in front of him. "How long have you been stalking her?" Steve yelled.

"What? Stalking who?" Walter asked, beyond confused.

"Don't play dumb with me! We have the phone records to prove it! Why'd you send her that picture? Do you know how much time you'll get for not only stalking her, but also an officer of the law?" Steve was in Walter's face now. It was taking every ounce of self-control he had to not beat the crap out of him.

"I have absolutely NO IDEA what you're talking about? How'd you get in here anyway? You need to get out of my house! I'll call the police!" Walter threatened.

Steve reached out to grab Walter, but Danny pushed his partner out of the way before he could. It was obvious to all of them except Steve that they had the wrong guy. This guy didn't fit, but Steve was so desperate to find the right guy to help Maddie that his judgment was clouded. "I'm sorry sir, we need to ask you a few questions. My name is Detective Danny Williams."

"What do you want from me?" Walter asked. "Why the hell are you in my apartment?"

"We are following up on a lead. We traced a call to your cell phone. A threatening message was sent…to a woman… late Friday night. Where were you?" Chin asked not wanting to divulge Maddie's identity unless they absolutely HAD to. They didn't need this getting into the press.

"I had just gotten back to my apartment. I had surgery on my knee earlier that day and was released. Message? What message?"

Steve paced anxiously next to them. Finally he stopped. "Don't play dumb! You know exactly what message!"

"Steve! Let me handle this!" Danny growled earning him a death glare from his partner.

"Did you bring yourself home that evening?" Kono asked.

"No. My girlfriend Raquel Linney did," Walter answered, still completely bewildered over what exactly was going on.

"Did she stay with you?" Chin questioned.

"Yes, she did."

"We are going to need her contact information before we leave."

"Okay…I still don't understand what's going on. Especially why you busted into my bedroom with your guns drawn!" Walter said, no longer nervous, but instead irritated and angry.

They ignored his questions for the time being, not wanting to have to try and explain Steve's over the top behavior. "Your phone sent the message. Where is it? I want to see it," Steve demanded angrily.

"I don't have it!" Walter answered his voice rising slightly.

"What do you mean you don't have it?" Steve cried.

"On our way home from the hospital Friday, we stopped for a quick bite to eat. While we were in the restaurant, our car was broken into. One of the things I'd left in the car was my cell phone," Walter explained.

Steve's eyebrows furrowed at his story. "Did you file a police report?"

"Yes, right away." The team all looked at one another questioningly, this new information changing things.

"Was anything else missing besides the phone?" Kono asked.

"Yeah, my laptop. Raquel's laptop. A couple CD's. A jacket of mine. That's all we noticed. There could have been more missing, but we just weren't sure. If they took anything else, it wasn't anything important."

"We're going to need to take your car," Steve abruptly divulged.

"My car?"

"Yes, we need to check it out. See if we can't figure out who broke in and took your things." Danny explained. "We will get it back to you as soon as possible."

"Do you think you'll be able to recover anything?"

"Hopefully!"

Steve was upset and that was putting it mildly. He'd had a bad feeling about whatever was going on since the first time he'd spoken to Pete, before Maddie was even in Hawaii. When the text message had come in he'd hoped it would be as simple as just tracing the number. But deep down he knew it wouldn't be that easy. Now hearing what Walter was saying, the feeling went from bad to worse. Steve felt that whatever was going on was even more complicated and dangerous than he'd thought, which meant the stress on Maddie wasn't going to end anytime soon. If only he could get her to fill him in on what was going on. But that wouldn't happen until he fixed the damage he'd caused that morning.

Hoping to get anything out of Walter that would aid him in finding the person responsible he asked, "Do you remember anything out of the ordinary? Anyone hanging around your car? Or maybe someone that you saw a few times around?"

Although he was angry that his house had been broken into and guns had been pointed at him, not to mention this man, who had never introduced himself, had physically grabbed him, Walter felt for him. It was obvious that whatever was going on was personal for him, so he thought back, doing his best to try and think of any information that could help. He was quiet for a few minutes as he closed his eyes and thought back.

The team patiently waited, but unfortunately, Walter could recall nothing out of the ordinary. "No, I'm sorry. But maybe Raquel remembers something. I was in a lot of discomfort that day. And on a lot of meds. I'm really sorry I couldn't be of more help."

Steve's sighed wishing for some more information. If his day wasn't bad before, it definitely was now. "Thank you for your help," he grumbled before storming out of the bedroom and the apartment leaving his co-workers there.

They all made eye contact with one another, all thinking the same thing. Danny finally turned back to Walter. "Uh…I'm sorry about him. It's been a…well..."

"Whatever you're here about is personal for him," Walter interrupted.

"Yeah, it is. Anyway, if you could give us Raquel's information, we'll reach out and speak to her," Kono said, handing him a pad and pen. He quickly scribbled down her name and number and then passed it back to her.

"Great! Thank you Mr. Seasius. We are so sorry for interrupting your day."

"I'd like to say it was no problem, but…well, you scared the hell out of me. It's not everyday you have guns pulled on you in your own bedroom."

"We really apologize," Danny said. "Someone will be by to tow the car to us. We'll go over it and let you know as soon as possible if we are able to recover any of your property. And if you discover something else that was stolen, let me know. Or if you think of anything…" He handed Walter his business card. Hesitating, he took out another from his wallet. "You can also call my partner. The one with the amazing social skills," Danny joked as he handed him the card.

Walter cracked a small smile as he took the cards. "Thank you."

They all turned and began walking out, Danny bringing up the rear. He suddenly remembered the front door and squeezed his face in apprehension before slowly turning back to Walter. "Oh, by the way…we'll get someone right over to fix your front door. I promise! And if it hasn't been fixed in the next two hours, please don't hesitate to give me a call."

"Door? What's wrong with my front door?" Walter asked, having no clue they'd knocked it down.

"Nothing permanent. It'll be just fine. I promise! …Anyway, thanks again and we really apologize for disturbing you. Feel better!" Flashing him one last smile, Danny turned around and headed out of the apartment, meeting Chin and Kono at the demolished front door. Seeing Steve's handiwork he rolled his eyes and shook his head. "I'm going to kill him."

"Did he tell you what is wrong?" Chin asked.

His question reminded Danny of their conversation in the car and he grew quiet as they walked to the elevator. "No, he didn't. But whatever it is really upset him because he's a NIGHTMARE!" Once inside and travelling down to the first floor, he looked to both Chin and Kono. "I wouldn't suppose one of you wants to ride with Steve?"

Kono laughed, patting Danny on the back. "Nope. Sorry brah!"

He looked to Chin with pleading eyes. "No way. He's your partner. Plus, you handle him so well," Chin chuckled.

He sighed loudly as the elevator doors opened. They were surprised when they didn't see Steve standing there. "You don't think he took off do you?" Kono asked.

"I think we should be so lucky," Danny retorted earning him laughs.

Exiting the apartment building they saw Steve leaning against Danny's silver Chevrolet Camaro, his legs crossed and head down as he stared at his feet. "We'll see you guys back at headquarters," Chin told Danny.

"Yeah, sounds good," he replied as he watched his distraught partner.

"Good luck," Kono whispered.

"Yeah, thanks," he sighed, rolling his eyes.

As the Kono and Chin drove off, Danny approached the passenger side of the car. With his hand on the door handle he barked, "Really Steve? You had to break down the door? What the hell?"

Steve looked at him calmly and shrugged. "I thought I heard something. For all we know someone was in trouble." With that he opened the door and climbed in the driver's seat.

Danny stood outside the door, doing his best to breath through the anger. "Thought he heard someone in trouble. Right, great!" he sarcastically mumbled. "This is going to be a long four days." Sighing Danny opened the passenger side door and climbed in, preparing himself for a very unpleasant drive back to Five-0 headquarters.

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><p>Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter!<p>

Please, please, PLEASE **REVIEW**! Want to know what you think!

xoxo


	26. Chapter 26

**DISCLAIMER**: I do not own "Hawaii Five-0" or any of it's characters. I do own Maddie, Pete, Tina, Doc, Ryan, etc.

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><p><strong>AUTHOR'S NOTE:<strong> Hi guys! I wanted to thank all of you that reviewed. Sorry it took me so long to post this chapter. To be honest, I wasn't feeling very inspired to finish it. Not because of the story itself, but because I didn't get a ton of reviews the last two chapters. I know you guys like the chapters where Maddie and Steve interact. Trust me, I DO TOO! But, these chapters are ESSENTIAL for what comes next. I promise! So, the next chapters you will be getting a lot of Maddie and Steve. A lot of Maddie pushing Steve's buttons, which I must say I enjoy writing! :o)

Anyway, please please let me know what you think. The more I hear from people, the sooner I post a chapter. Especially now that I'm home from the east coast. I've taken a couple weeks off before my life gets really busy again. So, I have time to really spend a lot of time updating, which I hope makes you ALL happy! :o)

As always, thoughts are in _italics_. Also, in this chapter text messages are in **BOLD**. Also, you meet a new character in this chapter. His full name is Dr. John Warsten, but mostly he's referred to as Doc. I just didn't want you guys getting confused when you saw a couple different names.

Well, I'll stop rambling and let you get to it!

I hope you all enjoy! And again, please review!

xoxo,

Laura

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><p><span>CHAPTER 26<span>

The partners remained incredibly quiet for the first few minutes of the drive. Steve continued to exceed the speed limit, however not as bad as before.

Besides being beyond worried and upset about whatever trouble Maddie seemed to be in, Steve felt so guilty for what he'd said to Danny. He wanted to say something, to apologize, but didn't know where to begin. Finally the silence became too much. "Danny…" Steve began.

"Just don't," Danny told him, sighing.

"Excuse me?" Steve asked surprised by his response.

"Seriously, just don't. I don't want to talk to you right now. We are having quiet partner time. Just drive," Danny explained obviously angry.

"Fine!" Steve retorted. The fact that now Danny was mad at him and wouldn't even let him apologize just made him more upset. Like all the other times he was furious when he was behind the wheel, he unconsciously pressed his foot down on the gas pedal, taking his frustrations out on the road. The car picked up speed as it flew down the roads, Steve avoiding cars that were 'in his way'.

"Great…" Danny muttered grabbing hold of the handle so he wouldn't fly around the car.

"What was that?" Steve snapped. "I thought we were having 'quiet partner time'?", his tone mocking.

Pulling into a parking spot in the Five-0 Headquarters lot, Steve slammed his foot on the brake, the tires squealed as they came to an abrupt stop. "You're unbelievable, ya know that?" Danny sneered as he opened his door and got out. Steve's only response was to smirk in his direction.

Before he closed the door and walked away Danny bent forward, poking his head in the car. "Reach out to her. Try and fix whatever stupid thing you did because I won't deal with you being a complete asshole for the next four days." With that said, Danny slammed the door and walked towards the building.

Steve didn't know what to say. He knew he was being an ass, but somehow he couldn't help it. He was so mad, and not at Maddie, but at himself. And, he was scared. He was scared he wouldn't be able to find whoever was after Maddie. But most of all, he was scared, no terrified, that he couldn't fix things between them. That she would decide to not honor their deal, but instead leave with Pete. And he knew that would be it for them. _God, I wish I was with her, or at least wish she'd talk to me. Tell me she's okay,_ he thought.

Rubbing his hand through his hair Steve closed his eyes before reaching in his pocket for his cell. He went to his favorites folder and pressed his thumb on her name at the top of the list. Exhaling he placed the phone to his ear and listened to it ring. He couldn't say he was surprised when it rang and rang and rang, eventually going to voicemail. "Hi! You've reached Maddie! I OBVIOUSLY can't come to the phone right now, but if you leave your name, number, and a BRIEF message, I'll get back to you as soon as I can! Thank you and have a wonderful day!" His heart ached at the sound of her voice, wishing it were her actually talking to him.

Once the beep sounded Steve spoke, his voice quiet. "Hey…it's me. I just…I was hoping you would have answered. I really need to talk to you…Mads…this morning….seriously, I didn't mean it.… Also… why didn't you tell me how much pain you were in? How are you doing? I'm worried about you. Baby, please call me back." With that said, Steve hung up, shaking his head. He slowly got out of Danny's Camaro and trudged towards headquarters. "Now to fix things with Danny. Or at least try," he whispered to himself as he walked in the building and into the elevator.

* * *

><p>As Maddie's band played through one of her new songs, she sat on the padded stool in front of them. She glanced down at her watch. <em>11:50am?<em> _I've only been doing this for two hours? Are you kidding me? It feels like I've been here for at least double that! ….Man, this is going to be a long 4 days_, she told herself.

As she waited for Ben to finish working on the arrangement to the song, she took in her current state. Her head was pounding and every part of her body was aching. Her throat hurt even more than earlier and she knew it was only going to get worse as the day went on. Having had to sing and talk over the last few hours had caused her voice to become nonexistent, which made her worry about how she was going to sing Wednesday. _Where is Doc? I thought he was supposed to be here at 11:30am?_ she wondered.

No sooner had she thought it than her phone chimed. Maddie pulled it from her purse to see a text from Pete. **Doc's here. Is it okay for me to come in and get you? You still playing new music?**

She looked up at the band as they ended the song. "Let's take lunch," she tried to whisper as she texted Pete back.

"What?" Ben asked, unable to hear her because she had no voice. He made his way over to Maddie, leaning in close.

"Lunch," she croaked.

"Got it," Ben replied. He straightened out and turned his head to the band. "Lunch, guys." As he did so, he rubbed Maddie's shoulder sympathetically. His head jerked to her giving her a concerned look. Ben waited until the band was gone before saying, "Mads, you're warm. Are you okay?"

She nodded, apparently unconvincingly. "You need to lay down or something, not mention see a doctor. Here, let me help you." He reached his hand out and pulled her up. She wavered as she kept all weight off her right leg.

"How ya feeling Shorty?" Pete asked as he stepped foot on the stage, walking towards them.

"Fine," she whispered still holding on to Ben.

"I see your voice has gotten worse," Pete said stopping in front of her.

"Don't let her fool you," Ben began. "She's warm, a slight fever."

"Tattletale," Maddie mumbled.

Pete reached his hand forward and placed it against her forehead. She immediately pushed his hand away and took a step back. However, she wasn't thinking about how much pain she'd be in when she put weight on her right leg. Her face scrunched in pain and she cried out, well as much of a cry as her voice would allow. Her right leg gave out and she began falling backwards. Luckily both Pete and Ben were right next to her and grabbed her before she could completely fall and hurt herself.

"Woah," Maddie uttered huskily.

Pete picked Maddie up. Once safe in his arms he joked, "Well, I see your leg isn't any better either….Good thing we're going to see Doc." He turned to Ben. "Thanks. She should be done soon."

"No problem. We are taking lunch and then Lyle's supposed to be here at 1pm to start the choreography. We have the arrangements worked out already. Still a few bugs, but those will be straightened out by playing them over and over," Ben said as they walked together off stage and entered the hallways off the backstage area. "Well, good luck Mads! See you guys later!" He kissed her on the forehead and walked in the opposite direction they were going.

With Ben gone and it now being just the two of them Pete took the opportunity to talk to Maddie. "How do you really feel Mads?"

"Fine," she lied.

"Don't make me call Steve down here because I can't trust you to tell me the truth," Pete threatened.

"Whatever, I don't care," Maddie claimed, her heart aching at the mention of his name.

"Now, we both know that isn't true."

"Yes it is," she argued.

"Maddie…I know what he said this morning hurt, but," Pete started.

"No it didn't. Why would it? I don't know what you're talking about," Maddie interrupted.

"Mads,"

"No, seriously, everything's fine. No big deal. He and I are good. I'm good. We're all good!" Maddie lied, trying to pretend like everything was okay, but Pete knew differently. She was protecting herself. _Stupid Steve_, he cursed inwardly.

Pete walked them through the door to her large dressing room. A sign, "Madeline Lily" marked the front of the door. The inside was decked out with two everything she was going to need for the next four days. It had been decorated in a very beautiful, peaceful, and comfortable way. There was a comfy area with two overstuffed couches and two big armchairs in front of a big TV on one side of the room. It was a place for her to rest and hang out. A little kitchen with a table was located more in the back center of the dressing room. On the other side was a hair and makeup station. Also near that were her racks of stage clothes with a large three-way mirror for the fittings that would be happening. A door off the left side of the room led to a large bathroom. Another doorway on the left side led to a smaller room with a pullout sofa, so if she needed to sleep she had a bed.

As Pete entered carrying Maddie, he spotted a man in his late thirties sitting on the plush couch, medical supplies sitting both on the coffee table in front of him and next to him on the floor.

"Uh oh," the man said seeing Pete carrying Maddie. "I see the knee's bothering you."

"Hi Doc!" Maddie greeted as Pete set her on the couch next to him. "Yeah, it is."

"Anything happen? Or is it just bothering you from all the touring?" he asked.

Maddie glanced at Pete just standing there listening. Taking the hint he said, "Okay, I'll be right outside. Holler if you need me." He turned to Doc. "Good seeing you John! It's good that you're here."

"You too Pete!" With that he walked out leaving Doc (John) and Maddie alone. "What happened Shorty?"

"I tripped and fell on it," Maddie mumbled avoiding eye contact.

"Oh Mads! I told you what would happen if you fell on it."

"I know, but it was a complete accident. Really! It wasn't stage related or anything like that. I was heading into my house from the backyard and tripped over the threshold. Went right down on my knee," she explained, her voice cutting in and out. However, she decided to leave out that she'd been running inside because she was upset, effectively distracting herself from the threshold.

"Wow, you're voice. I'll take a look at your throat and vocal chords after I look at your knee," Doc said. "However, I can't tell through the jeans. You're going to have to take them off."

"Okay." Maddie pulled her motorcycle boots off, discarding them next to her on the floor. Carefully she stood, keeping all weight on her left leg and unbuttoned and unzipped her jeans. She began pushing them down her legs, but quickly realized using her left hand for this caused pain, however she toughed it out.

When the dark wash, skinny jeans were at the middle of her thighs she continued to push them down further, but made the mistake of putting the littlest bit of weight on her right leg. Maddie cried out as she fell back on the couch. A couple tears escaped her eyes, but as quickly as they came they were gone as she fervently brushed them away using the back of her hand.

"Let me help you." Doc stood and took hold of the ankle cuffs of the denim jeans. Delicately he pulled them the rest of the way off, leaving Maddie sitting there in her boy shorts. "Oh man…" he mumbled seeing how badly swollen her knee was. He barely touched it and she slightly jerked away, wincing. "This is not good! How did you even get the jeans on? To be honest I'm surprised we didn't need to cut them off!"

"They're a little big….Can you get me through rehearsals and this show?" Maddie asked nervously.

Doc paused, thinking it over. "Yeah…I can, but….it's going to be really painful Maddie." He sighed hesitating. Knowing she wasn't going to like the next part. "And you HAVE to stay off it every moment your rehearsals don't require you to be on it. You're going back into the knee brace. And not the normal one…the ice one."

"NO!" Maddie exclaimed. However, her voice cut off mid word due to a tickle in her throat. She began coughing. Once recovering she said, "The ice one makes it so I'm cold ALL the time!"

"It's necessary if you don't want to damage this even more. I mean, this is already such a stupid idea. You should cancel the show and stay off of it for weeks." Before Maddie could argue Doc continued. "But, I know that isn't an option with this show. So, I'm going to get you through this. If I wasn't going to be here with you for the next five days, I wouldn't do this. But because I get to monitor things, I will. But know that I don't like this. It's not my first choice here."

Suddenly there was a knock on the door. Doc looked questioningly at Maddie and she nodded at him. "Come in," he called.

The door opened to reveal a gorgeous, blonde, green-eyed nurse around the same age as Maddie, maybe a couple years younger. As she entered her dressing room Maddie inwardly groaned, not a very big fan of Doc's new nurse. She wasn't sure why, but ever since the day she'd met her six months ago, there was something about her. She just didn't trust her.

"Hi Maddie! How are you sweetie?" The tall blonde cheerfully greeted, however Maddie knew she was being fake. She knew for sure she didn't care for her. She'd basically told Maddie to her face.

"I'm pretty good Kendall!" Maddie lied as she flashed her a big smile.

"So good to hear!" Kendall returned with an over the top smile and over exaggerated, enthusiastic tone. She approached the couch where Maddie and Doc sat. "Is there anything I can do to help Dr. Warsten?"

"Actually, perfect timing Kendall! Can you set up the scale? I wanna get her weight. And then can you fill a couple bags of ice for Maddie please? I want to get ice on her knee while I continue my exam."

"No problem!" Kendall smiled as she walked into the kitchen section of the large dressing room to do what her boss asked. She quickly brought the small portable scale over. "Here ya go Dr. Warsten."

Doc helped Maddie stand on the scale. He waited for her weight to show and then quickly jotted it down on a new blank page in her chart that he had sitting on the coffee table. By the time he was finished she was already comfortably sitting back down on the couch.

"Alright…so, I spoke to a Dr. Malia Waincraft on the phone the other day…" Doc began.

Maddie looked down, her face blushing from embarrassment.

"Want to tell me what happened?" he asked her.

She shrugged before whispering, "I was so tired. Guess all the lack of sleep the last couple weeks finally caught up to me. And you know me, I'm such a klutz…I had to faint on a marble floor…while holding glass." She tried to lighten the mood by attempting to softly chuckle, however it didn't work.

"…So….then, you're still not sleeping?" he asked. "That's been going on months now and it's not getting any better. In fact, I'd say it's getting worse. Is something bothering you?"

"Nothing, just busy. Plus, I've always had a difficult time sleeping," Maddie lied, something Dr. Warsten picked up on.

"What about since you've been home? How's the sleeping? Getting any more?"

Maddie tried to keep the smile from her face at the thought of spending her nights snuggled into Steve. However, the happiness she felt was short lived when she remembered his words that morning. Suddenly her happiness was replaced by sadness and her heart began to ache. "Yeah, I've been sleeping a little better," she admitted to him.

"That's great! I knew you just needed to take some time off and go home! How long have I been recommending this?" Doc smirked. Maddie shrugged her shoulders avoiding eye contact. "At least a month! At least!" he exclaimed, smiling triumphantly.

"Here you go Dr. Warsten," Kendall interrupted handing him three bags of ice.

"Thanks Kendall." Doc pulled the coffee table closer to Maddie and propped her right leg on it and then positioned the ice all around her knee. Once finished he carefully pulled off her right sock. He slowly began unwrapping the bandage on her foot. "Ouch!" he whispered finally able to see the deep gashes on the bottom of her foot. "Wow, this looks painful!"

"It is," Maddie admitted solemnly.

"Well, it's not infected, but it's a little red. It could easily go that route. I do think it needs a little air, so why don't you leave it like this until you need to go start dance rehearsal at 1pm." John looked at his watch. "An hour from now. You can rewrap it then."

Biting her bottom lip, Maddie nodded, trying to keep the talking to a bare minimum in hopes of resting her voice as much as possible.

"Let's take a look at that hand."

Maddie stretched her left arm out and he took her hand in his. Gently he unwrapped it. "Ouch! Damn Shorty! You really got yourself good!" He studied it for a second. "The cut closer to your wrist looks good. A bit irritated and red, but not bad. But, the cut on your palm is worse. It's quite red and if you aren't careful it'll be infected quickly. So, make sure not to use it!"

"Guitar," Maddie whispered.

John immediately shook his head. "Nope. That'll rip open the scabs. We want them to heal, not keep ripping open!"

Maddie's shoulders slumped in disappointment. _Whatever, I'll still play. I have to. It's part of the show, _she thought.

"I'm going to let this one air out until 1pm too." Doc reached in his bag and pulled out a small pen lighter. "Look at me," he instructed.

Maddie did as he asked and he began flashing the light in her eyes, moving it back and forth between the two. He watched her begin to squint and close her eyes from the intense light he was flashing directly in her striking blue eyes. "Try to keep from closing your eyes Mads. I know it's hard." Maddie did her best to follow his instructions even as she wiped a tear from her cheeks. The light was making her eyes water. "Look to the left." She did as he asked and he said, "Now to the right." He watched her look to the right as he continued to point the light in her eyes. "Now directly at me." That was the hardest for her. "Okay, looks better than what Malia described. I'm sure you still have a slight concussion, so don't fall on your head." Doc smiled as he placed the pen on the table. "How's your headache?"

"Not terrible, but definitely still there," Maddie lied. She knew she'd have to play down how badly she felt when it came to certain symptoms. One of which was her pounding headache. "It's better than last night." That wasn't a complete lie. It had been better this morning, but now it was almost the same as it had been when she'd gone to bed last night.

"Good! However, I would revise any choreography with flips in it. I'm not sure you're ready for that. Are you still getting dizzy?"

"No," she lied again.

"That's good because if you were then you absolutely should NOT do any flips! I know how you like your acrobatics!" Doc smiled at her. "If the headache isn't gone by Thursday, I'll order another MRI…just to make sure nothing else is wrong. ….Alright, let's see the throat."

Maddie nervously opened her mouth. Using a wood tongue depressor and a special tool with a light on it, he began looking in her throat. "It's a little red. Is it sore?"

A sheepish look appeared on her face before she nodded.

"I thought you felt a little warm, but thought maybe you were under the lights on stage." Doc grabbed a thermometer and put it under her tongue. He studied her appearance as they waited for it to beep. He hadn't seen her in nearly 3 weeks and noticed that although she had makeup on and looked beautiful, she was pale. He could see the bags under her eyes that she'd attempted to cover, and for the most part she had succeeded. The biggest thing that concerned him was that she looked so sad. Like all she wanted to do was start crying. He'd been her doctor for years and considered her not only a patient, but also a friend and he hated seeing her like this.

The high-pitched beeping of the thermometer interrupted his thoughts. Doc quickly pulled it from her mouth and looked at it. "100.3…Not terrible, but you definitely have a slight fever. Have you taken anything?"

Maddie nodded. "Prednisone."

"How much?"

"Two pills last night, two this morning," she croaked.

"Yeah, that should help get you through the next four days, but you're so run down I don't know if it will keep you from getting sick. It'll just mask some of the symptoms. But…it will help your voice a lot." Doc grabbed a thin, small cord that was actually a camera. "I'm just going to check the top of your vocal chords. Open up."

Maddie opened her mouth wide and using a cotton pad Doc grabbed her tongue holding it tightly. Gently he slowly slid the camera a bit down her throat. Kendall held a small screen towards him. "Say 'ah'," he instructed.

"Ahhhh," Maddie squeaked out.

"Hold a note."

She did as he asked, although no sound came out.

"It's nothing serious, just big time over use. The fact you haven't been sleeping kept your chords from getting any rest," Doc explained as he pulled the camera from her mouth handing it to Kendall. She took the equipment to the kitchen and began cleaning and packing it up. "Guess what?"

Maddie eyed him, eyebrows furrowed. She had a feeling she wasn't going to like what he was about to say. "Hm?"

"Don't fr-," Doc began, however was interrupted by the song "Bad" by Michael Jackson being played from Maddie's phone. He noticed the way she froze the second it began. Although she knew exactly who it was she reached in her pocket and pulled out her phone. She held it up and stared at the screen until it stopped, a sad look of longing on her face.

_Steve… _Maddie thought, her heart aching. Suddenly the large room felt incredibly small. _Should I get it? …..No, it's a bad idea. He's just going to tell me he didn't mean what he said and I'll believe him only for him to say or do something similar in the near future. Breaking my heart all over again. Face it Maddie, you and Steve are JUST FRIENDS! Always have been. He's never going to see you as more than that and you're just going to continue to get hurt. _As she told herself this she couldn't tear her eyes away from the photo that popped up on her iPhone when he called. _We look so happy. I wish we could go back in time. _

"Do you need to get that? Go ahead and call them back, I can wait. I'm not going anywhere," Doc told her.

Sighing she shook her head. "It's fine. It wasn't important," she said trying to convince herself more than him. "What were you sa-" She stopped mid-word as her phone chimed, signaling a new voicemail.

"Go ahead and listen to it," Doc told her picking up on the fact that whomever had called had been important.

Maddie hesitated knowing she shouldn't listen to the voicemail, that it would just upset her. But, she didn't listen to her inner voice and after highlighting the new message from Steve she placed the phone to her ear. Her heart skipped a beat at the sound of his voice. "Hey…it's me. I just…I was hoping you would have answered. I really need to talk to you…" The sound of his voice made her feel guilty. He sounded sad and upset as she strained to hear the rest. "Mads…this morning….seriously, I didn't mean it." Maddie rolled her eyes. _Yeah, right. I've heard that before, _she thought. "… Also… why didn't you tell me how much pain you were in? How are you doing? I'm worried about you. Baby, please call me back."

It was him calling her baby that did it. The new pet name normally caused her insides to flutter and a smile to grace her face, but this time it only made her heart feel like it was breaking in two. She couldn't hold back the tears that began slowly sliding down her face. Not one to cry, especially not in front of people, Maddie immediately became embarrassed and did her best to wipe them away and keep anymore from falling

"You alright? Is everything okay?" Doc asked, concerned.

"Yeah, fine. Just something in my eye. Anyway, what were you saying?" Maddie asked taking a deep breath hoping it would help calm herself down.

"Um…" Doc began. He wasn't sure whether to keep prying or let it go. He had never seen her cry like that before. _I knew she seemed sad about something. I wonder what's going on? I'll have to have Pete fill me in, _he thought before continuing. "No talking. Only sing if you HAVE to. Otherwise play the vocals from your track."

"Great…Well, how am I supposed to communicate?" Maddie asked not liking the sound of this.

"Kendall? Can you pass me the Dynavox? Oh, and the small dry erase board?"

Rooting around in another bag he'd set down in the kitchen she finally began walking towards them with a small device in her hands. "Here ya go Dr. Warsten," she said handing it to him.

"Thanks Kendall…Anyway, you can use either one of these or both to talk. With this one," he held up a small electric pad about the size of an iPad, but thicker. "Type in what you want to say and it will say it for you. And you obviously know how this old-school dry erase board works," he joked.

Maddie's shoulders slumped and her face fell. "Hey, I know this isn't the most convenient thing for you right now, but at least I didn't tell you you have nodes on your vocal chords or need to have surgery. However, if you don't follow my instructions that's what will happen."

"Fine…" she huffed taking the device and small dry erase board from him. "About my knee?"

"Yeah…this is gonna hurt," he told her.

Kendall handed him a tray with some sterilization pads and a huge syringe filled with some kind of liquid. "This is all I can do for you right now to get you moving better."

"Will it help the pain?" Maddie asked.

"Yeah…but it's still going to be really painful. I'll also give you some pain meds, but I know how sensitive you are to medication. So, you might want to choose the times you take one wisely." Doc began sterilizing her right knee. "I need you to be still, do you want Pete to come in and help keep you from moving?"

"No, I don't really want him knowing what you have to do. It'll just get back to Steve and he'll freak out," Maddie answered not realizing she'd just brought up Steve's name until it was out of her mouth.

"Steve? The one and only? Your childhood best friend?" Doc asked giving her a tiny shot of some anesthetic. She winced a little, but not much.

"Yeah," she mumbled trying to prepare herself for what she knew would be excruciatingly painful.

"Is he still overseas?" Doc asked trying to distract Maddie with conversation.

"Nope. He's here in Hawaii. He's the head of a special task force."

"That's great that you get to see him! Hopefully that means I get to meet him!" As he said this he stuck the large needle into her knee at such an angle that it went under her kneecap.

"Son of a bitch!" Maddie cried out doing her best to keep herself still because she instinctively wanted to pull away.

Finished pushing the medication into her knee, Doc pulled the needle from it and quickly handed it to Kendall to dispose of. "I know it hurts…it'll calm down in a minute. Have you eaten anything recently?"

Wiping at her teary eyes Maddie muttered, "Not since breakfast."

"Well, as soon as you eat something you can take a pain pill." He set a bottle of them on the coffee table. "Also, as much as I hate to do this, double the prednisone and maybe we can keep this virus from getting bad for a couple days. At least until after the show. But that means you have to try and get some rest. That will really help. Also, the prednisone should help your voice a lot."

"Ok, I'll eat something before rehearsal starts."

Doc looked over at Kendall cleaning up in the kitchen and then hesitantly looked back at Maddie. "So," he began, his voice lower. "How's the stress level? Everything okay?"

Maddie immediately felt embarrassed and uncomfortable knowing exactly what he was alluding to. "I'm fine Doc."

"Are you sure?" He looked down at her chart, flipping through pages. "Looking at what you weighed almost three weeks ago, you've lost two pounds."

"I'm on tour, running around stage every night. Of course I did! I'm fine. I promise!"

"Okay. But speak up if you feel overly stressed over the next couple days. They are going to be hard and I don't want it affecting y-"

"I'm fine, but I promise to speak up if I'm not," Maddie interrupted, not wanting to talk about this anymore, especially with Kendall in the room. She couldn't risk anything getting out to Steve. She thought he was overprotective now, he would absolutely NEVER leave her side if he found out certain things. She couldn't risk him becoming more distracted and worried at work. She'd never forgive herself if something happened to him because of her.

"Okay, I believe you…..You have to promise me that you'll force yourself to eat with this prednisone. I know how it affects you. Most people it makes them really hungry, but with you it's the complete opposite. I don't like you taking it for very long and definitely not on this high of a dose."

"I'll be fine. And trust me you're not the only one that feels that way," Maddie whispered.

"Steve?" Doc smirked.

Maddie nodded and rolled her eyes remembering the times in the past when he'd completely freaked over her taking the medication. _Which is exactly why I lied to him this morning when I took it_, she thought.

As Doc packed his bags back up he recalled what Maddie had said right before he'd injected her knee. "Why would Steve freak out if he knew what I was doing?"

_Why does my heart literally ache every time his name is brought up?_ Maddie wondered. "He's overprotective. Especially since I got home."

Nodding in understanding Doc stated, "I take it he knows you fainted and hurt yourself."

"You could say that. It happened in front of him…After not seeing him for two years."

He chuckled. From the little he'd heard about Steve, he could only imagine how overprotective and worried he'd been. He'd never met him, but from what Pete and the rest of Maddie's team told him, the two were completely in love with one another and had no idea. He couldn't wait to meet him and see for himself.

"Is that what you're wearing for rehearsal?"

Maddie looked down at her clothes. Well, at some of them since she still sat in her tank top and boy shorts, her discarded jeans still on the coffee table in front of her. "No. I'll wear leggings."

"Well, get those on and I'll put the brace on. I want your knee surrounded by ice until you absolutely have to be on it."

She stood to stand, but Doc stopped her. "Tell Kendall where they are and she'll get them. Even though I gave you a shot, I still want you staying off of it as much as possible."

"Where are they sweetie?" Kendall asked, her over the top, helpful attitude an act.

Maddie glanced around the room looking for the bag Tina had packed. "They're in that Louis Vuitton duffel bag over on that chair. The one near the makeup and hair station.

"Alright Shorty, you're good to go. Have something to eat and rest until 1pm," Doc told her.

"Will do," Maddie agreed.

"Oh and no talking!" he smirked.

Maddie glared at him before looking down at the small device on her lap. She quickly typed something on it. Once finished she hit the play back button and a robotic voice said, "Whatever you say."

"Here," Kendall said as she handed Maddie the black leggings.

"Thanks Kendall," she replied nicely. "I appreciate it." Doc helped Maddie carefully stand.

"Any easier to put weight on it?" he asked.

"Yeah," she admitted. "But you're right, it still hurts." Maddie bent over and pulled her leggings on before sitting back down on the couch.

"Here Dr. Warsten," Kendall said handing him a massive knee brace.

"Thanks." Doc carefully placed her leg in it and began fastening it. It went from the middle of her thigh to the middle of her calf. Ice packs slipped inside the parts of the brace surrounding her knee, effectively keeping ice on the injury. "When you're sitting in your dressing room for an extended amount of time, I want you in the other brace. The one that hooks up to the ice water tank, which will be set up by the time you're on your next break. When you're not in here for a long time, this brace will be fine. You'll still be getting ice on it." He stood up and asked, "How's that? Good? Too tight?"

Maddie nodded, giving him a thumbs up before typing in the machine. She hit the play button and the robotic voice said, "Brrrr."

He laughed as he walked to the door. "I'm going to go out and talk to Pete. Eat something and then you can take a pain pill if you want." Maddie nodded to him before he exited.

PAGE BREAK

She'd only been forced to be alone with Kendall for a few minutes before Tina came through the door with lunch for the two of them.

"You hungry Mads?" Tina asked.

She shrugged her shoulders and typed something in to the Dynavox. "Not really," the female robotic voice said.

"Dr. Warsten said she needs to eat something. Especially with all the prednisone she's on and if she wants a pain pill," Kendall tattled, all too happy to do it.

Tina caught Maddie's eye and forced herself to stifle a laugh. She knew how Maddie felt about Kendall, in fact she herself felt the same way. There was just something sketchy about her. Just someone you knew you couldn't trust. "Good thing I have this for you then."

Tina set the plate of chicken and vegetables on Maddie's lap. "Eat up."

Maddie hesitantly began to cut the meat and take a couple bites.

"So…wanna talk about what happened this morning with Steve?" Tina asked.

Maddie whispered, "Not sure what you mean."

"Come on Maddie," Tina said, her head tilted and eyebrows raised.

"Nothing happened," Maddie denied.

"It's me! You don't have to hide from me," Tina reminded her.

Maddie took a couple more bites of chicken replaying what he said to her. She was so deep in thought that she didn't notice Tina take a quick photo of her sitting there knee brace on eating her food. Once she'd finished her lunch, or at least three quarters of it, Kendall handed her a pill, which she happily swallowed. "Thanks," she croaked.

"You're not supposed to be talking," Kendall commented.

Maddie ignored her and set the plate on the coffee table. She caught Tina's expectant look as she waited for her to answer. Maddie looked down at her hands. "So, what? He hurt me? My own fault for believing him last night. Especially after he'd made similar comments all evening. As soon as he'd realized that he'd hurt me, he would take them back. But he meant them. He meant every word. And he did this morning too."

"Maddie, you know that's not true," Tina told her standing from her spot in the comfortable chair next to the couch to sit beside her.

"Yes, it is Tina. It's fine. I'm fine. Everything's fine….I mean it is what it is."

"Have you heard from him?"

She nodded, remembering the message he'd left her. The sound of his voice. The way he'd called her baby. She felt the familiar sting of tears behind her eyes. _No! You are not crying anymore over him! _she told herself.

"What'd he say?" Tina asked.

"Here, you can hear for yourself." Maddie handed her friend her cell.

Tina was quiet a moment while she listened to the voicemail. Once finished, she handed the phone back to her friend and boss. "Mads, he sounds really upset and sorry. Why don't you call him back? Talk about this."

"There's nothing to talk about. Plus, I'm not supposed to be talking. Look, it is what it is. We're just friends. Always have been. I mean Tina, he laughed at the idea of us being together. Like it was the funniest thing he'd ever heard. And after last night…"

"What about last night?" Tina questioned.

"It doesn't matter. It was just a mean joke," Maddie mumbled wiping at her watery eyes. _Don't cry! Don't cry! _she chanted to herself.

"What do you mean a mean joke?" she asked, confused.

"He kissed me a couple times before we went to bed," Maddie finally admitted. "But it was just so I wouldn't be upset anymore. Oh well, I fell for it."

"Oh my God! Maddie! No! What you're thinking is completely wrong! I do understand why you would think that. I mean, I would too if I didn't see how he looks at you! He didn't mean what he said this morning. Trust me!" Tina tried to convince her. _I'm going to KILL Steve! How could he make her feel like this? It's the LAST thing she needs right now! _she thought.

"I don't want to talk about this anymore. Plus, I'm not supposed to be talking," Maddie whispered.

"Mads, call h-" Tina began.

"I'd like to be alone until rehearsal starts back up in 30 minutes," Maddie interrupted, shutting down.

"Okay, but I'll be close by if you need anything." Tina sadly stood up. "Come on Kendall." She gave her friend one last look before walking outside.

_Interesting…so Maddie's in love with her best friend. Hmmm_, Kendall thought.

Maddie was left alone sitting on the couch unable to think of anything besides Steve as her heart ached.

* * *

><p>They'd been picking apart Walter Seasius' car the last five hours. Well, actually it was his girlfriend's car, Raquel Linney. Steve and Danny had taken a break from the car to go speak with her. They'd discovered she worked in the building next to theirs. She was a paralegal for the District Attorney's office.<p>

After they finished speaking with her the partners began their short walk back to headquarters. The silence finally became too much for Steve. "Danny, look…I'm sorry about what I said earlier. I was a complete asshole," he admitted.

"Yeah, you were," Danny affirmed.

"There's no excuse. I'm really sorry. You know that's not why Rachel left you. She's an idiot…She made the biggest mistake of her life."

Danny sighed. "I really thought things were looking up. And when she told me she was pregnant, I was sooo excited to be a dad again. But to find out it was Stan's. Oh man."

"And she's sure it's Stan's?" Steve questioned.

"Yeah, she said that she was too far along for it to be mine," Danny sadly said.

"I'm really sorry D."

Danny stopped walking forcing McGarrett to do the same. "Enough about me. You gonna tell me what stupid thing you did this morning?"

Steve looked away from his partner, biting his bottom lip. "I screwed up."

"That much I know," he chuckled.

"I freaked out when one of my old Seal buddies, who is also part of Maddie's security team, asked me if we were together yet. He asked me in front of everyone."

"Oh crap! Steven, what did you say?" Danny asked his voice rising a bit.

Steve winced remembering what he'd said. "I told him we were just friends…and I might have…"

"Might have what Steven?" Danny asked, the irritation evident on both his face and in his voice.

"I might have laughed at the idea of us being together. And thrown in a 'I mean, seriously?' as I did so," Steve admitted. He prepared himself for the lecture.

"You're an idiot. You can only hurt her so much before she walks away." Danny seriously told him as he shook his head.

"Yeah, I know. I screwed up," Steve put his hand to his head.

"Did you call her?"

"Yeah. She didn't answer."

"Well, what did she do when you said that?"

"She tried to hide how much she was hurt, but I could see it in her eyes. She turned to walk away and I stopped her. I tried to convince her to go inside and talk to me for a second, but Pete was trying to get her in the car. I eventually convinced her to give me a hug goodbye."

"Did she hug you?"

"Umm…not really. It was mostly me. At first she wouldn't even touch me. Her arms just hung at her sides. Eventually she put them on my waist, but it was obvious she was uncomfortable. I told her I didn't mean it."

"What'd she say?" Danny asked.

Steve closed his eyes for a brief moment remembering what she'd said and how sad she'd sounded. "She said she had no idea what I was talking about."

"Well, I guess just keep trying to call and hopefully she'll either answer or call you back. When can you see her?"

"Well, she's supposed to be home tonight. I was there when Tina gave her her schedule. She said she was going back to the house every night around 11. So, I think I'll just wait for her there."

"Well, good luck. And stop saying stupid things you don't mean," Danny said to him.

"Why aren't you yelling at me more?" Steve asked, curious as to why he wasn't receiving the normal, angry lecture from his partner.

"Well, because it's obvious you already know how much you messed up. If you didn't, you wouldn't have been acting like you were all morning. And you already know you might have lost her by what you said. You don't need me to tell you that. It would have been different if you already hadn't said things along the same line to her. Telling her she was like your sister was a great move on your part, by the way."

Steve dropped his head, closing his eyes and pinching the bridge of his nose. After a second he brought it back up and looked at his partner. "How'd you find out about that?"

Danny smirked. "Pete."

"Damn it!"

"Speaking of which, what about calling Pete? Or Tina?"

"I already texted Tina. I asked her if she wouldn't mind keeping me in the loop on Mads. I want to make sure she's okay. When she left this morning she told me her leg was okay, but she lied. She can barely walk and is in a ton of pain. Not to mention her voice was almost non-existent and she didn't eat very much this morning. And then I upset her. I don't know…I'm really worried about her. I just need to know she's okay."

"Huh, well what did Tina say?"

"Nothing. She hasn't responded yet." Steve checked his phone for the millionth time that day. Hoping to see at least a text from Tina, but he'd prefer to hear from Maddie herself.

"And Pete?"

McGarrett let out a mix between a snort and a chuckle. "Yeah, but he was already mad at me and after this morning, I'm not holding my breath. Plus," he sighed. "My gut tells me he has his hands full with her."

"Well, let's try and figure out who's stalking Maddie. That will help things…What do you think about Raquel?" Danny asked hoping to take Steve's mind off Maddie.

"I don't think it's a coincidence that she works next door," Steve answered.

"Me neither. I was hoping you thought differently."

"Yeah, I knew deep down whatever Mads was hiding was bad. And now these little pieces are telling me it is. Damn it! I wanted it to be an open and shut case so I could get that stress off her!" Steve angrily said.

"We'll figure it out," Danny assured his partner. "Let's go see if Chin and Kono found anything helpful while we were gone."

The partners began walking the rest of the short distance to headquarters. Just as they entered the doors to the building Steve's phone chimed, signaling a text message. He knew it wasn't Maddie because she had her own tone. Quickly pulling his phone from his pocket he saw who the text was from. "Tina," he whispered.

"What does it say?" Danny asked, curious.

The text said nothing, but instead was a picture. It was of Maddie sitting on a big, overstuffed couch barefoot. Her right leg was in a huge brace that went from the middle of her thigh to the middle of her calf and was elevated on the coffee table. On her lap was a plate of food. Tina had taken the picture just as she brought a fork full of chicken to her mouth. Steve smiled seeing she was safe. That yes, she'd been looked over by a doctor and she was eating. Knowing this caused some of the worry he was feeling to dissipate. He quickly texted Tina back. **Thanks T! **

"Steve! Are you going to tell me what she said?" Danny loudly questioned interrupting his thoughts.

"It didn't say anything. Just a picture." Steve showed Danny what Tina had sent.

"Okay, there you see she's safe. She's being taken care of. She saw a doctor. Do you feel any better?"

"A little," Steve admitted.

"Alright then, let's go find the asshole messing with her!"

With that the two partners made their way to the forensics area where the car was being looked over.

* * *

><p>At 6pm Maddie was pulled from rehearsing the choreography to the new songs. The dancers, Lyle (choreographer), and Maddie were in a meeting with wardrobe deciding on the new costumes that would be needed.<p>

"How about this?" Sheila asked, holding up a sketch.

"That's perfect! Exactly what I envisioned!" Maddie wrote down on the small dry erase board and held it up to them. She flashed a smile and gave a thumbs up as she sat on the couch in her dressing room. Her knee was in a different brace. This one was attached to a small machine filled with ice water beside her. It was continuously pumping it through the brace. You would never have guessed she was in Hawaii by her attire. Besides her leggings and thick, white socks she wore a tank top under a long sleeved, thermal shirt. On top of those, she wore her favorite, grey, cable knit, Vince boyfriend sweater. A royal purple, fleece blanket laid on her lap.

"Now, not only do we need these new costumes ready on Tuesday, but we need outfits similar to these-" Tina placed two different piles of sketches in front of the wardrobe team. "They are for two different filler videos. Because these new costume changes will take longer than thirty seconds, we need to make two segue videos to play while they are changing. This first one…everyone will be on roller skates, including Maddie. The second one is simple. It will be them dressed as themselves. Footage of Maddie and the dancers in lingerie will also be shot, but that's not for a video. It's just simple footage to be played behind them during a number. Clips will be thrown in here and there."

"Okay…well these shouldn't be too hard. When are the videos being shot?" Andre asked as he took notes on the sketches he'd just been handed.

"Tonight. Basically as soon as they can be done," Tina informed them.

Andre, Sheila, and the other four people part of the wardrobe team eyed one another. "Okay, we'll get them done as soon as possible."

From her spot on the couch Maddie cleared her throat. "I really appreciate all your hard work on this you guys. I know these are crappy circumstances. Thank you," Maddie whispered.

"Maddie! No talking unless you have to," Pete chastised.

"I needed to," she wrote, a smirk on her face as she held up the board to Pete.

"Alright, well, we need to get back out there and work on some changes for the second and third songs of the show. Let us know when the costumes for the videos are done," Lyle said.

"Okay, we'll get right to work!" Sheila and Andre stood and walked towards the door, the other four following them. They exited and walked a few doors down to a large room that had been turned into their working area.

"Alright, back to work!" Lyle began unhooking Maddie from the brace and helped her stand. "How's it feeling?"

"Good, it feels good," Maddie lied. _Yeah, good…right Maddie. More like it'd be less painful if someone cut it off!_ she thought to herself as they walked back down the hall towards the stage.

Just as they were entering through the doorway that lead to the backstage area Maddie stopped and turned to Pete. She met his eyes, a knowing look on her face. "Oh, come on Mads? Aren't you working on old songs now?"

"We have to finish up one of the new ones and then we'll be working on the second and third songs in the show. So….come back in thirty minutes. 7pm," Lyle explained.

Pete was not happy. "Maddie…I promised him I wouldn't leave your side. And I have barely been with you at all today. I don't like it…and if I don't like it, you know he's REALLY not going to like it."

Maddie scowled at him. "Steve is NOT the boss of my life! He doesn't get a say!" she hissed.

"Talk to him…I know he's called you a couple times today. He's called me," Pete told her.

"So," she scowled.

"Talk to him," Pete demanded.

"No! He's not the boss of me and neither are you! I'll do what I want, when I want!" Maddie stubbornly said before she turned and walked through the door leading to the backstage area. Lyle followed right behind leaving Pete standing there with Tina.

"She's going to run herself into the ground because she wants to forget about what he said. Damn him!" Pete exclaimed.

"She'll get through this. It'll all be fine," Tina told him, placing her hand on his forearm. "I promise."

* * *

><p>It was 11pm and Maddie, the dancers, backup singers, and band were still rehearsing. "What is wrong with you? Madeline, why aren't you getting these changes? This should be easy for you!" Lyle yelled at her through the microphone (mic) he was holding. It was such a large venue that he used a mic to speak to everyone, that way they could all hear him.<p>

They'd been rehearsing the show's second and third numbers since 7pm. They were the same numbers they'd been using the last few months, but with a lot of changes. A lot. And they were more difficult. Maddie and her dancers weren't rehearsing it in full costume, but they were in the shoes they'd be performing them in. Maddie's were 4.5-inch stilettos and because of the way the shoes fit she wasn't able to have the cut on her foot wrapped. To say it was killing her was an understatement. And it wasn't just her foot either; her knee was throbbing too. The shot had made it so she was able to walk and dance, but it had only gotten rid of some of the pain. Her headache was pounding and her throat hurt even more than earlier. But as much discomfort as she was in, she didn't want to stop. If she stopped she would think about Steve and she just couldn't do that anymore. She had to keep going. _Suck it up Madeline! Keep going! You can do this! _she told herself.

"She's exhausted. We all are!" Ryan spoke up from his spot to her left. _If she continues this way for the next 3 days, there won't be a show. She's going to run herself into the ground_, he thought as he took in her tired stance. He had danced with her long enough to tell she was babying her right foot.

"I'm sorry, but that's too bad. There's a lot to do in a short amount of time. What's throwing you off about this change Maddie?" Lyle asked, trying to take a more sympathetic and understanding tone.

Maddie walked forward to where she'd set the dry erase board. She quickly wrote, "Nothing. I'll get it. Sorry," and held it up so he could read it.

"Okay. Let's try this part again. Ronnie, start from the second chorus please!"

Ronnie counted the band off and they began the second chorus. Maddie and her dancers started dancing. She didn't completely nail the part she was struggling with, but it was a lot better. Lyle watched them as they continued through the song.

From his spot next to Lyle Pete kept his eyes glued to Maddie. _She's looking more tired. A little pale. I gotta get her home to bed_, Pete thought as Tina walked in and whispered something to Lyle.

When the song was finished Lyle said, "Better Maddie…it was sloppy, but definitely better. Okay, we are going to take thirty minutes. Wardrobe needs to do a quick fitting. Then take the rest of the time to relax."

Everyone immediately sighed happily and rushed offstage before Lyle changed his mind. They all hurried to their respective dressing rooms. Everyone had to share except for Maddie. She had her own. The ten male dancers were split between two large dressing rooms. The six female dancers had their own massive dressing room. The band had yet another extremely large one and the four backup singers had a medium sized room. Still big though. Each room had a place for them to rest and sleep if they needed to.

Pete and Tina were immediately at Maddie's side as she came backstage, walking towards the hallway that lead to her dressing room.

"Want a lift Shorty?" he asked.

"No, I'm fine," she told him, although there was part of her that wanted to say yes.

Once in her room she immediately sat on the couch and pulled off her shoes, hissing in pain as she did so.

"Hurts?" Pete asked.

"Nothing I can't handle," she replied.

"Maybe Doc should look at it," Tina suggested.

"No, I'm fine. I promise. He already looked at it earlier today anyway." Maddie slipped a pair of socks on to keep anyone from seeing how bad her foot looked and walked over to the side of her dressing room where her wardrobe team waited.

"Here sweetie, slip this on," Sheila, a petite woman in boyfriend jeans and a white t-shirt, said to her as she handed her a short dress.

"Thanks Sheila," Maddie replied as she stripped down to her underwear. Pete immediately turned his back, wanting to give her privacy.

Once in the costume, Sheila motioned for her to stand on a raised area in front of the three-way mirror. Being sure to stand up straight, Maddie giggled at Pete. "I'm dressed Pete. Plus, you've seen me in my underwear before."

He quickly turned around, but before he could say anything Tina spoke up from her spot next to Maddie.

"So, it's 11pm now. I know originally that was when you were supposed to be home, but there's a lot left to do. We need to shoot the filler videos tonight, so that they can be edited and ready in time for the show Wednesday. Once they are shot, you can get some rest."

"No problem. I don't need to sleep anyway. I'm not tired. I'd prefer to just keep going," Maddie disclosed. "You're right, there's a lot to do."

Her statement concerned Pete. _Is she lying? Or is she just in denial? She'll be in worse shape than I brought her here in if she keeps going like this_, he thought.

"So, let's go over all the details to the first video." Tina began recapping the first filler video. The one where she would be wearing the old style waitress uniform she was currently trying on.

"So, I'll shoot the whole thing in roller skates?" Maddie asked making sure she understood correctly.

"Yes."

"Okay, cool."

"There are just a couple minor alterations I need to make, but they should only take me twenty minutes!" Sheila said as she pinned the waist of the dress. Once she was finished she unzipped it and helped Maddie out of it.

Once again Pete became flustered seeing Maddie in her bra and underwear. "Pete, what is with you today?"

He immediately blushed. "It's just weird now…"

"What? Why?" Maddie asked confused. _Do I look bad or something?_ she wondered suddenly becoming self conscious.

"It's just with how things are between you and Steve. It feels weird to see his ….well whatever you are to him… in her underwear. It feels wrong."

"Pete, Steve and I are nothing but friends. Nothing's changed between us. It's the same as it's always been, so stop being weird," she said in a matter of fact way as she slowly walked across the room. She slipped into her leggings and tank top before plopping down on the couch.

"Yeah, we both know that isn't true," Pete told her as he started fastening her right leg into the big brace and flipped on the ice water machine on the floor.

"He said it himself this morning. And last night when he told me I was like his sister. I really don't want to talk about him anymore. There's nothing going on between us." Maddie shivered as she finished.

"You can keep trying to lie to yourself, but we both know you wish he was sitting here with you right now," Pete forcefully told her as he grabbed the fleece blanket and placed it on her. "Rest for the remainder of the thirty minutes. We'll be outside." With that said, Pete motioned everyone out of the room, leaving Maddie in there alone.

Sitting there on the couch, Maddie's thoughts drifted to Steve. _He's right_! _I'm mad at him and hurt by what he said…so why is there a part of me that wishes he were here right now?_ she wondered. _Let it go Maddie. You know he's only going to keep hurting you. You're just friends._ As much as she tried she couldn't stop thinking about him. Finally it became too much and she threw the blanket to the side and began unfastening the brace. She slipped her light Nike tennis shoes on and walked towards the door grabbing her 4.5-inch stiletto shoes she would be wearing at the beginning of the show.

"What are you doing?" Pete asked as she exited her dressing room door.

"I'm going to rehearse the changes we were just working on. I wasn't quite getting them," Maddie announced as she walked by him.

He immediately followed, his eyes wide. "No, Maddie! You need to rest a little bit. This is just the first day. You have 3 more jam packed days. You need to rest. Make the most of your breaks."

Maddie didn't stop, she only continued to proceed forward down the hall towards the backstage entrance to the stage. "You worry too much! I'm fine! I gotta do my job Pete! The whole reason this show is happening is because my last few shows were sloppy. I have to make sure that doesn't happen with this show or else I don't get my time off. More importantly, this is being televised worldwide. I can forgo sleep for a few days if it makes sure this show is amazing!" She walked through the doors leading to the backstage area. She quickly climbed the stairs leading to one of the stage entrances. "You can watch from out there if you insist," Maddie said, pointing to where the audience would be sitting. Pete didn't want her out there rehearsing alone so he stood in front of the second part of the stage, which is where she was rehearsing the choreography.

He watched Maddie carefully. He could tell she was tired and it was obvious she was forcing herself to do this. _She's so stubborn_, he thought. _I was afraid she would do this after what Steve said this morning and she's impossible to get through to when she's like this. Oh man,_ _I really hope she chills out tomorrow and realizes she needs to pace herself._

* * *

><p>Steve had ordered everyone home at 10pm. The team was tired and frustrated, having no real leads or any more information on who sent Maddie the text message.<p>

Normally he would have stayed late working, but Maddie was supposed to be getting home around 11pm and he wanted to be there waiting. On his way to her house he stopped by to see Kamekona. He had called ahead and Kamekona had made her her favorite. Steve had some groveling and explaining to do and he thought he better not go empty handed.

He'd gotten to her house around 10:40pm and after taking a quick shower he waited for her on the couch in the living room. However, 11pm rolled around and she wasn't home. _So, she's a little late. That's normal. They probably wanted to finish up choreography for a number, not wanting to start in the middle of a song in the morning. She should be home by midnight. 12:30am at the latest_, he told himself. However, deep down he had a feeling she was going to be a no show, although he pushed the feeling away, refusing to even acknowledge it.

Steve dozed off for a short time around midnight, having had not only a tough and frustrating day, but also the last few days with Maddie had been hard. Worrying about her was exhausting, not to mention the first couple nights he had to wake her up consistently, never getting any sleep himself.

He woke up at 1am and looked around the room. There was no sign she'd come home. "Damn it Maddie! Don't do this!" Steve cursed out loud. Reaching in his pocket for his phone he called the familiar number. He sat there rubbing his tired face as it rang and rang. "Of course," he mumbled as he was sent to voicemail. ""Hi! You've reached Maddie! I OBVIOUSLY can't come to the phone right now, but if you leave your name, number, and a BRIEF message, I'll get back to you as soon as I can! Thank you and have a wonderful day!"

He shook his head and took a deep breath, trying to calm himself before he left her a message. Finally the beep sounded and he began speaking. "Maddie, it's 1am. You should have been home two hours ago. You really need to get some rest….I'm really hoping you're on your way!" Steve paused, not really knowing what to say to her. He didn't even know if she was listening to his messages. "Baby…for the millionth time…I'm so sorry. I didn't mean it." With that said he hung up. _I don't know what else I can say in a message that I haven't already said?_

Steve decided he'd try calling Pete, hoping he would answer. He listened to the rock song that Pete had as his ringer until it eventually went to his voicemail. "Hello! This is Pete and I can't come to the phone right now. Please leave a quick message and I'll return your call as soon as possible. Thank you!"

Once the beep sounded Steve spoke up. "Pete, I know you're probably pissed at me, but you have to let me know what's going on. Maddie should be home right now. She needs to sleep. Call me back and let me know what's going on! I need a damn update!" He hadn't meant to sound so irritated at the end, but he was frustrated. He didn't know how she was doing. He was completely in the dark and it was getting to him.

Both physically and emotionally exhausted, Steve decided he needed to try and get some rest. Reluctantly he trudged upstairs to her bedroom. Slowly he stripped down to his boxers and climbed in her bed. _Hopefully, she'll be home in a little while_, he thought. Although he was worried about her, he fell asleep pretty quickly, the last few days finally hitting him.

* * *

><p>Maddie was in her dressing room getting her hair and makeup done for the first filler video when Michael Jackson's "Bad" filled the room for the third time that day. Just like the other times she picked up her phone and watched it ring as she stared at the photo of the two of them. <em>Why won't he just leave me alone? How is he not getting the hint? I don't want to talk to him<em>, she told herself. _I'm just not ready. I need some time._

"You going to get that sweetie?" her makeup artist Nicole (Nikki) asked as she finished the last little touches to her makeup.

Maddie slightly shook her head making sure to not make her hairstylist, Lorali's, job more difficult.

"Why not?" Lorali asked from behind her. Although Maddie was trying to hide the sad look on her face, both women could see it in the mirror. They shared a knowing, confused look.

"It's not important. I'll call them back later," Maddie whispered.

"Why do I get the feeling that you won't?" Nikki laughed, trying to lighten the mood. "Boy problems I take it?"

"Something like that. But it's fine. No big deal."

"Well tell us about it. Maybe we can help," Lorali said.

"It really doesn't matter. There's nothing there. Just going to forget about it. But, thanks," she mumbled.

Nikki and Lorali looked at one another. They had both noticed Maddie hadn't been herself the last few months, but now she seemed to be even more withdrawn.

"Okay, you're good to go," Nikki said, setting down the makeup sponge she'd been using.

Maddie looked up and met Lorali's eyes in the mirror. "Hairs done too. I'll give you a touch up right before you start filming."

"Me too. I'll have to touch up your lips," Nikki added.

"Thanks guys," Maddie whispered, flashing them a slight smile at she stood. "I'm going to get dressed." Standing, she reached down and unhooked the knee brace, not wanting to use the crutches to walk with it. It's not that she couldn't put weight on it, but she couldn't bend her knee in the brace, which made walking extremely difficult. Therefore, the crutches.

"What can we do to help?" Lorali asked. It was just Nikki and her in there with Maddie. Her wardrobe team was all across the hall working tirelessly on the rest of the costumes for the show.

"Um…I think just zip me up when it's time," Maddie responded as she slipped out of her black leggings.

Nikki helped her out of the sweater she had on, while Lorali helped pull her tank top over her head, stretching the neck in such a way that it wouldn't mess up her hair.

Maddie was left standing in her beige bra and black boy cut underwear. "You're so teeny! I'm so jealous!" Lorali told her.

"Pretty sure we wear the same size," Maddie laughed.

The two women grabbed the old-fashioned style pink waitress outfit and together brought it over her head and down her body. While Lorali straightened it out Nikki zipped the back up.

Lorali turned and grabbed the accessory Ziploc bag that was hanging from the hanger, opened it and pulled out a pair of black fishnets. "Here sweetie."

Maddie sat in the makeup chair and began pulling them over her bare legs while Nikki grabbed the thick pink socks and brand new white roller skates with bright pink laces over to her.

Once Maddie had her fishnets on she took the big pink socks from Nikki and slipped them on. "I'll wait to put the skates on until we are ready to shoot," she told her.

"Yeah, probably a good call. Knowing you, you'll fall the second you stand in them!" Nikki joked causing the three women to burst out laughing.

"You speak the truth," Maddie whispered just as there was a knock on her dressing room door.

Because Maddie could only whisper, Nikki yelled, "Come in!"

"How ya doin Shorty?" Doc asked entering the room.

"Great," Maddie lied as she slowly walked over to the couch.

"I not only can see you've been talking, but I can tell. Your voice is getting worse," Doc said giving her a look. "Mads, ya gotta trust me on this. Either write or type what you want to say. You're going to want to save your voice for Wednesday. All the interviews and the show. Trust me!"

'Fine' she mouthed to him, not making a sound.

Doc sat beside her and looked her knee over. "Well, at least it's not more swollen. So, the ice and meds are helping." He placed his hand on her forehead. "Fever seems to not be rising either. That's good news. How's the headache?"

'Same' Maddie mouthed.

"Any dizziness?" he asked.

Maddie shook her head lying. She had experienced some dizziness at certain times when they'd been rehearsing choreography, but it hadn't been terrible. Mild enough that she didn't think anyone had noticed.

"Okay. Good. Let me see your foot. I want to check the cut." Doc reached for her foot, but Maddie pulled it away avoiding eye contact.

"I have my fishnets and socks on already. It's fine," she whispered.

"Talking!" he laughed. "Mads, you really think I don't know you well enough to know that the reason you don't want me looking at it is because it's worse. Let me see it!" he demanded.

Reluctantly Maddie let him take her foot as she narrowed her eyes at him in a childlike way. Gently he pulled off the pink sock and looked through the fishnets. The cuts were starting to rip open and were significantly redder and inflamed. Especially the big, deep one. "Ouch! Definitely worse! Did you not wrap it back up?"

"It wouldn't work with the shoes," Maddie answered.

"You need to wrap it now. Should be fine in the roller skates. Take the tights off and I'll wrap it. I want to put some antibiotic ointment on it."

Maddie pulled down her fishnets, slipping her right leg from them, but leaving them up to her knee on her left leg.

"This has to be really painful. Why didn't you say anything?" Doc asked, concerned.

"It is what it is," she replied quietly.

"Maddie, you have to speak up. I know you don't like complaining and worrying people, but telling someone you're in pain or not feeling well is NOT complaining…and when you don't speak up it just makes people worry about what you possibly aren't telling them." He grabbed some items from his bag on the coffee table and began cleaning the cut. "This is bad. A lot worse. It's starting to get infected. You really need to keep this wrapped when you're dancing. It must have gotten sweat and bacteria in it."

Maddie sat there staring at her hands while listening to Doc lecture her as he put antibiotic cream on it and wrapped it. Once he was finished she pulled her fishnets back on and the pink sock.

Doc noticed that once she was dressed she rubbed her knee doing her best to hide the grimace appearing on her face. "When was the last time you ate anything?" he wondered.

Maddie was quiet for a minute as she thought back. "Lunch?" she whispered hesitantly, knowing he wasn't going to like that answer.

"Madeline! It's after one in the morning! That was twelve hours ago! You have to be more on top of this…I know the Prednisone makes you not feel hungry, but you have to force yourself to eat."

Maddie nodded. It wasn't that she wasn't hungry, sure she wasn't, but it was more that she had lost track of time. She had been so focused on work, burying herself in it to forget about everything going on with Steve that she'd just forgotten.

"Here, I'll go get you something from craft services hunny! Anything in particular sound good?" Lorali asked from her spot at the table in the small kitchen where she and Nikki sat eating a snack.

"No, just whatever looks good," she whispered. "Thanks Lorali!"

"No problem! I'll be back in a few," she smiled as she left the room.

"Alright, looks like you have a little time before you film these videos. So, back in the brace." Doc caught Maddie's eye roll and said, "I know, I know. But it's helping. Trust me!" He put the huge brace back on her and attached it to the ice water machine on the floor. Once he was done she grabbed the big, royal purple, fleece blanket and covered herself with it.

"I'm going to head back to my hotel for the night kiddo. After you eat, take a pain pill. I can tell you're really hurting right now. When you're done filming, go home and get some sleep. I'll see you in the morning. But, if you need anything, call me and I'll come over."

"Thanks Doc!" Maddie croaked out.

"And for God's sake, STOP TALKING!" he chastised as he bent down and gave her a quick hug.

Maddie reached for the Dynavox and typed something. Just as he was opening the door to leave he heard the robotic voice say "Yes, sir!" making him laugh.

"Goodnight Maddie," Doc smirked as he closed the door behind him.

* * *

><p>Maddie stood up after putting on the white roller skates. Pete folded his arm and she slipped hers through it. She began to carefully skate towards the small set across the large, high-ceilinged room. <em>I can't remember the last time I was on skates<em>, she thought to herself as she held tightly to Pete. _The last thing I need to do is fall._

"Alright, this shouldn't take very long. This should only take an hour to film at the most. You all know what to do! Let's aim for a three a.m. wrap time on this first video," Ron the director announced. Walking over to Mads he made sure she was on her mark and knew what to do. After did the same thing with the dancers. They sat at small tables that had been set up. A large green screen was behind them. Because of the time frame it was easier to build a bare bones set and use a green screen than to build an elaborate set. This way they could easily input whatever background they wanted to using a computer. There just wasn't enough time to build an entire set.

"Alright, Maddie you know what to do…skate through there holding the trays of food. Let's just get that first shot. Guys, you're all excited and loud. You're having fun!" Ron turned to his director of photography (the guy in charge of the camera). "You ready Michael?"

"Yeah," he responded.

"Okay…speeding…action!" Ron yelled.

Maddie came skating out looking like a pro in her waitress outfit holding the trays of food. As she came around the slight turn to the tables she suddenly had an extremely bad feeling. _My skates feel really weird all of a sudden_, she thought. However, the thought came too late as something happened to her skates causing her to lose her balance. Her feet flew above her head and she came crashing down on the tiled floor straight on her tailbone. The trays and food flew every which way. Some hit people when they came down while others just fell to the floor.

It was as if it all happened in slow motion and although he tried to get to her before she hit the floor, Pete just couldn't make it in time. She was too far away from him. "Shorty!" he cried as he ran to her.

The pain she was experiencing was excruciating. Although she'd hit her tailbone the pain was spreading through her arms and legs. It felt like her bones were all breaking. "Owww," she mumbled.

Suddenly thirty crew members were coming towards her all asking her if she was okay. She wanted nothing more than to start sobbing, but she was already so embarrassed she'd fallen the second they started filming, that she couldn't cry in front of them too.

Maddie tried to play it off as no big deal as she chuckled and began trying to get up. However, she quickly realized she couldn't. The pain was too much.

"Mads, you okay?" Pete asked from his spot on her left side. She met his eyes sending him a look. He immediately understood she couldn't get up, but was too embarrassed to say anything. "Here let me help you up Shorty!" Carefully he slid his hands under her and picked her up. The movement made the pain worse tenfold and it took everything she had to keep the tears that so desperately wanted out from falling.

"We'll be right back. I just want to make sure she's okay," Pete said as he walked out of the large room and down the hall to her dressing room. The second they stepped foot in the room Maddie started bawling, feeling safe since it was just Pete, Tina, and herself.

"Talk to me Mads…are you okay?" Pete asked frantically. Because she was so clumsy, she was always hurting herself, but he'd never seen her cry like this when she had.

"I just need a few minutes," she managed to say between her tears. Due to the adrenaline coursing through her veins from the fall, she found herself incredibly shaky.

"Let me call Doc," Pete said as he reached for his phone.

"No, let me finish filming this video and then we can call him," she mumbled.

"I don't know Maddie. I think we should call him now."

"I agree with Pete, Mads," Tina said as she sat next to Maddie on the couch and began wiping her tears, trying to keep her makeup from running down her face.

"Just…give me a few minutes guys," Maddie whispered.

Deciding he could at least give her time to get over the shock of falling so hard, Pete asked, "What happened? How'd you fall?"

"I don't know. My skates started to feel weird and the next thing I knew I was flying through the air," she revealed.

"What?" Pete responded as he quickly unlaced her skates and pulled them from her feet. His stomach dropped as he began inspecting them. "Tina…where were these?"

"In wardrobe I think. Then they brought them over to her dressing room. Why?" she answered, a look of confusion on her face. "Why does that matter?"

"They're missing screws in the wheels. She fell because the wheels weren't secure."

Suddenly Maddie felt like she was going to vomit as she realized exactly what had happened. _This is his message to me_, she thought. Fear took over as a thought popped into her head. _Is he going to mess with Steve too? Oh my God…no…!_

TO BE CONTINUED….

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><p>Please, PLEASE, <strong>PLEASE<strong> let me know what you thought!

Thanks for reading!

xoxo


	27. Chapter 27

**DISCLAIMER**: I do not own "Hawaii Five-0" or any of its characters. However, I do own Maddie, Pete, Ryan, Doc, Tina, etc.

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><p><strong>AUTHOR'S<strong>** NOTE**: Hi guys! I bet you thought I abandoned the story, didn't you?! Don't worry, it WILL NOT happen. I've been working on it the last month. In fact, you'll be happy to hear that I have the next 200 Microsoft Word pages typed and ready to post. However, I broke it up into numerous chapters, so it'd be more fun for you guys. So, here are the first 50pgs. Like always, the more reviews I get the sooner I'll update.

Originally, I wanted to have the remainder of her rehearsals in one chapter, but so much happens and I didn't want to rush through it. So, it will be in multiple chapters. I know you are anxious to see what happens with Steve and Maddie, but you're gonna have to wait a couple chapters because I split these up. But, I PROMISE you will NOT be disappointed.

I LOVE writing Maddie and Steve scenes and because he is off working the case while she is rehearsing there aren't any right now. I would have sped through these chapters and not been so detailed except that important things happen. So, just read them and know that A LOT of Maddie and Steve scenes are coming up.

Also, I wanted to let you know that after her big show and her team leaves her in Hawaii with Steve, you'll start to see the real Maddie come out. So, this scared, withdrawn, exhausted version of her is NOT who she really is, which is one of the big reasons Steve is so worried about her. He knows it would take something huge for her to be like this. She's normally independent, strong, stubborn, athletic, clumsy, funny, and really silly. I'm anxious to write the scenes where she is more like herself. Anyway, I just wanted to throw that in and make you aware of it.

A few notes...there's a room they all tend to hang out in at the arena. It's a huge room and can be entered from right outside where the crew parks. On the other end of the room is a hallway that leads further into the arena, including Maddie's dressing room and eventually to the stage. When writing, I'm referring to this room as the "main room of the arena". If you guys have any questions about this chapter or if you feel I'm not describing certain things well, please let me know. I have this image of what everything looks like in my head and with certain things I've struggled describing them. So, again, let me know if anything is confusing!

Also, Maddie arrived in Hawaii on Thursday and in this chapter it's Monday. So, she hasn't been in Hawaii very long. Not even a week. Just keep that in mind!

Like always, _italics_ are thoughts. Now, here is a slight change. Anything that is in **bold** is either a text message or something Maddie has written on the small, dry erase board. You will know which one because I let you know.

Well, I will shut up and let you get to it. I really hope you like this chapter and the next few. BIG THINGS are going to be happening!

Please, please, READ AND REVIEW! I'll post the next chapter tomorrow...I feel bad I've been MIA on you guys.

Anyway, ENJOY!

xoxo

Laura

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><p><span>CHAPTER 27<span>

Pete's heart was pounding. And pounding was a complete and total understatement. It was beating so hard he felt as if it was going to rip right through his chest and fall to the floor. His mind was moving a million miles an hour as he glanced around the room as subtly as possible, looking for anything out of place. He didn't want to scare Maddie, or Tina for that matter. But, something was wrong and his gut was telling him Maddie knew something about it.

With nothing screaming out at him, he turned to Maddie, eyeing her angrily. However, as he took her in, the anger dissipated. Instead, it was replaced by worry. She laid on the couch in tears because of the pain. He watched as Tina tried to soothe her, wiping her face to keep her makeup from running. He quickly walked to the refrigerator and poured a glass of milk. "Here, sit up Shorty," Pete calmly said. She did her best, but the movements only caused more pain making her cry harder. He handed the glass of milk to Tina and then carefully helped Maddie into somewhat of a sitting position. "Drink this." He pointed to the milk Tina was holding out to her. Quickly he grabbed a pill bottle off the coffee table next to him. "Then you can have these. Doc said you could have up to two if you were in terrible pain. I think this is one of those times." He dumped two pain pills in his hand. "The milk should coat your stomach enough to keep the medicine from upsetting it. Plus, you didn't eat that long ago…"

As she drank the milk, well more like chugging it, Maddie stopped crying as hard. She left a little bit and Pete handed her the pills. She immediately finished off the glass and swallowed them. Although she was no longer making crying sounds, tears continued to roll down her face. Pete sat in front of her, his butt on the edge of the coffee table. He placed his hand on her left, uninjured knee and soothingly rubbed it while Tina sat next to her trying to comfort her.

_What the hell is going on? How did someone get past security to the skates? Unless__…__is it someone on her team? No__…__if that was the case, she'd seem more afraid all the time. More on edge,_ Pete thought, his mind flying from one possibility to another. _Unless, she doesn't know who it is. Maybe she's only contacted by them. _At this thought, the hair on the back of his neck stuck straight up. In his mind he began running through the people closest to her, trying to remember anything that could possibly stick out to him. Any odd behavior, lingering looks her way. Anything. Unfortunately, nothing was coming to mind, but he'd keep thinking about it.

Pete sighed as he stared at Maddie, noticing she had started to calm down a bit. _Hopefully that means the medication is beginning to help_, he thought. Still sitting on the edge of the coffee table he brought his hand back from her knee. His legs apart, he leaned forward and rested his elbows on his thighs as he clasped his hands together. Taking a deep breath, he prepared himself for the conversation they were about to have. "Mads?" he began. She looked up at him, eyes red and watery. "What's going on?"

Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "What do you mean?" she asked as she wiped at some fresh tears.

"Do you know who did this?" Pete questioned. He was doing an amazing job of remaining calm and collected, effectively hiding the anxiety and anger he was feeling.

"No, I don't," Maddie answered as she sniffled. _I'm not really lying_, she told herself. _I mean, I don't know who it is._

"What do you know?" Pete asked.

"I don't know anything about this Pete. I don't know what's going on," Maddie responded, her face serious. Again, she told herself she wasn't really lying. She didn't know why her stalker was doing what he was doing. She only knew he existed and he was sneaky...well that and he wanted her to stay away from Steve.

He looked down at his intertwined hands. "Okay, well," He paused, looking back up at her. He didn't need to say it; she knew exactly what was going to come out of his mouth next. They both prepared themselves for what they knew would be an argument. "We have to call Steve."

"No! Absolutely not!" Maddie immediately countered, not missing a beat.

"Maddie, yes! He needs to know about what just happened." Pete was having a difficult time remaining calm. _She's so damn stubborn!_ he thought.

"No he doesn't! He has a job. This isn't it!" Maddie was getting angry. "He is not the boss of me! He's my friend. That's it! Why does he need to know every single thing that happens?!"

"He cares about you! If something happened to you…I don't even know what he would do." Maddie only glared at him. He tried a different approach. "You're right, he has a job. And that job is protecting people. Solving crimes. Catching bad guys. You don't think this falls into any one of those categories?!"

"Why do you think they were tampered with? They could have just been a faulty pair of skates! You're jumping to conclusions!" Maddie exclaimed.

"You and I both know that they weren't faulty. Someone messed with them, Mads." Silence filled the air as they stared each other down. After a minute, Pete reached for his phone in his pocket, preparing to call Steve.

"Wait!" Maddie cried. He paused, waiting to see what she was going to say. She looked to her right, closed her eyes, and let out a deep, shaky sigh. "Don't call him. He's gonna be so upset and then come down here." She turned to Pete, her eyes glassy with new, unshed tears. Not tears from the pain of her recent injury, but tears from the pain in her heart. He and Tina watched the muscles in her face begin to twitch as she battled to keep her face from crumbling. Her bottom lip began to quiver as the emotions she'd been trying so hard to bury over the last twenty-four hours threatened to explode. "I just can't handle that right now. I don't want him here. Okay?"

"Maddie…he didn't mean it. He screwed up. You have to talk to him, it's eating away at you and you can't keep using work as a distraction. It's too much for you. You're already too run down and exhausted." Pete met her heartbroken eyes. "Shorty, he needs to know."

"I know. And I'll tell him. I'll tell him what happened." Both Pete and Tina's faces filled with relief. "But after the show Wednesday," Maddie added.

"Maddie," Pete mumbled, shaking his head.

"No. I just…I need a couple days to think things through before I have to see him."

"He didn't mean it."

"You guys keep telling me that, but that's not the first time he's said something along those lines. TRUST ME! He's continuously making comments like that, so there must be some truth to them." She shrugged her shoulders, giving them a sad, heartbreaking smile.

"Don't give up on him sweetie," Tina whispered. "He's just…being a stupid guy. He loves you."

"I know he does. As a friend." She paused, taking a moment to ensure that the emotions that were threatening to explode from her stayed in. "Look, I don't want to talk about it anymore." Maddie turned her head to look at Pete. "I'll tell him. After the show. I can only deal with one thing at a time right now and currently I'm focusing on getting through this show." She paused, wiping her face. Suddenly she straightened and took a deep breath. "We have a video to shoot. But I'm pretty sure I need my makeup retouched. Can you send Nikki in?"

Tina looked at Pete. They shared a sad, knowing look before she stood and responded. "Sure thing sweetie. I'll be right back." Tina walked out of the dressing room, leaving Pete alone with Maddie.

"Steve really didn't mean it. He's just freaked out. Carl put him on the spot," Pete told her, hoping to get through to her.

"I think I saw another pair of skates. Pretty sure they sent over some extras. Can you go look? Maybe check them out. Make sure there's nothing wrong with them?" Maddie asked, ignoring his earlier statement.

Knowing that was her way of saying she would no longer be discussing Steve, he stood up sighing. "Yeah, I'll go look. Stay here."

Sitting alone in her large dressing room, Maddie closed her eyes. _I wish Steve were here right now. I need him, _she thought, feeling her emotions bubbling under the surface. She loved how safe she felt with him, especially when he held her and in that moment, that's exactly what she both needed and wanted. However, she knew she couldn't go there. _No__…__you can't think like that. You can't rely on him for that comfort anymore. It'll only make this hurt more._ Quickly she wiped at her face and exhaled a long, shaky breath. She stood, doing her best to ignore the intense pain in her lower back and down her legs. Her hand went to her head as she experienced an intense wave of dizziness. As she waited for it to pass she noticed her headache was a lot worse. _Did I hit my head when I fell?_ She wondered, praying she hadn't. As she began walking across her dressing room to the makeup chair, she pushed all her feelings and emotions away, as if locking them in an imaginary box never to be opened again. She was tired of people adding their two cents about Steve, giving her false hope. Having them constantly tell her that he loved her when his actions said otherwise was only making things harder.

* * *

><p>A few minutes later Pete came in her dressing room, two pairs of roller skates in his hands. "You were right. Two more pairs," he announced, flashing her a smile. She did her best to return it, but just couldn't find it within herself. Pete's heart ached for her. <em>Man, you screwed up Steve, <em>he told himself.

Setting the skates on the couch, he approached Maddie. Standing next to her he cleared his throat. "We need to call Doc. I think he needs to check you out. Make sure you're okay."

"No, I'm fine. He'll be here in the morning anyway," Maddie whispered.

"No," Pete firmly replied. "I'm not taking no for an answer on this. Your wellbeing and safety are in my hands. And since you won't let me call Steve, Doc WILL BE called. Unless you want to change your mind about the Steve thing."

She flashed him an angry, irritated look.

"That's what I thought," Pete smirked.

"Fine, call Doc…BUT, not until after we shoot the videos. We need to get them done."

"You are so damn stubborn!" Pete cried out.

"And you're just discovering this?" Maddie smiled.

Pete shook his head as he attempted to look angry, but as hard as he tried he just couldn't. The goofy look she was giving him kept him from it.

* * *

><p>As a teenager he had hated his physical appearance. He wasn't good-looking; the guy all the girls fawned over. The guy that caused them to melt at a simple hello or a smirky smile. However, he wasn't ugly either. He wasn't the awkward, uncoordinated guy with acne so bad that his face was just one big pimple. The guy who was tortured in high school. The one that was taped to the flag pole naked or was jammed in lockers on a daily basis. Basically everyone's punching bag. The source of cruel entertainment at that age.<p>

Instead, he was average. The guy no one ever noticed until he was in your face talking to you. And even then you could have sworn it was the first time you'd spoken to him, when really it was the tenth. He had been that guy, not easily noticed and easily forgettable. Invisible. And he'd always hated it. That is until he joined the Navy.

It was there that he learned the benefits of being "nothing special". His physical appearance allowed him to stand or walk right next to a "bad guy" and catch everything they were saying without being discovered. He could be in and out of an enemy's location without them ever noticing. He could have someone under surveillance and even be seen by them more than once, but never caught. All because he was forgettable. Well, disguising himself in certain situations definitely helped too.

Of course, the deeper and higher up he got in the Navy, the more he learned. And not just from them, but from enemies as well. He'd always been a sponge; soaking up any and everything he could learn, no matter the source.

So, yes, it had taken years to accept that physically he was nothing special. And even then it still bothered him sometimes. Mostly when a girl was involved. However, as he slowly exited the main room of the Blaisdell Arena he smiled to himself, as this was not one of those times. In fact, it was a moment where he found himself proud of his ability to blend in.

He laughed as he drove out of the parking lot, shaking his head. He turned left, making sure to take the exact same route he'd taken every time he'd been there the last several days. "This is too easy," he said to himself.

He knew how great he was at this, but a small part of him still couldn't believe neither Pete nor Maddie had recognized him. Sure, he was in a great disguise, but still!

He parked the dark green Toyota Highlander next to a red minivan in the busy mall parking lot. He climbed out and entered the mall. While he walked to the other end he was sure to keep his face hidden from the cameras. Steve wouldn't have recognized him if he had, but he didn't want Five-0 to figure out why he was there. Which was why as he neared the side of the mall he wanted, he disappeared down an employee only hallway. There were no cameras down this particular hallway, so he was in the clear. He exited near a couple dumpsters and walked the short distance to his black truck.

Once inside, he pulled the thick driving gloves from his hands and the dark, brown-haired wig from his head before reaching into his glove box for the travel pack of face cleansing wipes he'd put there. As he casually eyed his surroundings, making sure no one was watching, he used a wipe on his face and neck, removing the majority of the makeup he'd used to disguise his skin tone. After a few minutes he looked in the rearview mirror and was satisfied with his appearance. As he started his truck he grabbed his baseball hat from the passenger seat, a big toothy grin on his face.

Pulling out of the mall parking lot he remembered how beautiful Maddie had looked when she'd come out to shoot the video. He'd stood near Lyle watching as the director yelled action. Seconds later her feet flew above her head and she came crashing down on her tailbone. Testing out his disguise, he rushed to her as she laid on the floor. He laughed, recalling how he'd even asked her if she was okay. She'd looked right at him, smiled, and nodded without realizing who he was.

Although she was doing her best to be stoic he could tell how much pain she was in. He definitely felt bad. It wasn't easy hurting the woman you loved, your soul mate. But, he did what he had to do. He had been extremely clear, she was to have no contact with Steve. And of course he knew it wasn't her fault that she was in Hawaii. But she'd snuggled with him, she'd kissed him, she'd cried over him. Those were the reasons she was being punished.

The fact she was in Hawaii, that was all Pete. Yes, Steve had helped, but Pete had planned it. And he was being punished for that.

He was great at his job, Steve had chosen wisely. He wouldn't have hired just anyone as Maddie's head of security. She meant too much to him and Pete knew that. He'd always thought so highly of Steve, in awe of his talents and abilities, but more than that he was a good person. Always doing what was right, doing what he could to help anyone whether it put his life in danger or not. He was someone you wanted on your side. Someone you wanted as a friend. Pete looked up to Steve. It was as simple as that. Well, that and he'd saved Pete's life more than once. So, when Steve had put him in charge of Maddie's safety he swore he'd never let anything happen to her and he meant it. He took the job incredibly serious.

So, he knew the best way to punish Pete was to get to Maddie when he was watching her. He knew it would make him feel like a failure, like he'd let Steve down. "Mission accomplished!" he snickered to himself, as he pulled in to the house he'd bought a little less than a year before.

He immediately made his way to his bathroom. He smiled maniacally as he looked at his reflection in the mirror. "You're a genius," he complimented himself before pulling the green colored contacts from his brown eyes. He then proceeded to wash his face and neck thoroughly, wanting to be sure he was completely rid of the makeup he'd had on.

Once finished, he dried his face on a nearby towel before heading to the kitchen. _I'll just grab a quick bite before heading out to see how Steve is doing with the trail I left him_, he thought. The mere idea of seeing the famous Lieutenant Commander Steven J. McGarrett struggle on a case made him so happy he could burst. But what put the extra spring in his step was that of all the cases it could be, it was protecting Maddie. Now that he knew would destroy him.

* * *

><p>Although in agony, Maddie shot the first video. Pete watched her like a hawk. In fact he had Mo, Carl, and Frank near him instead of stationed in different parts of the arena. Six of the remaining twelve bodyguards were at their hotel sleeping, while the other six had each been given specific instructions from Pete. They were on alert and told to report anything even the littlest bit odd. In the morning, the six that had slept would switch spots with the six that were still there. However, Pete, Carl, Frank, and Mo stayed glued to Maddie, taking turns sleeping when they could.<p>

It didn't take a genius to see how much pain she was in. Not only was she walking slowly, but every movement she made was slow and forced. She was doing her best to keep the pain from showing, but it was becoming harder and harder.

They were getting ready to shoot the second filler video. Maddie was standing near Pete just waiting until they needed her. Sheila rushed up to Maddie checking her outfit. "It needs something," she mumbled to herself. She eyed the singer up and down. "Jewelry! I'll be right back!" She was gone just as quickly as she had appeared.

Maddie glanced at Pete, her forehead wrinkled and a smile tugging at her face. "Did that just happen?" They both began to laugh.

"Here sweetie! Put these on!" Sheila ordered, once again appearing out of nowhere. Maddie's eyes were wide with surprise as jewelry was thrust into her hands. "You look great! Kick some butt!" Sheila told her, kissing her cheek. Before Maddie could really process what was going on, or respond for that matter, the wardrobe stylist was gone.

"What the?" Maddie whispered. Pete laughed from his spot next to her. Maddie joined in as she tried fastening the bracelet while she juggled the rest of the jewelry. However, her infamous clumsiness and the fact that she was in pain and exhausted worked against her and she dropped the jewelry to the floor. "Crap," she murmured. _This is gonna hurt_, she told herself as she began to bend forward.

Pete watched her try and pick up the fallen items. She tried bending at her waist, but it was obviously too painful as she winced and straightened back out. He then watched her begin to bend her legs and squat down to grab them, but that was not only painful on her tailbone, but her knee. "Mads, I got 'em," he whispered as he bent down and picked the jewelry up off the floor. "You know you can always ask."

"Thanks," she sheepishly said as he handed them to her. "Can you help me with the bracelet?" she asked hesitantly.

"Of course!" Pete smiled, quickly fastening it to her petite and delicate wrist.

"Thanks Petey," she whispered, her voice barely there, as she pulled the long necklace over her head.

"Thought you weren't supposed to talk unless you absolutely had to?" he smirked, earning him a mock glare.

"Alright Mads," Ron called to her. "We're ready for you!"

Maddie flashed a tired smile at Pete before slowly walking towards Ron.

As soon as they'd begun filming the short video, Pete glanced at his watch. _4am_, he thought. _Well, at least he got __some__ sleep_. He pulled his phone from his pocket, dialing Doc.

* * *

><p>Doc arrived to the venue at 4:30am. Maddie was almost done filming the video when he walked up to Pete. "What the hell happened?" he asked her head of security. When he'd called, Pete had only told Doc that she'd taken a bad fall and that he should come down and make sure she was okay.<p>

As they stood there watching Maddie, Pete recounted the early morning's events. When he was finished Doc was confused. "So, you think someone messed with her skates?"

"Yeah, I do."

"Did you call the police? Or…isn't Steve the police here?" Doc asked.

"Maddie won't let me tell Steve. She said she'll tell him after the show Wednesday," Pete sighed.

"What? Why?"

"He upset her yesterday morning when we were leaving the house," Pete answered. "Plus, she doesn't want him worrying about her."

"What do you mean? How so?" Doc hadn't had a chance to ask Pete about Steve yesterday, so he had no idea what was going on.

"Well, to make a long story short…they both have finally realized they have feelings for one another. And…well Steve is handling it poorly. Maddie knows exactly how she feels, but Steve…well he's freaked out. He's always handled change poorly. In this case…it scares the hell out of him because they've been each other's rocks since they were four years old. So, dumbass Steve has made a few bad comments and behavior choices. I thought she was a mess before we got here…" Pete shook his head.

"So, let me guess…his ringtone is Michael Jackson?" Pete nodded and Doc smirked. "That makes so much sense now!"

"What does?" Pete turned to him, a questioning look on his face.

"Yesterday when I was doing my initial exam of Maddie, her cell rang. She got this look on her face. I told her to go ahead and take the call, but she just stared at the phone. It stopped ringing and beeped that she had a new voicemail. She listened to it and she started to cry. Well, Maddie's version of crying. A few tears rolled down her face before she wiped them away and pretended like nothing had happened."

"Yep, that would be the result of his stupid mouth," Pete growled, shaking his head in irritation.

"So, what'd he say that upset her so much?" Doc asked.

"Well, she had a barbeque at the house Saturday night, which she shouldn't have had. She was exhausted and not feeling well, but she insisted on it. There's this woman on Steve's team, Lori. She has a definite thing for Steve and she was hanging all over him. Of course he flirted back, which got to Mads. However, what Maddie didn't see or pick up on was that Steve couldn't take his eyes off her. Anyway, they fought a bunch throughout the night. During one of their arguments Maddie asked him why he cared so much and he told her it was because she was like his sister."

"Oh man," Doc mumbled. He put his hand to his head.

"Yeah," Pete smirked. "Anyway, eventually things started to click for Steve. Of course it took me kicking his ass."

"That would explain the cuts that have been butterflied all over your face. I was wondering about that," Doc laughed.

"Yeah. Well, Steve figured out why Maddie was upset with him, with of course some help. Anyway, he started trying. They were doing better. But then, yesterday morning when Carl and Frank came to pick us up, smartass, nosy Carl asked him if they were together yet. In front of everyone. And of course, Steve panicked." Pete groaned, remembering what Steve had said.

"Do I even want to know what his response was?" Doc asked.

"He said they were just friends and laughed at the idea of them together."

"It wouldn't be such a big deal if he hadn't already made comments like this or been caught kissing Lori after he made out with Mads in the theatre," Tina added. Both men turned around to see her sitting in a chair behind them, exhaustion evident on her face.

"Yeah, but Steve didn't instigate that. That was all Lori. And he didn't want to leave Maddie to go meet Lori. Mads insisted. Told him what happened between them didn't mean anything," Pete said, doing his best to hide his worry over her tired appearance.

"She did?" Tina asked, shocked.

"Yeah," Pete nodded.

"Sounds like they've both screwed up because they're scared," Doc threw in trying to follow the conversation. _Apparently a lot's happened in the last few days_, he thought.

"Who's scared?" came Maddie's raspy voice. Pete and Doc whipped around to see Maddie and Mo, with Carl and Frank nearby.

"Hey Shorty," Doc said. "Heard about what happened."

"You done filming Mads?" Pete asked.

She nodded, as she leaned into Mo, the exhaustion and pain becoming too much for her. That and the pain pills Pete had given her had kicked in, making her feel sleepy.

"You have a headache?" Doc asked as he noticed her rubbing her head.

"A little," she lied. In reality her head was pounding. All she wanted to do was curl up and sleep. She leaned further into Mo as her eyes fluttered closed. Feeling her begin to relax against him, Mo quickly picked her up, not wanting her to fall asleep standing up.

"I wanna check her over," Doc said to Pete.

"Okay." The group walked down the hall towards her dressing room.

* * *

><p>Upon entering her dressing room, Mo lowered Maddie to the couch. "One of you stay outside the door, the other two… grab a quick nap while you can," Pete instructed Mo, Carl, and Frank.<p>

"I'll stay at the door. I grabbed a nap not too long ago," Frank said.

"Okay, great. Thanks!" Pete replied. As he walked towards the couch they left the room, following his instructions.

Tina sat in one of the big armchairs next to the couch Maddie was laying on. She wanted to stay out of Doc's way as he examined her, but she also wanted to stay close to her friend in case she was needed. Pete sat on the end of the coffee table across from Tina. "T," his voice was quiet. "I want you to go get some rest. You can sleep on the pullout bed in the other room," he instructed.

"Oh, I'm fine," Tina told him.

"You're exhausted Tina. When was the last time you got any rest?" Pete asked.

She smiled at his concern. "I'm fine Pete. Maddie needs me."

"You're right, she does. Which is exactly why you are going to get some sleep. There's nothing you can do for her right now. I'll stay with her. Doc and I both will."

"Pe-" Tina began to argue, but was interrupted by Doc.

"Was she this sleepy before she fell?" Doc asked.

Tina stood from the armchair. Walking around Pete she came to a stop near Doc. "No. I mean she was tired, but she wasn't acting like this," she answered pointing to Maddie lying on the couch with her eyes closed. "Pete did give her two pain pills, though."

"Yeah, but those wouldn't make her sleepy like this. I'm worried she hit her head when she fell."

Panic filled Pete at the possibility that she'd hit her head again. "Mads?" he softly said. She opened her eyes a crack, meeting his. "Did you hit your head when you fell on the skates?"

She thought about it for a second, but gave up, her head hurting too much. "Dunno. I definitely hit my butt though. Hurts like a son of a bitch!" she smirked slightly as her eyes closed the rest of the way.

Pete smiled at her sense of humor. _Even when she's in agony and exhausted_, he thought. "Does your head hurt Shorty?"

"Yeah a little." Maddie lied, her eyes still closed.

Pete turned to Doc. "Wouldn't she know if she hit it?"

"If she hit it hard. But I think she just hit it a little. But because of her concussion…a little is all she needs. She has the classic signs. She's tired and sluggish." He lifted her eyelids and flashed his pen light in them. She scrunched her face, moving it away from him. "And light is bothering her… I want an MRI of her head. Not to mention an x-ray of her tailbone. She's going to the emergency room."

"Nooo," Maddie mumbled from her spot on the couch. "Pete, tell him no!"

"If you let me call Steve I will. If not, I agree with Doc."

"I hate you," she mumbled.

"I know," Pete chuckled, knowing she'd choose the ER over calling Steve.

"Let me help her change into something more comfortable," Tina said.

"Okay, we'll be outside," Doc informed her as the two men stood and headed out of the dressing room.

* * *

><p>While Tina helped Maddie change, Pete, Frank, and Doc stood outside the door waiting. Most of the crew had gone back to their hotels for some rest, so it was relatively quiet in the arena.<p>

"I don't have privileges at the hospitals here," Doc informed.

"That's right…um…I'll call Malia." Pete pulled his cell from his pocket.

"Dr. Malia Waincroft?" Doc asked. "Perfect!" he said at Pete's nod.

Pete stood, listening to the phone ring and ring. _I really hope she answers_, he thought as the ringing continued. Just as he was about to hang up, a sleepy, female voice answered. "Hello?"

"Malia. I'm so sorry for calling and waking you up," Pete expressed.

"Pete?" she asked as she tried to find her way out of the sleepy haze she was experiencing.

"Yeah."

"Is Maddie okay?" she asked, coming to and realizing the only reason Pete would be calling her late. The fact that it was 4:15am increased her concern.

"She took a spill. Her doctor, Dr. Jonathon Warsten, is here. He wants her to get an x-ray and MRI, but he doesn't have privileges at hospitals here."

"Yeah, I spoke to him the other day," Malia stated. "Okay, I'm on my way. Meet me at the emergency entrance to Honolulu Hospital."

Suddenly Pete heard a groggy, male voice in the background asking what was going on. _Chin_, he thought. "Malia, Steve doesn't know and she wants to keep it that way. We'll fill you in when we see you."

"Okay, I'll tell Chin not to say anything. See you in twenty."

"Bye," Pete said before hanging up. He turned to Doc. "We're good to go. I'll go grab Maddie. Frank, can you pull the car around?" As Frank jogged off to get the car, Pete walked into her dressing room to see Maddie sitting on the couch pulling on a pair of slouchy black boots over black leggings and thick, black socks. She was wearing a black tank top with a baggy eggplant colored sweater over it. As she moved, it slid around, occasionally exposing her petite and slightly boney shoulders. She looked up seeing Pete. "This is beyond unnecessary."

"I disagree." He grabbed her brace as he made his way over to her. "You need to wear this. Do you need help putting it on?"

She rolled her eyes, hoping to get out of wearing the obnoxious thing. "I'll do-" However Doc interrupted her as he walked in.

"I got it." He approached Pete, taking the brace.

While Doc helped Maddie into the knee brace, Pete made his way to Tina, who was busy grabbing her purse and Maddie's and anything else either one was going to need. "You don't need that," he told her, taking her purse.

"Of course I need my purse Pete," she said, looking at him as if he'd lost his mind. "A woman doesn't go anywhere without her purse."

"I want you to stay here and get some rest," he told her quietly.

"I'm fine. I promise!"

"Tina, we still have three days to go. She needs you. We all need you. You can't keep going like this. I know you."

"Pete, I can take care of myself," Tina whispered angrily.

The two had been doing a dance for a long time. Tina had been in love with Pete for a couple years, but had never acted on her feelings. In fact, the only one that knew how she felt was Maddie. She had effectively kept them hidden. She and Pete had always been close. They'd hit it off right away as soon as he was hired as her head of security four years ago. Pete didn't know how he felt about her. He definitely knew he cared for her, but he had never wanted to go there, so he kept himself from ever even thinking about it. His job was to take care of Maddie. His best friend, the man who had saved his life more than once, had tasked him with protecting the person he cared about most. He didn't take that lightly. He wanted nothing to pull his focus from Maddie and he worried that if he fell for Tina that it would. However, when she'd left them for nearly two months to be with her sister, he had been surprised at how much he missed her. Now that she was back he found himself not only making sure Maddie was okay, but Tina as well. He needed Tina to be rested because he knew Maddie just couldn't be right now. She had too much to do.

Pete sighed and took a step closer. "I know you can. I just…"

"You what?" she asked, suddenly aware of his close proximity.

"I need you to be rested. I can't be worrying about you and Maddie at the same time. We both know the only way for her to pull this show off is to just keep pushing through. There's so much to do that she doesn't really have the time to sleep. She can't afford to lose that time. So please, don't fight me on this. Stay behind and get a couple hours sleep." Pete paused and hesitantly reached forward resting his hand on her upper right arm. "You look exhausted."

Tina smiled, her insides flip flopping at his touch. "Are you trying to tell me that I look like shit, Peter?"

He couldn't keep from chuckling. Staring into her eyes he said, "You could never look like shit." With that said he turned around and walked towards the couch leaving a shocked Tina in his wake. _Did he just flirt with me?_ Tina wondered, as she stood frozen in place. After a second she snapped out of it. She put her purse down and finished gathering Maddie's things.

Maddie slowly stood, crying out as she did so. "Damn it! You don't realize how much you use your butt bone and butt muscles until you hurt them. That hurt!"

"Yeah, tailbone injuries are excruciatingly painful," Doc stated.

"Mads, let me carry you," Pete told her, picking up on the fact she was loopy from the pain medication.

"No, I got it. I'm a big girl," she responded as she swayed slightly. Hesitantly, Pete handed her the crutches.

Just as she was about to place the crutches under her arms Tina came over, hands full of clothing. "Here Mads. You're gonna get cold." She wrapped a black, knit infinity scarf around her neck.

"My favorite! What made you pack it in Hawaii?" Maddie asked, a slight slur to her voice, as she smiled.

"I know how much you love it! And you wear it around the house all the time just to be snuggly," Tina answered. "Here, slip your arms in." She held Maddie's favorite big, grey, cable knit, Vince boyfriend sweater open. The one she practically lived in.

Maddie smiled again at her best friend and assistant as she slipped her arms into the sweater. Tina pulled it up and played with the scarf making sure she'd be warm enough. "Thanks T! You're the best!" Maddie whispered as she leaned forward hugging her. "What would I do without you?"

"I don't know. I can tell you that your life wouldn't be filled with nearly as much joy, that's for sure. Oh and you'd be cold," Tina joked as they pulled out of the hug. "Now don't drive Pete too crazy. Be good!"

"Sure thing…mom," Maddie smirked.

"Alright, we gotta go," Pete said as Maddie took her crutches from him and began walking. He watched nervously as she fought against her eyelids closing. He walked close to her, just in case, while Doc was on her other side.

Just as the three were exiting the dressing room Tina called out. "Will you keep me posted?"

Pete stopped and turned to face her. "Of course. Now, you-" He pointed towards the door to the pullout couch. "Go get some rest!"

"Okay." The two smiled at one another before Pete waved and walked out of the dressing room noticing that Jared, another member of her security team, was now at the door. _Good, Frank must have called him to watch the dressing room. Don't wanna risk anyone getting in there, _he thought. "You don't have to stand out here. You can go sit inside if you want to. Just don't fall asleep." He smiled at his co-worker and friend. "Oh, and by the way, Tina's in the other room getting some rest." Jared nodded at his boss and entered the room.

* * *

><p>Maddie slowly crutched towards the waiting car. Frank had pulled up right outside the entrance to the main room of the arena, making it easier for her.<p>

Pete kept looking over at her noticing she was slowing down. He watched her eyes flutter closed and had enough. Doc realized Pete had stopped walking and looked over to see why. Reading his mind Doc took her crutches as Pete picked her up.

"I can walk Pete," Maddie mumbled, laying her head against his shoulder.

"I know you can. But let me give you a lift."

Maddie didn't argue as he felt her relax. He thought she was almost asleep until she whispered, "Pete?"

"Yeah Shorty?" he whispered back.

"No offense, but I wish you were Steve right now."

Pete pulled her tighter to him at her statement and the sad sound of her voice. "I know you do." He looked down towards his right shoulder expecting to see her eyes closed, but instead they were open, tears threatening to fall. "None taken, by the way." She smirked at him. "Want me to call him?" he asked.

Maddie hesitated, thinking it over. Although she wanted him to be there so badly, she knew that in the end she would just end up hurt. He would say all the right things only for him to eventually say the absolute worst thing, leaving her heartbroken and sad. She just couldn't put herself in those situations with him anymore. No matter how much she wanted him there, she felt it wasn't a good idea. "No. Don't call him," she mumbled as they reached the car.

Pete said nothing as Doc opened the back passenger door before getting in the front seat. Pete set her inside the backseat before sliding in after her. Once the doors were shut Frank drove off into the early morning darkness.

He placed his arm around Maddie as she leaned into him. "If you change your mind Mads, just let me know," he whispered to her.

With her eyes closed, she replied, "I know."

* * *

><p>It was quarter to 5am by the time they arrived at the hospital. Frank pulled up to the emergency entrance where Malia and Chin were standing waiting. Chin stepped forward and opened the back passenger door. He was greeted by Pete's smiling, but tired, face. Maddie was leaned against him asleep. "What can I do to help?" he asked.<p>

"I'm gonna pass her to you. She's out," Pete answered. Carefully he picked Maddie up and turned in the direction of the open door. He froze when she moved around, which must have hurt because she groaned and scrunched her face in pain. He waited to see if she was going to wake, but when she didn't he exhaled a sigh of relief before handing her to Chin.

With Maddie in his arms he took a couple steps back from the car to give Pete room to get out. "How long has she been asleep?" Malia asked.

"Pretty much the entire car ride. Maybe 15 minutes," Doc answered. Extending his hand to her, he introduced himself with a firm, but friendly handshake. "Dr. Jonathon Warsten."

She took his hand, a bright smile on her face. "Dr. Malia Waincroft. Nice to finally meet you!"

"You too! Thanks for doing this Doctor."

"Please call me Malia. And of course! She's one of my best friends, Dr. Warsten."

"John, call me John."

"I'm Chin Ho Kelly! I'd shake your hand, but…" Chin smiled, looking down at Maddie in his arms.

"Nice to meet you Chin!"

Pete was standing outside the car, leaning through the rolled down passenger door window talking to Frank. After a minute he turned to the group as Frank went to park the black SUV. "Frank will meet us," he informed them right before his phone went off. He quickly looked at the screen and read the text message he'd just received. **Heads up, there's paparazzi. They're heading your way.** Pete turned and looked around as he pulled his grey hoodie off. "Frank just texted. Paparazzi. They must have followed us from the venue. The last thing she needs is for this to get out to the press." Taking the hoodie he gently laid it on her head, effectively keeping her face and upper body hidden.

"Let's get her inside then," Malia said as she began walking through the doors. "I already have a room ready. It's as far away from prying eyes as I could get. I pulled my best nurse from the floor for Mads. Oh, and don't worry, she won't say anything to anyone."

"Great, thank you so much Malia," Pete said as his eyes flitted around, taking in their surroundings. The Navy had trained him to always be aware of his environment, but whenever he was with Maddie he was overly aware, making sure she would always be safe. After walking down the hall for a few minutes and passing some overly interested people, they followed Malia into an empty room.

"You can put her on the bed," she instructed. Chin did as his girlfriend directed and gently laid his friend down.

"So what happened?" Malia asked.

Pete sighed. "Someone got to her."

"What? How?" Chin immediately questioned, his eyes wide. He could feel the sudden surge of anger and adrenaline coursing through his veins at the news.

"I don't know. I mean, I have the venue locked down. I have no idea how they did it!" Pete shook his head as he rubbed his hand across his face, obviously incredibly frustrated and bewildered.

"What do you mean someone got to her?" Malia asked, sitting next to Maddie on the bed. She was looking for a good spot to insert an IV. Once she found a good vein she began cleaning the inside of her right forearm. Biting her lower lip in hopes of not waking her up, she gave her a small shot of anesthetic. She froze when Maddie moved a little in her sleep. Once she settled a middle-aged nurse wearing light blue scrubs handed Malia an IV needle. While she listened to Pete explain what happened, she inserted it in her friend's arm.

"She was about to shoot a short video that'll be played during the show. Anyway, it called for her to be on roller-skates. The first shot, she rolled in and her feet flew above her head. She landed straight on her tail bone."

"Maddie's the clumsiest thing. Are you sure she didn't just fall?" Chin asked, hoping that was the case.

"Yeah. I asked her what happened and she said all of a sudden the skates felt funny and the next thing she knew she was in the air. So, I took them off and looked at them. The wheels weren't completely screwed on. Some screws were even missing." Pete handed Chin a sealed bag, the white roller-skates inside.

Chin grabbed a pair of gloves from a dispenser on the wall and slipped them on before opening the bag and pulling the skates out. He studied them carefully. Finally he looked up, his eyes briefly closed as he sighed. "Yeah, they've been tampered with."

"What the hell is going on?" Malia asked. "What did Maddie say?"

"She says she has no idea what's going on," Pete answered.

"And Steve doesn't know any of this?" Chin asked, already knowing the answer. He knew that if his boss was aware of what had happened he'd have rushed to Maddie, never leaving her side.

"She doesn't want him to know. But we made a deal. She said she herself will tell him after the show on Wednesday. She said…well it doesn't matter. Just he doesn't know and she doesn't want him to." Pete explained.

"If anything else happens, call me. I'll come quickly process the scene, so we don't lose any evidence because she doesn't want Steve to find out," Chin said. He was just about to ask what exactly had happened between the two when Maddie woke up.

"Ow," she mumbled.

"Sorry sweetie," Malia apologized as she hooked a small bag of fluid to the IV she'd just put in her arm. "Figure this can't hurt. With all the rehearsing…and given how dehydrated you were when you got to Hawaii."

"It's okay," Maddie whispered as she rubbed her head and closed her eyes again.

"Hey Shorty, how's the headache?" Doc asked.

"I dunno. Same I guess," she mumbled, her eyes still closed.

Malia pulled a pen light from her coat pocket. "Open your eyes Mads…I'm sorry. It's gonna be bright."

While Malia shined the light in her gorgeous, blue eyes to watch her pupils, Maddie said, "Sorry they woke you up for this. I told them I was completely fine."

"I'm glad they did. It was the smart thing to do." Finished with the test, Malia slipped the light back in her pocket. "Can you stand up? I want to see your tailbone."

Maddie groaned as she very slowly raised her head and got herself into a sitting position. She did her best to hide the terrible pain each and every movement, no matter how small, caused, but it didn't work. Once she was on the edge of the bed she sat for a minute, needing a short break from the pain. After a minute, Maddie sighed heavily and carefully pushed herself into a standing position. As the intense pain shot from her tailbone down her legs she let out a gasp.

"Yeah, these injuries are really painful. Sorry Mads," Malia said to her friend. Lifting the back of Maddie's shirt she pushed on various spots of her lower back. "Tell me if it hurts." As her hands moved lower down her back and to the top of her butt, Maddie gasped.

"Ow."

"Okay." Malia stopped pushing and said, "Lean forward a little. But stop when it's painful."

Maddie looked at her like she'd just grown a second head before finally sighing and beginning to bend over. She had barely started when she had to stop, feeling intense pain in her lower back and legs.

"Okay. Let's x-ray it and pray it's not broken. While you're gone, you'll get an MRI of your head."

"While we're here we might as well check her knee too," Doc added.

"Good thinking, John," Malia smiled.

Maddie looked up and over towards the right. For the first time she noticed the kind looking woman she'd never met before.

"I'm Maddie," she whispered, giving the woman a small smile.

"I'm Mary. Nice to meet you," the nurse replied, returning the smile. She walked forward pushing an empty wheelchair. "I'm going to take you to get your tests." Reaching Maddie, she helped her get into the chair.

"One sec, I want to give you some pain meds. This should help the pain and help you sleep, which is the best medicine for an injury like this."

"She already had two pain pills," Pete told her.

"That's okay, she can still have this. It'll help a lot more than the pills." Malia carefully injected a syringe in the IV. "Also, you can't wear that in the MRI," she disclosed as she began loosening the brace from her friend's knee before completely taking it off.

"Here Shorty, put this on." Pete walked forward with his grey hoodie in his hands. He helped her out of her sweater and into the sweatshirt, then pulled the hood over her head. Maddie looked up at him sleepily and he chuckled at the sight of her drowning in his large sweatshirt. "It'll be perfect. Just keep your head down and no one should notice or realize who you are."

She nodded at him as her eyes started to close, the result of the pain medicine taking effect. "You're the best Petey," she slurred as her head drooped causing him to chuckle. Pete followed Mary as she began wheeling Maddie out into the hall.

* * *

><p>Thanks to the pain medication she'd been given, Maddie slept through the tests. An hour later Pete returned to the room carrying a sleeping Maddie, having decided to forego the wheelchair. After carefully laying her on the bed Malia covered her with a warm blanket after Doc gently put her knee brace back on. They all sat around the room as they waited for the tests to be looked over by the radiologist on call.<p>

Noticing how tired Pete looked, Chin said, "Hey, I'll take over for awhile. Go grab a nap."

Pete hesitated as he glanced over at Maddie sleeping soundly. "There's an empty room right down the hall you can use," Malia disclosed.

He thought it over for a minute, not wanting to leave her. However, he knew and trusted Chin, but more importantly he knew Steve trusted Chin. "Okay, I could use a short nap," he finally agreed.

"Come on, I'll show you where to go." Pete stood, following Malia to the door. Just as he was exiting he turned to get one last look at Maddie.

"Wow, you're almost as bad as Steve," Chin smirked.

Pete smiled. "He trusts me with the person most dear to him. I won't let him down."

Chin was touched at his statement. _It is the truth. She means more to him than anyone_, he thought. _If only she'd really realize that._ "I know, neither will I. She'll be fine. I won't let anything happen to her," he promised as he took a seat in a chair next to Maddie's bed. Pete nodded before leaving.

As silence fell upon the room, Doc looked over at Chin. "So, how do you know Steve?"

"I work with him. Knew his father. Also, I went to the same high school as both him and Mads. I'm a few years older though," Chin answered. He smiled at the thought of John McGarrett. _Maddie was like a daughter to him._ _If he were alive he'd be sitting right here next to her_, he thought.

"I'm anxious to meet Steve. I've heard so much about him over the years," Doc said.

Chin chuckled. "Yeah, you'll meet him Wednesday. And I'll warn you now…when he finds out what happened and he wasn't called-"

"He's going to be upset," Doc interrupted, a knowing smile on his face.

"That would be a major understatement," Chin remarked, his eyes wide for effect.

"He's in love with her," Doc stated.

"Yeah, he's in love with her," Chin sighed. "If only he'd figure it out and stop screwing up."

"He will. I'm sure he will."

"Hopefully," Chin mumbled, praying he was right and that it wasn't too late.

The two were silent for a minute before Doc yawned. Rubbing his face he looked at his watch. "Nearly 6am…I'm gonna go find some coffee. Want any?"

"Actually, that would be great. Thank you."

"No problem! I'll be back," Doc said leaving the room and passing Frank on his way. Pete had Frank at the door making sure no one they didn't know came in.

Chin sat watching Maddie sleep. He took in her appearance. _She looks tired, _he thought. _Steve should be the one here with her. And she would have called him if only he hadn't messed up__…__I wonder what exactly he said or did?_ He was so lost in thought that her voice didn't immediately register.

"No," Maddie whispered.

Snapping out of his thoughts, Chin furrowed his eyebrows as he noticed she was still asleep. _Nightmare?_ he wondered. He'd heard she was having them, but he hadn't actually seen one for himself. All he knew was that they were about Steve and they were keeping her from sleeping.

"Leave him alone," she mumbled as she began to toss a bit in her sleep. Feeling helpless, Chin sat on the bed and gently put his arm around her.

"Mads, wake up. It's okay," he whispered, however she didn't wake up. Instead, her face scrunched as a few tears slipped from her closed eyes, making their way down her pale face. She moved more in her sleep as she softly cried, "No, don't hurt him. Just leave him alone!"

Chin shook her lightly as he quietly said, "Wake up Mads." Suddenly her eyes flew open and the intense fear he saw made his stomach churn. "You're okay. Steve's okay…it was just a nightmare." She clutched at Chin as she slowly came out of the scary world she'd been trapped in. He tightened his hold on her, hoping it would help her feel safe.

"Steve…I want Steve," Maddie whispered, so quietly he almost missed it.

"I'll call him. Don't worry, he'll be here in minutes," he told her as he pulled his cell from his pocket, hoping and praying she wouldn't change her mind.

She remained quiet, thinking it over as she wiped her eyes. "No, don't call him," she whispered just as he was about to hit 'send'.

"But you want him here and you know he'll come."

Maddie shrugged her shoulders, saying nothing. After a moment of silence, she finally spoke. "Chin?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't let anything happen to him."

"Of course!" Chin paused before continuing. "Maddie, I have never met someone more capable of…kicking ass. You don't have to worry about someone hurting him. Trust me. He can take care of himself."

_Sure, I've seen him in bar fights before. Where some guys were hassling me and he stepped in. I know he can take care of himself against the usual suspects, but whoever is stalking me? He's gotten through my security more times than I'd like to think about, and my security is made up of a lot of Navy Seals and ex-military_, she thought.

Chin was just about to ask Maddie what had happened with the roller skates when the others walked in. "Good news Shorty!" Doc smiled enthusiastically.

Chin got up from his spot on the bed as Doc handed him a steaming cup of coffee. Taking the first sip, he returned to the chair next to Maddie's bed, anxious to hear the results of her tests. He'd decided that if something was seriously wrong he was going to call Steve whether she liked it or not.

"You didn't break your tailbone!" Malia exclaimed happily.

"Well that's good," Maddie whispered.

"It does look like you probably hit your head a little, which explains the headache and why you suddenly became so lethargic," Doc explained.

"Great," Maddie sighed.

"You're okay. Just be careful. Definitely no acrobatics in the show Wednesday. You want to be careful when you're in rehearsals because you might become dizzy easily. So just really be aware. The last thing you want to happen right now is to faint and hit your head again. I mean this is the third time in four days. That's gotta be some kind of record."

"Well, at least we know my head is strong," she joked as she fought against the sleepiness she was feeling.

"The knee…" Doc began, his tone serious.

"That doesn't sound good," Maddie stated.

"Yeah, you need to see a specialist after the sow. Malia has a friend and she's going to make you an appointment for next week."

"Surgery?" Maddie asked, praying the answer would be no.

"Maybe," Doc responded as he gave her a sympathetic look. Maddie sighed, shaking her head. "Hey, don't get ahead of yourself. We don't know that for sure. Just see what he says. For now, we'll just keep doing what we're doing. Keeping that brace and ice on it when you aren't in rehearsals. And then after the show Wednesday, stay off it as much as possible."

"Fine," she sighed. The entire conversation Malia and Doc noticed how her eyelids would slide closed only for her to force them open a second later.

"I want you to have some more of this fluid before you head out, so why don't you go ahead and go back to sleep," Malia suggested. "Sleep will help everything."

Maddie hesitated, afraid to return to the horrible nightmare she'd woken up from. However, she was exhausted. "Okay," she finally agreed as her eyes fluttered closed.

As she slept Malia and Doc sat and discussed medicine while Chin stayed in the seat next to her bed.

* * *

><p>It was 8:30am by the time they had Maddie back at the arena. Craft services had a huge, delicious breakfast buffet set out in the main room. Various members of her crew, production team, wardrobe team, band, dancers, etc. were all sitting at the tables eating before the second day of rehearsals and show preparation began.<p>

Although Maddie only got a few hours of sleep at the hospital, it had helped. She was still exhausted, but she felt like she'd at least be able to make it through the day. Her head was still pounding and her tailbone was excruciatingly painful. Unfortunately, there wasn't much they could do for the injury except give her Advil and pain medicine. Besides that she was just going to have to tough it out.

"Why don't you grab something to eat? Long day of rehearsals ahead of you," Pete suggested, walking beside her as she crutched into the main room of the arena.

"Okay," she answered.

Hearing the rough state of her voice, Doc said, "Mads, I know it's a pain, but you have to keep the talking to a minimum. Today's Monday. You don't have a lot of time left to get it rested and back to normal. Please, please use either the Dynavox or the dry erase board. Trust me on this."

She didn't have it in her to argue or fight him on it anymore, so she simply nodded in understanding. Catching sight of Ryan and some of the other dancers she nodded her head in their direction, letting Pete and Doc know that's where she was going.

"Okay. I'm gonna go check on Tina. Frank will stay with you," Pete informed before walking towards the hall that lead off the room. She watched him turn left and then he was out of sight. _Cute! He's checking on Tina,_ she thought. She knew how her friend felt about her head of security. _They'd be so cute together! Wonder if Pete is starting to figure out he has feelings for her? But then__…__he's been spending time with that girl he met here in Hawaii. _She inwardly grimaced at the thought of having to tell Tina about that. _Better she finds out from me first before she sees them together or something. That would be sooo much worse__…_

Maddie nodded as she and Frank made their way to the large picnic table style seating. Frank helped her sit down on the bench beside Ryan, not an easy feat with her leg unable to bend. "Want me to grab you some food?" Frank asked. She nodded at her brown haired, green-eyed bodyguard. They were all with each other so much that they knew everyone's likes and dislikes, food included. "Be right back Shorty."

"So, that was a serious fall. You okay?" Ryan asked, placing his arm around her shoulders.

Knowing she wasn't supposed to be talking she flashed him a forced smile and a thumbs up.

"You talk to Steve since you saw him yesterday?" Claire, another one of her dancers and best friends, asked from her spot across the table.

Maddie hesitated, feeling the intense ache in her chest at the mere mention of his name. She shook her head, a small, sad smile on her lips.

"Well hunny, I would be upset too with everything he's said and done the last few days. I mean talk about mixed signals." Claire reached out and briefly grasped her long time friends hand in support.

Maddie's attention was pulled at the sound of a familiar male voice. "Maddie, I've been looking for you!"

She didn't even have to see him, to know who it was. She rolled her eyes and dropped her head, obviously not happy to be seeing whomever it was. As he approached she lifted her head, a smile plastered to her face. She turned to look at him. "George," Maddie whispered, coming face to face with her tour manager.

"Hi!.. Anyway, I got in early this morning and came straight over. Why weren't you here? You should've been rehearsing all night! There's so much to do!"

Ryan was doing all he could to not lose it. Maddie had been slowly breaking down the last few months and instead of stepping in and giving her some time off, like he should have, George had pushed her harder. He figured since she wasn't sleeping she might as well busy herself. Ryan was suddenly filled with worry wondering how hard George was going to push her over the next few days. What concerned him the most was that he knew she would go along with it, just like she'd been doing for months. She was too upset and was using work as a distraction. It's how she was. _Say something, step in_, Ryan told himself. He cared too much about Maddie to see her work herself into the hospital. "She hurt herself last night. Bad. She was getting checked out," he snapped.

Hearing his tone, Maddie inconspicuously and gently placed her hand on his leg hoping to calm him.

"Oh, are you okay? Why wasn't I notified?" George asked.

"She's fine. Just needs to get as much rest as possible," Doc answered, hearing the conversation as he walked up to the table with his breakfast.

"Hi John," George greeted.

"George," Doc nodded, his tone slightly cold. The people closest to Maddie couldn't stand George because of how he'd encouraged her to not care of herself the last few months. Especially the last month. That had been the worst. "Oh, and she needs to keep the talking to a minimum because she's pretty much lost her voice. You know, lack of sleep and being overworked will do that to a person."

Maddie sighed and closed her eyes at Doc's comment. _What is with them? I'm a grown woman! I can take care of myself! I don't need them worrying over every little thing I do_, she thought.

George ignored his last comment and turned towards Maddie. "Well, I'm glad you're okay! As I'm sure Tina's told you, you've got a long day ahead of you. Now, I've taken care of a lot of things, but there are a few questions I do need to ask you," George began, however was interrupted by Frank.

"Here ya go Mads," Frank said as he set a plate of food in front of her.

'Thank you' she mouthed as he sat on her right side with his own plate.

"Why don't you let her finish breakfast before you pull her away," Doc suggested.

George sighed. He hated when Doc was around because he interfered with business. She had work to do. She had a busy life. He was just doing his job. "Okay, sure. When you're done with your wardrobe fitting, I'll run everything by you."

Maddie nodded, giving him a small smile.

"You look great by the way! Best you've looked in years!"

His statement infuriated Doc. "Really? She looks tired!"

"Doc," Maddie said, her tone warning. "Thanks George. I'll see you in a bit."

He smiled at her before hurrying off, a clipboard in hand filled with tasks that needed to be completed.

"I can't believe you guys," Maddie mumbled once he was gone, picking her fork up. "I'm not a child. I can take care of myself."

Ryan began to open his mouth to argue, however the look he received from her stopped him in his tracks.

As the group ate they chatted a bit, well except for Maddie. She listened and contributed what she could mouth._ This is a pain in the ass, _she thought. _Doc better be right__…__ this better work. _

Pete and Tina interrupted her thoughts as they joined with their own breakfast. They took a seat next to Claire, but across from Maddie. "How ya feeling Mads?" Tina asked.

While taking a sip of orange juice, she used her other hand to give a thumbs up.

"Ah," Tina smirked. "Finally got in trouble for talking?" Maddie's only response was a roll of the eyes before setting her fork down, signaling she was finished. Pete eyed her plate noticing she maybe ate a quarter of it. _If Steve were here he'd get her to eat more, with me__…__she'd just roll her eyes and walk away_, he thought.

While Maddie sat waiting for them all to be finished, she got lost in thought and stopped listening to the conversations going on around her. She was so deep in thought that even when they laughed hysterically, and loudly, she didn't notice. _What am I going to say to Steve? How am I going to deal with this? I mean he knows I'm upset__…__his numerous voicemails apologizing and claiming he didn't mean it are a given. I know he's going to try and talk to me about it, but I just can't handle that. It's too embarrassing. He obviously knows how I feel. It wouldn't be as embarrassing if he felt the same way. But to have to stand there while he tries to let me know he doesn't think of me that way would just be too humiliating to handle. _She could picture how nervous and uncomfortable Steve would be when trying to bring it up. She could see the look on his face, the concern in his eyes. _Ugh! I just can't deal with that! So what do I do? Avoid him on Wednesday? That's going to be hard to do. I can't just go into lockdown and hide in my dressing room when the rest of Five-0 will be there too. That would be beyond rude. I also don't want to make a scene in front of them. That would just add to the embarrassment of this whole thing. _Maddie thought about her options as she stared off into space. _I'm just going to have to pretend like everything's fine. That I'm not upset. That I have no idea why he would even think I would be_, she decided. Sitting there she sighed loudly at the thought. _You're just going to have to act normal, Maddie_.

Pete had been watching her zone out and wondered what she was thinking about. She hadn't even noticed they were finished eating. Clearing his throat loudly in hopes of getting her attention, he said, "Okay, well…you ready Mads?" It took her a second to look over at him, but she finally did, smiling and nodding as she did so. "Great!" Pete stood and walked around the table to help her up.

"You have a quick wardrobe fitting, Mads. Then rehearsal," Tina informed her as she came to stand with them.

Maddie waved to Ryan and Claire before she started crutching out of the room and down the hall towards her dressing room, Tina, Pete, and Frank next to her.

* * *

><p>Steve had woken early, not able to sleep well. It was hard sleeping in her bed without her. The only comfort was that it smelled like her, but at the same time it made him miss her even more. <em>You're such an idiot. You guys finally seemed to be moving forward. Things were looking up and you had to screw it up by freaking out<em>, he chastised himself for the millionth time in the last 24 hours as he jumped in his truck to head to headquarters.

It was even 7am. He knew he'd be the only one there this early, but he didn't care. He just needed to busy himself, keep his mind occupied so he wouldn't think about Maddie and what an idiot he was. If he didn't, he was going to lose his mind.

Steve was holed up in his office going over everything they'd found out about Walter Seasius and his girlfriend, which wasn't much. He hoped that if he just kept going over the information things would start to make sense and he'd know what to do next, how to find whoever was screwing with Maddie. He was so focused that he didn't notice when Chin walked in thirty minutes later until there was a knock on his door.

Steve looked up to see his coworker and friend standing in the doorway. He motioned for him to enter.

"Figured you'd be here this early. Thought you might need this," Chin stated, handing him a steaming cup of fresh coffee.

"Thanks Chin," Steve said, taking the cup.

Looking down at his desk Chin noticed the Walter Seasius file open in front of him. "Find anything?"

Steve sighed, rubbing his hand across his face before resting his chin on his fist. "No," he answered. "I keep hoping to see something that we missed, but nothing." He paused, shaking his head. "I mean, there has to be something we're missing. None of this makes any sense! Why would someone break into the car in the middle of the day right in front of a restaurant? And a jacket? Why steal a jacket? It's like they were just taking things to take them. Not because they actually wanted them. I'm wondering," Steve stopped, not wanting to even voice his thoughts.

"What? What are you thinking?" Chin asked, interested to hear his boss' ideas. He took a seat on Steve's comfortable office couch.

"I'm wondering if what they were after wasn't in the car? I just don't think it was a coincidence that his girlfriend works next door at the District Attorney's office."

"I agree."

"I mean, from what I've been able to figure out from Maddie's behavior…she's scared. She's scared for herself, but that's not what's getting to her. I think she's scared for me. Why? I don't know! I mean, I don't think Wo Fat would go through Maddie to threaten me. At least not like this. He'd just come right for me." Steve said, thinking out loud.

"I agree. This isn't Wo Fat. It's not his style," Chin voiced.

"I know her nightmares are about me-"

"Yeah, they definitely are," Chin interrupted, remembering the nightmare she'd had only a couple hours earlier.

Steve looked up, his brow furrowed. "You've seen her have a nightmare?"

_Oh crap_, he thought. _Of course he'd pick up on that! He's a Navy Seal, ex Naval Intelligence. _Chin wracked his brain trying to decide what to say. He didn't feel good about lying to him.

"Chin?" Steve asked.

Sighing, he decided to go with the truth, however lie about the circumstances. "Yeah,"

"When?" His gut was telling him there was something he didn't know.

"Oh, the other night when you left her at the house. I got up to use the restroom and checked on her. She was tossing and turning as she talked in her sleep. I woke her up and it was obvious it was about you."

"Oh," Steve said, his voice quiet and sad. "I knew she'd had a nightmare that night, but I didn't know you'd been there…. Thanks for being there for her." He gave his coworker and friend a quick, sad smile. Chin nodded, now feeling even worse for lying not only to his boss, but his friend. Especially about Maddie of all things.

It took Steve a moment to regain his previous train of thought. "Anyway…if I somehow have something to do with what's going on then it's definitely NOT a coincidence that Raquel Linney works next door. Right?!"

"Yeah, I agree and I gotta tell you…I don't have a good feeling about whatever's going on," Chin admitted.

The two men were silent as they thought over everything they knew, which wasn't a lot. Just random pieces of information. "We have to be missing something!" Steve growled, the frustration getting to him.

"We'll figure it out. I know we will," Chin said.

"Yeah, but before Maddie gets hurt? What if they go after her? And how am I supposed to keep her safe when she wants nothing to do with me right now?" Steve asked.

Chin immediately felt guilty for what he knew. _She's already gotten hurt_, he thought, remembering the roller skates he'd just locked in the bottom drawer of his desk. _He should know about what happened last night._ He hated that he knew when Steve didn't, but he was also glad at least someone on the Five-0 task force was aware of what had happened. If Maddie didn't tell Steve after the show like she promised, he would do it. "You'll fix whatever's going on between you two," Chin assured his friend.

"I really hope so," Steve whispered. His mind drifted off remembering the look in her eyes after his comment. Every time he saw that wounded look, he felt nauseous. Glancing down at his desk he caught a look at his watch out of the corner of his eye. _It's early_, he thought. Looking up to Chin he asked, "What are you doing here so early?"

"Malia got called into the hospital and it woke me up. Figured I'd just come in early," Chin answered. _I'm not lying. Just keeping a HUGE part of it from him,_ he thought, the guilt returning.

Steve nodded in understanding. "I'm gonna wait an hour and then walk over to talk to Raquel Linney again. Maybe by some miracle she's remembered something since we spoke to her yesterday."

"Sounds good," Chin agreed. "Well, I'm gonna leave you to it." He motioned to the Seasius file in front of Steve as he stood. "I'm gonna check my office voicemail. I left a couple messages for different people in Walter's life. I just want to be sure he's as squeaky clean as he's come up. Make sure he doesn't have some secret, crazy obsession with Maddie." As he'd been speaking he'd made his way to the door to Steve's office.

"Good call," Steve said. "I left Pete a message yesterday asking for all her fan mail. He texted saying he was having it next day aired this morning. I thought maybe whoever this is might have written her letters. So, they'll be here tomorrow."

"Great!" Chin replied.

"Well, let me know if you find anything out."

"Sure thing," Chin said as he exited the large, spacious office, leaving Steve to read through the file yet again.

* * *

><p>It was 9:30am and Maddie had finished her quick wardrobe fitting and met up with George to go over some things. She was sitting on the couch alone in her dressing room waiting for Lyle, the band, and dancers to be ready for their 10am rehearsal. She really didn't mind waiting. It gave her time to be alone, no prying eyes or worrying stares sent her way.<p>

Sitting there she thought back to the previous night's incident. _There's no doubt in my mind that was him warning me, _she thought. Grabbing her purse off the coffee table, she dug around inside. First she pulled her iPhone from it and set it next to her. She reached her hand back inside the black, Balenciaga bag and unsnapped a secret pocket she had made herself. Inside was the burner phone her stalker had left her four months ago. _I really hope there's no message threatening Steve_, she prayed, her eyes closed as she pulled it out. Taking a deep breath, she opened her eyes and hit a button, making the screen come alive. Maddie let out a huge sigh of relief seeing the empty screen, no new messages waiting. _Okay, that's a good thing. No messages from him._ However, the more she thought about it, the more nervous she became. _He doesn't have to send me a threatening message to hurt Steve. He could just hurt him without warning. _Maddie glanced around the empty room, her forehead wrinkled in fear as she chewed on her bottom lip, picking at the skin with her teeth. _I would know if he wasn't okay, right? I mean someone would tell me. _The more she thought about it the more upset and freaked out she became. She knew if she didn't find out for sure that Steve was unharmed she would never be able to focus on rehearsals and everything she needed to get done.

Sighing, Maddie picked up her iPhone, touched the green phone icon and went to her favorites. She thought about calling Steve, but knew that would just open a can of worms. Not to mention she just wasn't ready to talk to him. Knowing just the right person to call, she hit the fourth person on the list. Right under Pete and Tina.

Maddie brought the phone to her ear and listened to it ring. After the third one, a familiar voice answered. "Hello?"

* * *

><p>Steve, Danny, Chin, Kono, and Lori were having a morning meeting at the "smart table", recapping what they'd discovered so far. Plus, Lori hadn't been in the day before, so she needed to be brought up to speed. She hated that they were spending their time trying to help Maddie. However, Steve was so worried about her that she thought if they could figure out what was going on he might calm down and they could pick up where they left off before Maddie had arrived. Not to mention, she didn't want to seem like she had any problem with the singer. She'd already made an effort to connect with her, hoping to learn more about her. She thought if she could be "friends" with Maddie, it might help her "win" Steve's heart.<p>

"So, although the text came from Walter Seasius' cell phone, his story seems to check out. His car was broken into earlier that day and his phone was one of the items stolen. It's all in the police report," Steve finished explaining.

"Okay." Lori was quiet for a minute as she digested the information. "Do we know what kind of phone he had?" she asked, having an idea.

"An iPhone 4," Kono answered.

"Okay, well does he have it set up to a MobileMe account or to iCloud? You can have it set up where if the phone is stolen or lost you can locate it. And even if it's not, have we checked to see if we can get a current location on the phone?"

"Charlie tried yesterday. It was off," Danny responded. "But, I'll make sure he keeps trying. Maybe whoever took the phone will be a dumbass and use it again for something."

_As long as it isn't to contact Maddie, I'm good with that_, Steve thought. _She has too much to do. I hope whoever this is doesn't contact her when she's trying to do this show. It'll distract and upset her too much._

"I'm still waiting to hear back from three people close to Walter to make sure he doesn't have some weird obsession with Mads. However, I did hear back from his sister, Chloe, who lives in Vermont. She said that she's never heard him bring Maddie's name up. And they're close, so she said she would know."

"Great…"Steve mumbled, frustrated they weren't getting any closer to figuring out what was going on. "I'm gonna g-" he began but was interrupted by Kono's loudly ringing cell phone. It wasn't her normal, generic ring tone either, but one of Maddie's most current singles.

Knowing exactly who it was, Kono reached in her pocket and pulled her iPhone out, an uncomfortable look on her face. "Sorry guys, I have to get this. Just one second." She briefly glanced at Steve as she brought the phone to her ear.

Steve knew it was Maddie without Kono having to say anything. The look on her face as she made eye contact with him gave it away. _Wow, she's calling Kono, but won't call me back_, he thought, disappointed.

"Hello?" Kono answered, all eyes on her.

"Hey," Mads greeted, her voice no more than a whisper.

"Why are you whispering? Where are you?" Kono asked. At her question Steve filled with concern. However he internalized it, not letting on. _Is she okay?_ he wondered, wishing he could hear Maddie's part of the conversation.

"Just my voice. Losing it," Maddie explained in as few words as possible, knowing she wasn't supposed to be talking.

"Bummer. How ya gonna perform with it like that?"

_Her voice. That's why she's whispering, _Steve thought, able to follow their conversation by just hearing Kono's side. He didn't feel bad for eavesdropping. In fact, he assumed that Kono hadn't excused herself from the room so that he could listen in.

"I have my ways," Maddie answered, referring to Doc.

Kono made a worried face at her statement. Seeing this, Steve bit his lip slightly. It was becoming more and more difficult for him to hide the intense concern he was feeling. "Do I even want to know your ways?" she asked her friend.

Maddie smirked. "Yeah, probably not…Anyway, I was hoping you could do me a favor."

"Yeah, sure. What is it?" As Kono spoke she looked down at her hands resting on the edge of the smart table.

"Um…can you just let me know Steve's okay. Please don't ask me why."

Immediately Kono appeared uncomfortable. It wasn't just the look on her face, but the way she was standing and how she suddenly began fidgeting with her fingers and then her clothes. Very unlike her. The rest of the team picked up on her odd behavior and began watching and listening more carefully.

Kono wanted to tell her he was, but then Steve would know what she was asking and she knew Maddie well enough to know that she didn't want him to. She also knew her friend didn't even want him knowing she was on the phone. _Too late for that_, she thought. "Umm…yeah…" Kono paused, avoiding any eye contact with her boss. _There's no getting around saying it Kono. You could excuse yourself for a minute, but Steve will just hound you about it later, _she told herself. "He's okay, Mads."

Steve immediately knew Maddie was asking about him. _She'd know if she'd just call me back_, he thought, frustrated.

"No, I mean…physically. Nothing's happened to him, right?"

Kono immediately froze at her friend's question. _What the hell aren't you telling us_?she wondered. "Nope. Nothing." She wanted nothing more than to question her and ask her what was going on, but didn't want to do it in front of the team. She'd see what she could find out the next time they had girl's night. They'd always been close, confiding and telling each other everything, so she hoped she'd let her in.

"Great, thanks Kono," Maddie said, embarrassed about the next question she was about to ask. "Would you mind doing me another favor?"

Hearing this question Kono decided she better finish the call in her office. It was uncomfortable answering the last question in front of Steve. She wanted to be able to say what she needed and wanted. "Of course," she answered as she entered her office.

Steve felt incredibly anxious as he watched Kono take the rest of the call in her office. _Why is she suddenly walking away? What's Maddie saying?_ he wondered.

Maddie hesitated. "I wanna see for myself."

_Wow, she's really worried that something's going to happen to him, _she thought, her forehead wrinkled in confusion as she bit her lip. "Like a picture?"

"Yeah. If you don't mind."

"Of course. No problem. I'll wait for a good moment to take one. Where it isn't weird."

"Great. Thanks so much Kono…and thanks for not asking any questions," Maddie honestly said.

"You know they'll come later," Kono told her.

"I know. But thanks …Anyway, I gotta go. Rehearsal starts at 10 and I need to get ready. Thanks again. I really appreciate it."

"No problem. Okay, well good luck. Be safe and I'll see you Wednesday," Kono said.

"Definitely. Looking forward to it,"

Kono smiled at her friend. "Love you."

"Love you too," Maddie declared. "Bye."

"Bye." With that said the two friends hung up.

Steve had excused himself shortly after Kono had, claiming he needed something from his office. He couldn't imagine they'd be on the phone much longer, so he made sure to walk slowly, hoping to catch Kono as she exited her office. However, he managed one better. As he neared her office, he saw her pull the phone away from her head, so he entered. _"Perfect timing,_ he thought.

Kono didn't even have the phone in her pocket yet when the questions started. "Is she okay? How did she sound? Was something wrong?" Steve fired off. He had intended on being nonchalant about it, but the second the first question was out of his mouth, the worry and anxiety he'd been trying to keep bottled up exploded.

She smiled at his obvious love for Maddie. _How does he not realize he's head over heels for her?_ she wondered. "She's okay. Nothing was wrong. She sounded…tired. Her voice was barely there. In fact, it was nearly gone. Basically nonexistent."

"Yeah, it was pretty bad yesterday. What was she saying about 'her ways'?" He questioned.

Kono thought back to the conversation, trying to recall. "Oh," she began, as she remembered. "Just that she would be fine to sing in the show Wednesday. That she had ways."

Steve nodded, looking even more concerned. _Damn it! Hopefully she isn't taking what I think she is_, he thought. Taking a deep breath he asked, "But she sounded okay?"

"Yeah. She did." Kono smiled at him.

Suddenly there was a knock on the door and Chin popped his head in. "Everything okay?" The two nodded and followed him back to the smart table where Danny and Lori were waiting. "Okay, so what are our plans? I am gonna go to the restaurant Walter and Raquel had lunch at Friday. Where the car was broken into. It's called Jake's," Chin informed them.

"I know where that is. Good food!" she added.

"You wanna come with me? Maybe after we ask some questions we could canvas the area. Hopefully we'll get lucky and find some kind of cameras around."

"Yeah. I'll come! Sounds good!" Kono smiled.

"Great! I'm gonna walk next door and talk to Raquel again," Steve announced, forcing his mind back to the case. "Danny and Lori, why don't you go through traffic camera footage from around the time they were having lunch. Unfortunately we don't know the exact time of the break in, but we know that it was between 12:30pm and 2pm. That's when they were having lunch."

"Okay, will do," Danny responded.

"Alright, let's keep each other posted." With that said Steve turned and walked down the hall towards the elevator. The others went back to their respective offices, gathering what they needed before heading out themselves.

* * *

><p>They'd been rehearsing the new numbers for the past hour. The lighting and special effects teams watched them, trying to get an idea of what they'd be doing on their end.<p>

"Alright, guys. Take a forty-five minute break. I'm gonna talk to Chad and Derek. We need to figure out lighting and special effects," Lyle announced. "Mads, why don't you stay for a few minutes. I want to make sure we know exactly what you want."

Maddie nodded as she walked towards the edge of the stage. Lyle, who was standing on the arena floor, reached his hands up and helped her down from the five-foot tall stage. Hearing her suck air in as her feet made contact with the floor he asked, "You okay? How's the knee? Your foot?"

She smiled at him, making an "A-Okay" symbol with her right hand. She didn't want to tell him that her cut up foot was bothering her from dancing on it in high heels. She didn't need anyone knowing and worrying.

"Good! Just let me know if something hurts." Maddie nodded at him.

"It all looks great so far, Mads!" a tan, auburn haired man in his mid thirties said.

"Thanks Chad," she whispered. Chad had been the head of her lighting on tour for almost ten years. He was incredibly talented and creative, not to mention they worked extremely well together. The things he could do with light was amazing.

"The new songs rock!" the man standing next to Chad told her. He usually had a thick head of gorgeous, slightly wavy, dark brown hair, but while they'd been on tour he'd given himself a buzz cut.

"Thanks Derek!" Maddie quietly replied. Derek was the head of special effects for her tour and, like Chad, had been with her for nearly ten years. She loved working with him because he was incredibly creative and innovative, always thinking up new ways to bring the show to another level using special effects. "They'll be even better once you guys work your magic."

"Speaking of which, do you have anything specific in mind?" Chad asked.

"In terms of lighting, I think we need to keep it pretty consistent with what we have."

"Similar patterns?" Chad asked, wanting to be sure he understood what she was saying.

"No, not so much. What's great about the concept of this tour is that every song and scene is completely different, which allows for so much more visually." Maddie paused wanting to be sure she was making sense. "I guess, what I mean by keep things consistent is that although each number is very different, the show still flows. Because these new songs have been added to the set list sporadically, meaning they aren't all together or one right after the other, we need to be sure that the show still flows. That is doesn't feel chopped up. One way I know to do this is with lighting."

"I agree 100%," Chad said.

"Perfect! So, really, that is my only note for you." Maddie looked to Derek as she cleared her throat, the talking making what little voice she had left disappear. "Now, special effects…I already told you a little bit about what I was thinking earlier with George. However, there's one thing I didn't mention. There's a new song that I'll be singing. It doesn't include any of the dancers, except Claire at the end. It's called 'Love the Way You Lie'. For this one…I want the stage to be on fire."

"No problem, we do that at the start of the show and a few other times," Derek told her.

"No, I want it to stay on fire." At the three men's shocked and confused looks she clarified. "At least, I want it to look like it is. I want it to look like I'm walking while surrounded by fire."

"For the entire song?" Derek questioned.

"Yes."

"Wow, it's a great idea…I don't know if I can pull it off for the show Wednesday," Derek told her.

"Well, can we try?" Maddie asked.

"Of course! I'll think on this and do some experimenting. I'll keep you posted."

"Great!" she smiled.

"So, you both saw the choreography so far for the new songs. The only thing I'll say is that the choreography, lighting, and special effects should work together to make each number look spectacular. We've worked together for years now, so that's all I'll say. I trust you guys and I know everything will look amazing!" Lyle added.

"Thank you guys so much! I know this time crunch is not ideal. I just really want you to know how much I appreciate your hard work," Maddie told them.

"No problem!" Chad smiled.

"Anything for you!" Derek added.

"Great! Well, I'll let you guys get to it and I'll see you shortly. Let me know if you have any questions. I'll be…well, I'll be living here for the next 48 hours," she joked. They all chuckled as she waved and headed backstage.

There were still thirty minutes left of the break and to be honest, Maddie was looking forward to sitting down. She thought she was in pain before, but now with her tailbone injury she was in agony. As she slowly walked down the hall that lead off the backstage area and to her dressing room, she found herself once again wishing Steve was there.

Once alone and safe inside she let a few tears slip from her eyes as she carefully sat on the couch. She laid her head on the armrest and stared off into space, Steve's words echoing in her head. _I just don't understand why he would kiss me and insinuate that he has feelings for me, only for him to laugh at the idea the next morning. Is he really that mean? Has he really changed that much? _she wondered.

Maddie jumped as Tina walked in, effectively startling her. She wiped at the few tears that had fallen down her cheeks, not wanting her long time friend and assistant to notice. "Hey Mads! I wanted to go over today's schedule with you quickly. Of course, things might change a bit here and there, but for the most part it's accurate."

Maddie nodded as Tina plopped down on the couch beside her and began reading the schedule. "…So, then at 4pm Gracie's coming."

Maddie had asked Gracie if she wanted to be in part of the show. Of course she had asked Rachel first to make sure it would be okay. Gracie had to learn her part, so she was coming in to rehearse her number with Maddie, the band, and the dancers.

The thought of seeing the young girl made her smile. _She's so sweet. She's just the distraction I need_, she thought. Since her talk with Chad and Derek, Maddie's voice was in worse shape, so she reached for the small, dry erase board and began writing. Once finished she showed it to Tina. **Maybe you can pick her up. Take Frank or Carl with you. I can see Steve trying to bring her, I just****…****I don't want to see him.**

Tina read the note and seeing the sadness on Maddie's face she rubbed her friend's left upper arm. "I'm so sorry he's hurt you Maddie. I wish I could fix it. I still really don't think he meant it. I firmly believe he loves you, but I understand why you think differently. And I don't blame you at all for being so hurt and upset." Maddie smiled at her best friend and grabbed her hand, giving it a light squeeze. "I'll call Rachel and work it all out. So don't worry, Steve will not be showing up here."

Maddie sighed in relief as Tina stood, getting ready to exit. "Why don't you try and get some rest while you wait to go back out there. Do you need anything? Hungry? Anything for the pain?" Maddie answered with a shake of her head. "Okay. Pete's right outside if you need him," Tina relayed before exiting the dressing room and leaving her alone.

* * *

><p>At 1pm Maddie sat at one of the long picnic style tables in the large, main room of the arena with Pete and her dancers. She was dressed warmly in layers because the knee brace that was filled with ice packs was making her cold.<p>

From his spot directly across from her, Pete eyed Maddie as she stared off into space. She was using her fork to push food around on her plate. He was not only worried about how withdrawn she was, but also her lack of appetite. The increase in Prednisone was obviously taking its toll on her. Not only that, but she looked pale and uncomfortable. "Mads, if you eat a little more you can have another pain pill," Pete whispered to her.

She met his eyes, her face lacking any kind of joy. It was extremely obvious she wasn't feeling well. Standing up a bit, he reached his hand across the table to her forehead wanting to see if she had a fever. The slight fever she'd had the day before had gone down, the steroids doing their job. "You're a little warm. Not bad, but Doc should probably check you out." Maddie said nothing to him as she took a small bite of her lunch.

"Hey Mads, I spoke to Rachel. Everything's worked out," Tina began as she approached the table, taking a seat next to her on her right. "Danny has Gracie today, so she'll be at Five-0 Headquarters after school hanging out until he's done working. So, I'm going to pick her up from there at 4pm." Tina stopped, scooting a bit closer to Maddie. Her voice quieted as she continued. "So…I'm guessing Steve is going to be there when I get Gracie. I'm sure he's going to ask questions."

At first Tina wasn't sure Maddie was listening because she didn't make a sound, let alone move. She didn't even look over at her. Tina was just about to ask if she was all right, when she reached for the dry erase board. Maddie began writing and after a minute passed the board to Tina to read. **Okay. Just don't tell Steve about what happened last night. If he asks anything about me, just tell him I'm fine. That I'm just really busy.**

While Tina was reading the note, Maddie's phone "dinged" from its spot next to her on the table, signaling she had a new text message. She glimpsed at it to find it was from Kono. As she opened the message her heart began aching, feeling as if someone was squeezing it. On the screen was a picture of Danny, Chin, and Steve. Steve was in the middle, the other two on each side of him. It was actually a really good picture of them. _Frame worthy_, she thought. Steve was completely unharmed, well except for the few stitches, cuts, and bruising on his face leftover from his fight with Pete. Although looking at his smiling face was breaking her heart, she couldn't seem to tear her eyes away from it. _Why do things have to be so screwed up? _she wondered.

Maddie's thoughts were interrupted by Tina leaning in close and whispering to her. "If he asks anything about you? Are you kidding me? He's definitely going to ask! BIG TIME! ….. If he asks about you being upset, what do you want me to tell him?"

Once again Maddie took the dry erase board, erasing her previous message. Once finished writing what she wanted to say she passed it back to Tina. **Don't say anything. I don't want him knowing I'm upset. It was all just a joke to him. I don't want him to know I'm hurt. It'll just make it all worse. Make me feel even more stupid. **

"Oh Maddie…that's not true. You're going to have to talk to him about this. Trust me, you aren't stupid," Tina whispered, her heart breaking for her friend. _Wow, Steve really screwed with her head this time. His comment deeply hurt her_, she thought.

Maddie scribbled something on the board and showed it to her friend. **I'm not talking to him about this! It'll be too embarrassing. I'm just going to pretend nothing ever happened. That I'm not upset and everything's fine. Which it is. Anyway, rehearsal starts in a few minutes. Thanks for getting Gracie.**

Finding out Maddie planned to pretend nothing ever happened worried her. _She's shutting down on him completely. If she does that there's absolutely no hope that she'll tell him what's going on and what she knows_, Tina thought. _Damn it Steve!_ She leaned forward to whisper something to Maddie, but as she did, her boss began to stand. Pete was immediately behind her helping her get on the outside of the bench. She couldn't step over it with her right leg because of the brace, so Pete carefully lifted her out and then placed her back down. He grabbed her crutches and handed them to her. As soon as they were in place under her arms she headed in the direction of her dressing room, Pete on one side of her while Mo was on the other.

Tina sighed, feeling so bad for Maddie. _She's really hurting, both physically and emotionally_, she thought as she slid her friend's nearly full plate in front of her. Hungry, she began eating it as she found herself lost in thought. She wracked her brain, trying to figure out a way she could help Maddie and Steve.

* * *

><p>The team had decided to meet up for lunch at Kamekona's at 12:30pm to discuss any information they had discovered. They had all arrived except Steve.<p>

"I hung up with him right before we got here," Danny informed. "He'll be here any minute, but said to go ahead and order."

"Great," Chin said, standing from his spot at the table. "Hey kid, what do you want? The usual?" he asked Kono. "You too Lori?"

"Yeah," the two female coworkers answered.

Chin nodded as he and Danny walked up to the window and ordered their food.

"So," Lori began. "How long have you known Maddie? You guys seem pretty close."

Kono smiled, thinking about how the two had met. "Fours years ago. Maddie was close with Steve's family. They basically were her family. Whenever she was home she'd spend time with Steve's dad. Well, he was partnered with Chin, so that's how the two of them met. When I blew my knee out surfing I was in a dark place. Chin introduced us and she saved me. Pulled me out of my funk."

"Wow, sounds like a good friend!" Lori stated. _She hung out with Steve's dad without Steve? That is close. They really do go way back_, she thought. "Nice to have good girlfriends. Mine are all back home on the east coast."

"Well, if you're ever in need of a girl friend, give me a call," Kono smiled. She hadn't spent much time with Lori, so she hadn't made her mind up about her yet. However, she wasn't going to lie, she held some animosity towards her. It had hurt to return to Five-0 after only being gone a couple weeks to discover she'd been replaced. So yeah, there were some hard feelings there. She couldn't help but wonder if Steve trusted Lori more than he did her, that he was punishing her for not telling him about the job Fryer gave her. Nowadays she noticed he sent Lori out in the field, but rarely her. Kono's thoughts were interrupted by their new teammate.

"Funny you say that. I had actually talked to Maddie at the barbeque about maybe getting together. Maybe we can all do something sometime. A girl's night," Lori proposed. Not only was she trying to find out as much about Maddie as possible, but it was true, she did need girlfriends. She hadn't been on the island that long, but what little time she had, she'd spent it working. It's not that she didn't have any friends; she just felt she could use more. Plus, she didn't completely feel part of the team yet. She needed to make more of an effort.

"Yeah! Sounds good!" Kono told her. "Let's give Mads a little time to recuperate after the show though. She's gonna need it."

"Who's gonna need what?" Steve asked, taking a seat across from Kono on the same bench as Lori. However, he was sitting on one end and Lori more towards the other.

"Maddie's gonna need some time to rest after the show," Kono replied.

Steve rolled his eyes as he sighed. "Yeah. She is. Why were you talking about that?"

"Oh, we were talking about doing a girl's night, Maddie included."

Luckily Steve was so used to internalizing his emotions that he was able to hide the fact he was very uncomfortable with that idea. _Lori and Maddie? Out together? That's not weird at all_, he thought. "Sounds fun, but she's resting for at least a week when she's done," he informed them, his tone authoritative, leaving no room for argument.

Kono laughed. "Are you going to be the one that makes sure she does that?"

"Yes," he answered.

"And how exactly do you plan on doing that?" Kono smirked. Maddie could be incredibly stubborn, much like him. "I mean Steve, you heard the stories told the other night. Not to mention, you've known her since she was 4."

"She'll listen to me. And if she doesn't, I'll just make her," he answered nonchalantly as if what he was saying was absolutely no big deal. "Plus you heard Pete. She hasn't pulled anything like that in months."

"But that was before you did whatever stupid thing you did to upset her," Kono said, her eyebrows raised in a questioning manner.

"Why do you think I did something to upset her?" Steve asked, playing dumb.

"Her call today for one. And you're behavior."

"We're fine," he lied.

"Whatever you say," Kono sang just as Danny and Chin were approaching the table.

"Here ya go babe." Danny set a plate down in front of Steve. As he walked around to sit next to him Lori casually scooted over, closing the gap so she was now next to Steve. Although she tried to be nonchalant about it everyone noticed. Chin caught Steve's eye as he sat across from him, giving him an 'I told you so' look. The look Steve gave him back needed no words for him to understand. Something along the lines of, 'Shut the hell up, I don't wanna hear it'.

"So, did you find anything out at the restaurant?" Steve asked Chin and Kono in between bites, hoping to ease the sudden tension.

"No. No one saw anything. Whoever broke into the car must've been a pro. To do it in complete daylight AND at lunchtime AND no one saw anything?! That takes some balls and some real skills," Kono answered.

"Great," Steve mumbled sarcastically. "Just what I wanted to hear." He'd already thought of all that, but had pushed it to the back of his mind, not ready to accept what it all meant.

"Wait," Chin said. "We canvassed the area and there's a bank on the same side of the street. They are sending the footage from Friday between 12:30pm and 2pm. We're hoping our guy walked that way. Maybe we'll get him on camera."

"I doubt it," Lori said, earning her questioning looks. "If I was making a profile for this suspect I'd tell you that he's smart. Beyond smart. This might not be his first time at this. He knows what to do to avoid any attention. He would have known about that bank. If no one noticed him breaking into the car at lunchtime in the middle of the day…then he wouldn't have walked past a camera. His actions are all planned. Nothing is spur of the moment or spontaneous." She paused, not wanting to say what she knew she had to.

"What is it?" Danny asked, picking up on the fact she was holding something back.

Lori looked down at her food, avoiding eye contact with the team, as she thought about how best to phrase it. _What are you kidding? There's no easy or good way to say this! Just spit it out_, she told herself. Looking back up she turned her head to the left and met Steve's gorgeous blue eyes. "This is the worst kind of stalker. I'm sorry Steve."

He'd been able to keep his emotions to himself all day, but suddenly his intense concern for Maddie was transparent. It was written all over his face. "I know," he whispered, closing his eyes. "I knew the other day when she called me crying, but wouldn't say anything. I knew it by the sound of her voice. I see it when I look at her. In the way she's shutting me out. The fact she won't tell me what's going on tells me this is not good. I just was really hoping I was wrong."

The rest of the team felt so helpless as their boss spoke. The fear and worry in his voice, they'd never heard him sound like that. They were all silent for a minute, no one knowing what to say. Finally Danny broke the silence. "Lori and I went through a lot of the footage from the traffic cams. But…we have NO idea what he looks like, so we don't really know what we're looking for. Which makes it really difficult."

McGarrett stared of into space, fork in hand. "But Danny and I, we'll keep looking," Lori said as she lightly rubbed the top of Steve's right thigh.

He tensed. Her touch made him uncomfortable. Made him miss Maddie even more. He didn't want to be rude, but he wanted nothing more than to remove her hand from his leg.

"What about you? Any luck with Raquel?" Chin asked.

Steve set his fork down, no longer hungry. The seriousness of Maddie's situation caused him lose his appetite. "Yeah." He sighed and looked over at his team. "Yesterday I had a feeling she wasn't telling us something. Well, I got it out of her. Her ID badge to get into the parking lot and building was in the car."

"What?!" Danny cried. "How could she not tell us that?!"

"Well that's what they were looking for then," Chin declared. "I mean it was a picture of you that was sent to Mads phone and you think she's afraid for your safety." He paused. "That ID badge gets them into our building too. It gets them to you."

_Speak up Kono. You have to say something_, Kono told herself. Closing her eyes she prepared to speak, hating herself for breaking Maddie's confidence. "She definitely is." At their questioning looks she clarified, "Afraid for your safety that is."

"What? Why do you say that? Did she tell you something?" Steve fired off questions, obviously desperate for some kind of answers when it came to this whole thing.

"When she called me this morning…she wanted a favor," Kono began.

Steve's forehead wrinkled in confusion. "What was it?"

She paused, looking at her boss sympathetically. "She wanted to know if you were okay."

"I already knew she asked you that. It was obvious."

"No, she wasn't asking if you were okay because she won't talk to you."

"Who says she won't talk to me?" Steve asked, playing dumb.

"She didn't have to. It's obvious." Kono replied smiling as she slightly mocked him by using his own words against him, before continuing. "Anyway, she specifically wanted to know if you had been harmed in any way."

"Do you think he reached out to her again? Maybe scared her?" Steve asked.

Chin immediately looked down, eating his food with a purpose, something Danny picked up on. _Ughh__…__I hate that I know what happened last night and can't say anything. He needs to know about her skates being tampered with_, he thought.

Danny watched Chin. _He looks as if he knows something_, he thought. He glanced over at his angry and worried partner and was filled with an intense need to help him figure this all out. He'd never seen this side of Steve. His more human, sensitive side. The side only Maddie seemed to bring out in him. A side he liked. _It's nice to know that he is actually a normal person. Well__…__as normal as he can be when he's still a freaking ninja. _He looked back at Chin._ If Chin knows something, why isn't he speaking up? __…__Well, I'll just have to make him tell me back at the office_.

"Okay, so we make sure to speak to the guards at the gates and in the two buildings. Let them know if anyone comes in using Raquel Linney's ID we need to be called immediately."

"Her ID is only good to them if they are a woman. I mean do you think this is a woman doing this?" Kono voiced.

Steve rubbed his hand through his hair. "No, I don't, but we can't and shouldn't rule anything out at this point."

"Unless the guy plans on dressing like a female to get in here. But then…we really need to be worried because that's just freaky and weird," Danny stated, trying to lighten the mood by joking, however, it didn't really work.

"Don't worry, we'll figure it out. We're in this with you bra, so don't worry, nothing will happen to her," Chin assured.

"If we now know he didn't want the other stuff…why don't Lori and I go canvas the area around the restaurant again. Before, Chin and I were looking for cameras; we weren't looking in dumpsters or any place the stolen items could have been dumped. What do you say? You up for it Lori?" Kono asked.

_I prefer to be partnered with Steve, but I want him to know he can count on me__…__for anything. I mean that's important in a relationship_, Lori thought. "Definitely! I just want to change into something I don't mind getting filthy. I have something back at Headquarters."

"Alright, well let's all head out and get back to work," Chin said.

Everyone began standing, discarding their food in the nearby trashcan. As they started walking away from the table, Kono suddenly remembered her second promise to Maddie. "Wait!" she cried. The men immediately turned their heads back in Kono's direction, ready for danger. Seeing the looks on their faces and their hands hovering over their firearms, she laughed. "No, guys! Everything's fine! Sorry!"

"What is it babe?" Danny asked as they all relaxed.

"Well, after I told Maddie you were fine…I don't know if it's that she didn't believe me or what…"

Steve's brow furrowed, unsure of where this was going.

"Anyway, she wanted to see for herself."

Steve fought to keep from smiling. _She may be upset and hurt, but she still really cares. And she misses me__…__ Maybe there's hope of fixing things after all_, he thought.

"What do you mean she wants to see for herself?" Lori asked. "Is she coming over?"

"No, she wants a picture," Steve clarified, proving how well he knew Maddie. He walked towards Kono so she could take a photo with her phone. "Ready?"

"I don't want her to know I told you. She'll be really upset. I don't want her to think she can't trust me. Especially with everything going on," Kono expressed, obviously feeling guilty she had told Steve about their conversation.

Steve smiled at Kono, a heartfelt smile, before turning to Danny and Chin. "Here get in the picture."

The two did as McGarrett asked, flanking him on each side. "Okay, Smile!" Kono exclaimed as she held her iPhone out. "Say…Ohana!"

"Ohana!" the three said in unison. Kono quickly took the picture.

"Cute!" she laughed as she inspected it. Sliding her phone back in her pocket she followed the team towards the parking lot.

Steve slowed, waiting for Kono to catch up. When she did he walked next to her. "Everything okay boss?" she asked, noticing how he'd waited for her.

"Kono, thanks for being such a good friend to Maddie," he said to her. "Especially right now. She's…just not herself…and normally I'm the person she turns to when something's wrong. But…" He paused, searching for the right words. "She's shutting me out and…well things between us are…changing…and it's…weird…and…um, we're trying to figure out how to adapt to…well, just, I'm glad she has you," Steve stumbled, obviously a topic he was uncomfortable talking about.

Kono smiled as she made eye contact with him. "No, I'm the one that's lucky to have her. Plus, she was there for me after I hurt my knee. If it wasn't for her…" She stopped, shaking her head. "I was in a dark place and she saved me. The least I can do is be there for her." Steve smiled at her, understanding their bond. "And…boss?"

"Yeah?" he answered.

"You guys will get through this. Trust me. You'll figure it out. You two are meant for one another."

"You might need to put in a good word for me…or a million," Steve joked, ignoring the last part of her statement, the part where she said they were meant for one another.

"That bad, huh?!" She asked, referring to whatever he'd said or done to upset her.

"Oh yeah, that bad," he answered honestly.

"Well, how about this?! I'll put in a million and one good words for you as long as you stop screwing up and hurting her."

"Deal," Steve smiled.

Kono lightly elbowed him as they continued the short walk to the cars.

* * *

><p>He chuckled to himself as he watched the team eat lunch from his truck. Although Steve was trying to hide it, he could tell he was extremely worried and upset over what was going on.<p>

At one point he'd walked right by them, in a disguise of course, and up to the window to order lunch. He'd overheard them talking about the case. He wanted to grin like a schoolboy at how stumped and lost they were. Of course, they'd found out a couple things, none of which would prove helpful since they were all clues he'd purposely left behind. He wanted to torture Steve. To prove that he was better than him. But that was just the added bonus. He really wanted Maddie. He had been in love with her since the moment he'd met her. However, he knew the only way he could have Maddie was to get rid of Steve. Which, he'd eventually do, but he wanted to torture him first.

"So far, so good," he whispered to himself as he watched the team get in their respective cars and drive off.

* * *

><p>I hope you liked the chapter! The next few are ready to go! Please review and I'll post the next one up immediately!<p>

xoxo


	28. Chapter 28

****DISCLAIMER**: **I do not own "Hawaii Five-0" or any of its characters. However, I do own Maddie, Pete, Ryan, Doc, Tina, etc.

* * *

><p><strong>AUTHOR'S<strong>** NOTE**: Hi guys! I wanted to post this chapter the other day, but I didn't get very much feedback on the other one. I actually was going to wait longer, but I figured I owe you guys after disappearing for a month or so. So, here are the next 50+ pages of the 200pgs I have ready to go. Like always, the more reviews I get the sooner I'll update.

Again, I know you are anxious to see what happens with Steve and Maddie, but you're gonna have to wait a couple chapters because I split these up. But, I PROMISE you will NOT be disappointed. There's a little Steve and Maddie coming in the next chapter, Chapter 29. However, Chapter 30...that's where they reunite. You WILL NOT be disappointed. You'll get your Maddie and Steve moments! lol! Which makes me happy, because I LOVE writing them! YAY! :o)

Also, remember that Steve will be with her for three weeks. There will be no Pete, Tina, Doc, Ryan, etc around. It will just be Steve and Maddie, and of course the Five-0 team. The chapters that detail that time...you're gonna like it! ;o) Trust me...it's what you've been waiting for. *hint hint...wink wink*

I just want to remind you that, like I said before the last chapter, after her big show and her team leaves her in Hawaii with Steve, you'll start to see the real Maddie come out. So, this scared, withdrawn, exhausted version of her is NOT who she really is, which is one of the big reasons Steve is so worried about her. He knows it would take something huge for her to be like this. She's normally independent, strong, stubborn, athletic, clumsy, funny, and really silly. I'm anxious to write the scenes where she is more like herself. Anyway, I just wanted to throw that in and make you aware of it.

Also, did everything make sense in the last chapter? In regards to the venue and everything? Let me know!

Again, Maddie arrived in Hawaii on Thursday and in this chapter it's Monday afternoon and evening. So, she hasn't been in Hawaii very long. Not even a week. Just keep that in mind!

Like always, _italics_ are thoughts. Now, here is a slight change. Anything that is in **bold** is either a text message or something Maddie has written on the small, dry erase board. You will know which one because I let you know.

I think most of you know that there are two versions of this story. This one and an M-Rated version. There are a couple words that I left out of this chapter, bad swear words. Later on in other chapters, there will be more of a difference. Basically just not as graphic or descriptive with things. I just didn't want people that don't read M-Rated fiction to miss out on this story!

Well, I will shut up and let you get to it. I hope you enjoy this chapter! BIG THINGS are going to happen in Chapter 29...scary things!

Please, please, READ AND REVIEW! I'll post the next chapter tomorrow...that is if I get some feedback from you guys!

Enjoy!

xoxo

Laura

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><p>CHAPTER 28<p>

Once back at headquarters Kono texted the picture to Maddie before heading out with Lori. Steve went to his office to add everything new they'd learned to the case file and then go over it all again, hoping the pieces would start to fit together. Chin also returned to his office to make a call to Walter's best friend since he hadn't been able to get a hold of him yet. Danny was sitting at his desk chatting with Rachel. She was updating him on Grace, telling him how she was getting picked up by Tina from headquarters. Once they hung up he sat there watching Chin on the phone through the glass windows of their offices. _What was with his weird behavior at lunch? Why would he hide something about Maddie? _he wondered.

Seeing that Chin was no longer on the phone he rose, exited his office, and walked across the hall to his coworker's. "Who were you talking to?" Danny asked, not bothering to knock.

Chin was surprised by the intrusion and it showed on his face. "Oh…just Walter's best friend. We'd been playing phone tag. I've been checking into Walter. Making sure he doesn't have some weird, secret obsession with Maddie…or something like that. Something that would make us believe he's lying. That he's the one stalking her."

"And?" Danny asked plopping down in the chair in front of Chin's desk.

"Nothing. Everyone says he's a great guy. Generous. Always willing to lend a helping hand. No one's ever heard him talk about Maddie." The two were quiet as Danny stared at his coworker, waiting for the right moment to question him. Feeling weird, Chin finally decided to speak up. "Did you need something?"

"Yeah, I did actually," Danny replied, his tone unintentionally coming out slightly aggressive.

Chin waited for him to continue. When he didn't he asked, "And what would it be?"

"What do you know? What are you keeping to yourself?" Chin was about to play dumb, however Danny didn't give him the chance. "Don't even! Don't even tell me you have no idea what I'm talking about. I saw the look on your face at lunch. What is it? What do you know?"

Chin swallowed hard, debating what he should do. _If I tell him, will he say something to Steve?_ he wondered. "I promised I wouldn't say anything. Not yet at least."

"Is it about Maddie?"

"Yes."

"Spit it out Chin. He's in there worried beyond belief over her. Angry at himself because we aren't getting anywhere."

"Promise you won't say anything?" Chin asked.

"I can't do that! He's my partner!" Danny yelled, standing, his hands on Chin's desk as he leaned forward.

"Shhh!" Chin hissed as he nervously looked out the windows of his office making sure Steve hadn't heard Danny's outburst. Seeing Steve hunched over the file on his desk, he turned back to his coworker. "Look, Maddie's going to tell him after the show on Wednesday."

"And if she doesn't?"

"Then I will," Chin responded.

Sitting back down in the chair, Danny thought about it for a second. Obviously, if he wanted to know what was going on he'd have to agree to keep it from Steve for a couple days. "Fine, I promise I won't tell him. But…I'm not happy about keeping something about Maddie from him!"

"And you think I am?" Chin cried, insulted.

"No, I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that. I'm sure you're hating this too." Danny waited to see if Chin accepted his apology. When it seemed he had, he asked, "So what is it? What do you know?"

Chin leaned forward, his elbows on his desk. "Malia spent the night last night, and-"

"Atta boy!" Danny smiled, interrupting his teammate.

Chin rolled his eyes. "ANYWAY, " he exaggerated as he gave him a pointed look. Danny immediately raised his hands in defense, signaling for him to continue. "Well, her phone rang at 4am. It was Pete. He said that something had happened and Maddie needed to go to the hospital a-"

"She's in the hospital?! And you didn't tell Steve?! Now, I'm sorry, but that he needs to know. If she's in the hospital he'll want to be with her! And he should be!" Danny cried, interrupting Chin for the second time in the last minute.

"Calm down bra! Would you just let me finish before you freak out!" he exclaimed, his voice laced with irritation.

"Right, sorry. Go on," Danny replied, a sheepish look on his face.

"So, Pete said she needed to go to the hospital. I guess her doctor that flew out for the week doesn't have privileges at the hospitals here, so he needed Malia. She agreed to help and we headed over there…When we arrived Pete filled us in…" Chin paused as he stared at Danny.

"So, what happened?" Danny asked, anxious to hear the rest.

"She was filming a short video for her show and she needed to wear roller skates in it. Pete said they started shooting and she skated in, but the next thing they knew her feet were above her head and she fell."

Danny squinted at him, a look of confusion on his face. "But…why would she want to keep that from Steve? From what I've seen and from what everyone has said, she's super clumsy. So she fell, which sucks, but it's not out of character for her."

Chin sighed. "Trust me, I wish that was the case. Anyway, Pete asked her what happened and Maddie said that all of a sudden her skates felt strange and the next thing she knew she was in the air. She came down HARD on her tailbone…So Pete looked at the skates…" Chin stopped as he reached under his desk. He pulled out a key from a hiding spot and rolled his chair back a bit. Remaining seated, he bent over to the right and unlocked his large, bottom desk drawer. He removed the bag from inside and sat up straight. "They've been tampered with," he divulged as he placed the bag on his desk.

Danny immediately removed a pair of gloves from his pocket and pulled them on before opening the bag and taking the skates out. After looking them over carefully he looked up. "They're missing screws…Somebody definitely messed with these," he agreed, his face solemn. "Is she okay?"

Chin nodded, a small smile appearing on his lips. "She's okay. She's in pain. A lot of pain. They were worried she'd hit her head when she fell. Afterwards she suddenly got really sleepy, couldn't keep her eyes open. Given the concussion she already had, Doc – that's her doctor – wanted to be sure she was okay, so they did an MRI scan of her head."

"And she didn't hit it again?" Danny asked, concerned.

"No, it looks like she did hit it…just a little bit. But she's okay. They had her tailbone x-rayed and it's not broken, but she's in a ton of pain. I mean, A LOT of pain. While she was there they also had an MRI taken of her knee."

"How is her knee? When we saw her Saturday night it seemed to really be bothering her."

"It wasn't brought up much. She was in a knee brace that had ice in it. She has to wear it when she's not rehearsing, but she is able to dance on her knee."

"How'd she look besides that? I mean is Steve going to freak out with worry when he sees her Wednesday?" Danny asked.

Chin paused as he thought back to how Maddie looked. "She was asleep most of the time I was with her. And I was only with her for a couple hours. I…uh… watched her while Pete grabbed a couple hours of sleep. She looked a little pale. Tired too, but that might've just been the fall. It wasn't awful. If she looks like that on Wednesday, he won't freak out. I mean nothing's going to stop him from being worried. Especially now that we know whatever's going on is really bad."

"He's going to lose it when he finds out what happened. Why didn't she want him called?"

"It's not that she didn't want him there…because she did. I mean she really wanted him there. She told me so. It's just…whatever stupid thing he did... he really hurt her."

Danny shook his head as he sighed. "Yeah, he knows it. He's upset and worried he won't be able to fix things."

"Hopefully he can." Chin stared off into space, remembering the short conversation he'd had with Maddie. Turning to Danny he said, "After I offered to call Steve for her and she said no, she made me promise to not let anything happen to him."

"What is she so afraid of? I mean she is terrified of someone hurting Steve. The only person I know that wants Steve dead is Wo Fat, but-"

It was now Chin's turn to interrupt. "This isn't him."

"Yeah, it's not his style," Danny agreed.

The two were quiet as they both tried to think of anything they could be missing or forgetting. Finally Danny spoke up. "I wish Steve knew about this. We might come up with a print or something from the skates."

"I know. I thought about taking them to Charlie, but I don't want to risk Steve finding out what happened. Maddie is adamant about him not knowing until after the show and to be honest, Pete seemed to agree with the decision. I don't think he did at first, but after really thinking about it he says it's the best for Maddie right now."

"Yeah, it should come from Maddie." Danny turned his head to the left and stared out into the hall. He could see a bit of his partner's office from this view. He was hunched forward, pouring over the case file. Turning back to Chin he said, "Well, we'll wait to process the skates until Thursday morning, but it doesn't mean we can't investigate the incident a little."

"What do you mean?" Chin asked, interested in hearing his idea.

"Well, let's find out if there are any cameras around the arena. If so, let's pull the footage. Traffic cameras too. We can compare the footage. Maybe we'll see the same car or same man, or woman I guess, at the arena and near Jake's restaurant. I mean that could help us maybe find out something about this stalker."

"I don't think it's a woman. Do you?" Chin asked randomly.

"I'm with you and McGarrett on this one. My gut's telling me it's a man. A seriously fucked up man who messed with the wrong Navy Seal's girl!"

The two shared a laugh imagining exactly what Steve was going to do with the psycho once he found him. "Well, I'm going to try and get any traffic cam footage from around the arena without Sherlock Holmes over there finding out," Danny joked as he stood, using his head to point in Steve's direction.

"Alright great! After I leave here tonight I'll drive over to the arena and look around for any cameras on any nearby businesses or storefronts. If I find any, I'll work on getting the footage in the morning."

"Perfect! Well, at least once Steve finds out about this we would have already done some investigating, which will hopefully keep us from losing too much time." Just as Danny was opening Chin's office door to leave he stopped and looked back over his shoulder. "Hey, will you keep me updated? If you hear anything. I, uh…know I just met her, but I already really care about her. I mean, it's my partner's future wife we're talking about here!"

Chin laughed at his comment. "If they can figure things out between themselves. And yeah…I'll definitely keep you posted. Pete said he'd call me if anything else happened."

With that said Danny walked out, heading across the hall towards his office. Chin made sure the skates were secure in their bag before locking them back up in the bottom drawer and replacing the key to its hiding spot.

* * *

><p>It was 3pm and the three men were each in their respective offices reading and re-reading all the information they had so far. Danny had finished going through the traffic camera footage from Friday near the restaurant, but because he didn't really know what he was looking for, he came up empty. He had requested the footage surrounding the arena, but it hadn't arrived yet. So, until then, he was doing what Steve had been doing all day, going over the case file.<p>

Chin had called a couple of the surrounding businesses near Jake's restaurant asking some more questions. However, it didn't prove to be helpful, so he drove to the arena to see if he spotted any nearby storefronts with cameras. Sure enough he saw a few and was now back in his office trying to convince the owners to give him the footage. For now he'd try getting it without a warrant because he knew if he asked for one Steve would find out. How would he explain that without telling him the truth? So, while waiting for the owners answers he was looking over the case and information they'd gathered so far. Kono and Lori were still out canvassing around the restaurant hoping to find the stolen items from Walter Seasius and Raquel Linney's car.

Leaning back in his comfortable office chair, Chin rubbed his eyes, having been staring at documents for hours. With his hands over his face he didn't see Danny peak his head in. "You look how I feel! I need a break, so I was gonna go down and take another look at the car. Do you want to join?" Danny asked, startling Chin.

Dropping his hands to his lap he sighed as he looked at the papers scattered across his desk. "Yeah. Definitely," he answered, standing up and walking to the door.

As they walked down the hall heading in the direction of the elevator Chin said, "We better let McGarrett know where we're going."

Danny walked the couple feet to his partner's office and popped his head inside. "Hey! Chin and I need to get away from our offices for a bit, so we're gonna go down and give the car another once over. Who knows? Maybe we missed something!"

Steve peered up from the mess of papers he was currently reading. "Sounds good. Let me know if you find anything."

"Yep!" Danny said before turning and rejoining Chin.

Just as they were about to start towards the elevator they heard feet running and an excited young voice yell, "Danno!"

Danny glanced up to see his daughter running towards him. "Hey Monkey!" he greeted as he bent over to receive a hug from Gracie. Once he pulled out of the hug he noticed Rachel wasn't with her. "Where's Mommy? Did she bring you up?"

"No, she started to, but an officer brought me up because she was in a hurry. She has a doctor's appointment," Grace answered.

Danny saw the uniformed officer she was talking about at the end of the hall and waved, recognizing her. "Thanks!"

Hearing the commotion in the hall and needing a break of his own, Steve exited his office. "Hey Gracie!" he smiled, seeing his niece.

"Uncle Steve!" she exclaimed, dropping her backpack and running towards him. As she reached him, he picked her up.

"I didn't know you were coming today! What a great surprise!" Steve told her, earning him a huge smile.

"Yeah, Rachel has a doctor's appointment, so I have Gracie," Danny explained.

"Yeah, and guess what I'm doing?!" she asked, bubbling with excitement.

"What's that?"

"Aunt Maddie asked me to be in her show, so I'm getting to go rehearse with her."

Steve's head jerked towards Danny, a questioning look on his face. "Really?"

"Yeah," Danny answered. "Rachel just told me about it a little while ago."

"Are you taking her over there? Because I mean…I could do it," Steve offered, trying not to seem too willing or excited.

Danny smirked at his partner, knowing exactly what he was thinking. "To be honest, I was going to see if you would, but then Rachel told me Tina is coming to get her. My guess is that that's the exact reason why."

Steve's face fell realizing how much Maddie didn't want to talk to him or see him. _Wow, she's willing to send Tina to come get Gracie when she's so busy. There are a million other things Tina should be doing. All so she doesn't see me. Wow_, he thought, doing his best to hide his disappointment, especially in front of his niece. "Oh okay…well she can stay in my office until Tina arrives. There's more room for her in there anyway."

"Yeah, that would be great!" Danny looked at his daughter in his partner's arms. "Monkey, Uncle Chin and I are going downstairs to do some work, so you stay here with Uncle Steve. Work on some homework until Tina comes to get you, okay? And if I don't see you before you go, be good for Maddie. And give her a hug for me."

"Okay Danno," Grace responded.

"You sure you don't mind?" Danny asked his partner.

"Not at all. I need the distraction. I've been looking at those files all day," Steve answered.

"She probably needs a snack."

Still holding Gracie with his left arm, Steve reached down with his right and picked up her backpack. "No problem!" As he turned around, walking them through his open office door he said, "Don't worry! We'll be fine!"

Danny smiled as he watched them disappear into his office. _This is good. He definitely needs a distraction from everything that's going on. And Gracie has him wrapped around her little finger, _he thought, smiling as he and Chin walked down the hall and entered the elevator.

* * *

><p>Steve set Gracie on the couch and her backpack on the floor. "So, are you hungry?" he asked, sitting on the edge of his desk. She nodded. "Okay, I'll go get you something. While I'm gone, why don't you get started on your homework." He left his office and walked down to their break room. Scouring the cupboards and fridge for something Gracie would like he couldn't get Maddie out of his head. <em>Wow, she's really upset. Sending Tina just so I wouldn't bring Gracie and she wouldn't have to see me? Should I even bother going to the show?<em> he wondered. _I don't wanna go if I'm going to just upset her before she has to go onstage._

Finding an apple and cookies, Steve headed back to his office. As he walked in he smiled, noticing Gracie was already working on an assignment. "Here ya go! Not the greatest snack, but the best I could do on such short notice," he explained, setting the food on the small coffee table in front of the couch.

Grace smiled at him as she grabbed a piece of apple and began eating it.

"So…" Steve began, taking a seat next to her. Gracie looked up at him expectantly as she ate her snack. "You're going to hang out with Maddie today."

A HUGE smile appeared on her face. "Yep! Cool, huh?"

"Very cool. I mean, you must be pretty special because I can't even see Maddie during rehearsals," he told her.

"Really? How come?"

Steve thought about how he should answer the question. Finally he responded. "Maddie's got so much to do and doesn't want to be distracted."

"And you'll distract her?" Gracie asked.

"I guess so," he quietly said.

Grace looked at him, studying him. Without taking her eyes away from her uncle she reached for a cookie and asked, "Are you sad Uncle Steve?"

He was really surprised at her question, thinking he was doing a decent job internalizing his emotions. "No, I'm just worried."

"Does it have to do with Aunt Maddie?"

Steve smirked at how smart and perceptive she was at such a young age. "Why would you think that?"

"Because you're different around her."

"I am?" he asked. _Am I really that different when she's around?_ He wondered. Gracie wasn't the first one to tell him this lately. _If a ten year old is noticing__…__maybe it's true. _

"Yeah," Grace smiled at him. "So does it?"

Steve sighed, not up for hiding his feelings at the moment. He'd been doing it for days and it was becoming exhausting. "Yeah kiddo, it does."

"You're worried about her? How come?" she asked, her small forehead wrinkled in confusion.

"A lot of reasons," he answered leaning back against the couch. He didn't want to tell her what was going on with Maddie and scare her.

Gracie just stared at him waiting for an answer. Minutes went by and her eyebrows only seemed to rise higher. Finally Steve chuckled at her persistence. "You are your father's daughter, ya know that?" This comment earned him a toothy smile, however didn't distract her from wanting an answer. Shaking his head he gave in. "Well, you know she hurt herself…and now she's working too hard. Probably not sleeping. I'm just worried she's not taking care of herself."

She waited for her uncle to continue. After a minute her big brown eyes somehow got bigger, something he didn't think was possible. "Why else? You said 'a lot of reasons'."

Smirking and shaking his head Steve looked away. "Just am worried about her kiddo."

"Want me to make sure she's okay for you Uncle Steve?" Gracie offered.

He was surprised by her , but also intrigued. _Why didn't I think of that?_ he wondered. _I mean Maddie won't talk to me__…__I have no idea if she's really okay. The only contact I've had is a picture from Tina and that was yesterday. For all I know, she's a mess. Most likely she isn't sleeping and she's pushing herself too hard. Harder than her body can handle right now._ He eyed his niece, trying to decide how wrong it would be to have her spy for him. _If she finds out she'll definitely be mad, but then again__…__she's already pissed and won't talk to me. _Deciding he couldn't really make things worse he said, "You'd do that for me?"

"Yep! Can I be a part of Five-0?" she asked excitedly.

"Of course! I mean, this is a very important mission. If you choose to accept it that is," Steve said, a smile on his face. "But…it's a secret mission, so you can't tell Mads about it."

"I know. She gets upset when you worry about her," Gracie laughed.

"You're a really smart kid, ya know that?" Steve told her, in awe at how perceptive she was.

"Yeah, I know!" Gracie giggled. "What do you want me to do?"

He thought about it for a second. Finally deciding, he pulled out his phone and pulled up the picture Tina had sent him yesterday. "Tina sent this to me yesterday. She looks tired in it, but she looks okay….So, if you see her look any worse than this, take a picture."

"Okay, I can do that!" Grace smiled happy to be helping in some way.

"And if you hear anything you think I should know…tell me okay?" Gracie nodded. "Thanks for doing this for me kiddo!" he told her as he stood up and walked to his desk.

"No problem Uncle Steve!"

"What time is Tina coming to get you?" he asked, looking at his watch.

"4pm."

"Okay. Well it's 3:40pm now, so you have twenty minutes. Do you think you can finish that worksheet you're working on before you leave?" Steve didn't want to fail his partner. He'd asked him to do two things while watching his daughter: feed her and make sure she worked on her homework.

"Yep!" Gracie smiled as she picked up her pencil and returned her attention to the abandoned assignment. Every couple minutes she'd reach over to the plate Steve had set next to her and eat some more of the snack.

Although he returned to looking over the file in front of him, he kept a watchful eye on his partner's daughter. Ten minutes later he must have been deep in thought because he didn't notice Grace stand up and walk over to him. "Uncle Steve?"

He jumped a little, surprised she was standing so close and he hadn't realized. _Damn! Maddie is distracting me_, he thought. "What's up?" he asked as he turned slightly left to face her.

"Can you check this?" She handed him the completed worksheet. "Mommy or Daddy normally do, but they're not here."

"Of course!" Steve smiled, taking the paper and setting it on his desk. It didn't take long to look over the math worksheet. It was, after all, fourth grade math and math had always been one of his best subjects. "Looks good!" he smiled, handing it back to her. "Looks like we've got a genius on our hands."

Gracie smiled at his comment. "What time is it?" she asked taking the paper back and walking to the couch.

Steve looked at his watch. "Just now 4pm. Perfect timing! Do you have a lot of other homework?"

"Nope!" Giving him a big smile, she said, "Tina should be here! I'm gonna go wait for her in the hall!"

"Okay! But leave my door open, so I can still see you," he instructed as Gracie rushed out of his office. She did as she was told and stayed right outside the open door.

Returning to the file he thought, _Why did they steal Raquel's ID badge? I mean this doesn't seem like it could be a woman! And it-__…_His thoughts were interrupted by an excited squeal from the hall.

"Tina!" Steve looked up to see Gracie running towards Tina, who squatted and gave her a big hug. Standing from his desk, he walked out into the hall. Now that he could fully see Maddie's assistant and best friend he noticed that Carl and Frank were on each side of her. _That's weird_, he thought. _Maddie sent her with not one, but two bodyguards?_

"Hi sweetie! I take it you're excited!" Tina smiled as she pulled out of the hug. Gracie nodded exaggeratedly causing Tina to laugh.

As she stood up, her eyes met Steve's. He was leaning against the door frame of what she presumed was his office. She smiled sympathetically at him. Giving her a half smile in return he nodded his head towards his office, signaling for her to come in.

Tina nodded before turning back to the small girl. "Gracie, this is Carl and Frank. They're taking us to see Maddie. I'm gonna go talk to Steve for a minute. Stay with them." With that said, she gave both men a look before following Steve into his office.

The door barely closed behind them when he asked, "How is she?"

Tina smiled at his obvious love for her friend. "She's good! She's just busy!"

Steve sat on the edge of his desk, making eye contact with her. "She won't answer her phone or call me back."

Tina stared at the floor, unable to look into his sad eyes anymore. Seeing the helplessness, hurt, worry, and guilt was too much for her. She knew if she did, she'd spill the beans, tell him everything Maddie had confided in her. "She needs to focus Steve. She's just trying to get through the next couple of days. You'll see and talk to her Wednesday. It's only two days away."

It was obvious he didn't like that answer as he groaned, shaking his head. "She's upset with me, isn't she?" Before she could answer his question, he continued. "Of course she is! I screwed up…again."

Tina remained silent, even though she wanted nothing more than to fill him in. Tell him how Maddie felt. Tell him about what happened last night. But, she was under strict orders not to. Maddie didn't want him knowing any of it. _Crap! I hate this! They are both so God damn stubborn! If they would just get over that they could be so happy together!_ she thought. _I don't know, maybe I should just tell him everything. So, Maddie will get mad, but maybe it will actually help things between them. Plus, she needs him right now, with whatever's going on. Whatever she's keeping to herself. If Maddie's going to confide in anyone, it's going to be Steve. _

Steve sat patiently as he watched Tina's internal struggle. He could tell she wanted to tell him something, but knowing Maddie, she'd told her not to say anything. Finally, too anxious to know what she knew, he said, "Tell me, T."

"What?" she asked, acting as if she had no idea what he was talking about.

He gave her a 'come on, really?' look, letting her know he wasn't falling for it. "I can tell you want to say something. Just do it," he instructed.

"I promised-" she began.

"I don't care. Break it," Steve interrupted, doing his best to keep the anger from his voice. After all, he wasn't angry with Tina. She was just being a good friend. He was angry with himself for getting into this situation to begin with. _If I'd just told the truth_, he thought. _But I don't even know what the truth is! I don't know what we are! _However, he knew that wasn't what had hurt her the most. It was that he laughed at the idea of them together. If he hadn't have done that he knew he'd have a much better chance of being able to fix things between them.

Tina hesitated, still unsure if she should say anything. _I'll just say a little_, she decided. "She thinks what you said was the truth."

He assumed that because she wouldn't talk to him, but assuming and knowing were two completely different things. His chest tightened at her statement. "I didn't." He paused. "Mean it that is."

"I know," she told him sadly, her heart breaking for them both.

"Tell her, please!" For someone so known to keep his feelings and emotions hidden, they were displayed for her to see. He was upset, desperate to get through to Maddie. Not just because of how he felt about her. Sure, that was a huge part of it. But also because he knew she was in trouble and he needed to try and get her to tell him what was going on. With things how they were, he knew that was never going to happen.

"I tried and I'll keep trying, but I don't think I can get through to her. She's just not herself."

"I know."

"She's closed off. Whatever's bugging her…it's really getting to her."

"I know. I can see it." Steve studied Tina's demeanor for a minute. She became fidgety and nervous under his intense gaze. "What else did she say Tina?" he asked, knowing she wasn't telling him everything.

"I can't tell you."

"It's obviously important. Maybe it'll help us!" He paused, sighing. "Just tell me." He was desperate for any information he could get. He couldn't remember a time he'd felt this helpless, which just made him angrier.

Tina took him in. Feeling terrible over the entire situation and how heartbroken both he and Maddie were, she sighed heavily before saying, "Look, I just can't tell you." Seeing him about to protest she held up her hand to quiet him and then continued. "But…I'll make you a deal."

"What kind of deal?" he questioned, intrigued and hopeful.

"If, after you've spent some time with her Wednesday and she hasn't told you how she's feeling, I'll tell you. I mean, there's nothing you can do before then anyways."

"I can just show up to the venue," Steve stated.

Tina smiled at him. "If you were going to do that, you would've already done it." She paused, watching him. "There's a reason you haven't." His shoulders slumped in defeat, knowing she was right. "You know to be able to pull this show off on Wednesday and get through these rehearsals, Maddie has to focus. And you know she can't do that if you show up after saying what you did. You'll see her Wednesday, Steve."

"If seeing me is going to upset and distract her so much, maybe it's better if I don't go to the show. I can just see her back at her house afterwards," Steve said, his voice quieter than usual. It's not what he wanted to do, but if it made it easier for Maddie, he would.

Tina froze, looking at him. _Say something. You know that if he doesn't go, it'll kill Maddie, no matter what she says. You have to tell him more about how she's feeling_ _because if he doesn't go, he won't be able to fix this with her,_ Tina told herself. "Look, you hurt her. You know that. You don't need me to tell you that." Steve looked away, feeling awful. "You need to go to the show."

"She doesn't want me there and I don't want to upset her more. She has too much to focus on."

"You're such a guy!" Tina exclaimed.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Steve questioned.

She hesitated, trying to decide if she should break Maddie's confidence. Coming to a decision, she sighed, hoping she wasn't making a mistake. "Don't ever tell her I told you this…"

Steve furrowed his eyebrows, confused. "I thought you couldn't tell me anything more."

She glared at him. "Well, you forced my hand a bit." She paused, sighing once more. "Look, there's been a couple times Maddie has asked for you. She wants you there."

"Really?" Steve smiled. "Well, why didn't anyone call me? I would've come right away."

"Because as soon as we go to call you, she changes her mind. She wants you there, but she's…" Tina paused trying to think of a way to explain it to Steve without telling him exactly how Maddie felt. "Just…she wants you there, but she's hurt."

"What aren't you telling me?" Steve asked, noticing how she'd hesitated. "Is she okay?"

"I'm not telling you lot," she admitted. "Yes, she's okay….Anyway, I need to get Gracie to the venue. We are on a tight schedule and need to stick to it as much as possible. I'll see you Wednesday, Steve."

"Okay, I'll be there."

With that said, Tina started to leave. Before she was completely out the door, she stopped and turned her head to look at him. The look on her face and her demeanor were different than they had been for the rest of the conversation. She seemed angry all of a sudden. "Did you really have to laugh at the idea of the two of you together?" Tina asked, disbelief and, yes, anger in her voice. Sure she felt bad for him, but what he'd said was wrong and hurtful and she really didn't blame Maddie for feeling the way she did.

Steve's face fell as his chest constricted. He couldn't look at Tina, knowing how badly he'd messed up. _She's telling you how much you hurt Mads_, he told himself as his door closed.

Knowing he needed to pull himself together and make sure Gracie had everything she needed, he stood up from his spot on the edge of his desk and exited his office.

"Ready sweetie?" Tina asked her.

Gracie looked over to see her dad's partner enter the hall. As she approached him he squatted down, a forced smile on his face. She hugged him. "Don't worry, I'll make sure Aunt Maddie's okay. I promise," she whispered in his ear.

He stifled a small laugh and pulled away from her. "Thanks!" Standing up he asked, "Do you have everything?"

"Yep!" she smiled at him as she walked towards Tina.

"Okay, well Danno will be here when you get back. Have fun and be good!"

Taking Tina's hand she waved at him. "I will!" He watched them walk down the hall hand in hand, a bodyguard on each side. As they turned and entered the elevator, Tina met his eyes and gave him a small, sympathetic smile as the doors shut.

* * *

><p>Walking back into his office Steve plopped down at his desk. Leaning back in his comfortable desk chair he rubbed his left hand across his face, doing his best to keep his anger in check and not lose his temper. <em>I really wish we had a suspect. I could really use a chase or something to get my mind off this<em>, he thought. He took a deep breath, exhaling loudly as he sighed. _How the hell am I going to convince her I didn't mean what I said?! Is she even going to talk to me when I see her Wednesday? I mean what the hell should I expect? _Before he knew it everything on his desk was flying through the air. He'd lost it and needed to express his anger in some way, shape, or form and his desk was the closest. "Way to go Steve," he mumbled to himself, taking in the mess he'd just created.

Danny and Chin had just returned from looking over the car when they heard crashing from their boss' office. As they approached they saw various objects scattered across the floor of his office while tons of papers flitted to the ground. They spotted him sitting at his desk, obviously angry.

"Must've talked to Tina about Maddie," Danny stated. "Or at least tried."

"I'm guessing he didn't like what he heard," Chin added.

Knowing that if he approached his partner right then, it would lead to nothing but both of them angry and yelling, Danny decided to let him cool off before trying to talk to him.

"You don't think Tina told him about what happened last night, do you?" Chin asked his coworker.

Danny turned to look at him, a smirk present on his face as he slightly chuckled. "Are you kidding me? If Steve knew what happened he'd be with Maddie right now. And he'd be more than angry."

"Yeah, you're right," Chin nodded in agreement.

"I'm gonna go see if the traffic cam footage from around the Blaisdell Arena is on our server yet. If not, I'll call them again. When I get it, let's sit and watch it. Until then, maybe you can check out some of the footage Lori and I already watched. That way we're both familiar with it when we watch the new footage and we'll have a better shot of spotting a repeat customer," Danny said.

"Sounds good! Is the restaurant footage on the main server?"

"Yep!" Danny replied as the two headed to their offices.

* * *

><p>At 4:30pm Frank pulled the black SUV up to the outside of the main room of the arena. He and Carl walked around helping both Tina and Gracie out of the car. "Ready kiddo?" Tina asked, taking her hand.<p>

"Yes!" she smiled, beyond excited as they walked inside. "Where's Maddie?" Gracie asked, looking around for the singer.

"In her dressing room waiting for you," Tina replied as she lead them down a couple halls. Soon they came to a large door with a sign saying 'Madeline Lily' on the front. "Hey Mo!" she greeted as he stood guarding the door.

"Hey T! You can go right in," he instructed.

"Thanks!" Tina pushed the heavy door open and led Gracie inside, leaving Frank and Carl to go off to their stations.

Maddie was seated on the couch, her right leg in the huge brace that connected to the ice water tank. Her big, grey boyfriend sweater was pulled tight around her while her dark purple throw blanket was over her lap. Tina noticed how tired and sad she looked as she stared off into space, lost in thought.

No one noticed Gracie's phone in her hand as she snapped a quick picture of Maddie, not forgetting her mission from Steve.

As they got closer to the couch Tina looked over and said, "Just letting you know, Maddie's losing her voice, so she's not talking very much. So a lot of the time she's writing down what she wants to say." Gracie nodded at the explanation.

Tina's voice pulled Maddie from her thoughts. The second she saw Gracie, she put on a façade. A huge smile spread across her face as she whispered, "Hey sweetie! I'm so glad you're here! Come give me a hug!"

Gracie ran and hopped up on the couch next to Maddie doing as she was told. Maddie enveloped her in a huge hug. "Are you excited?"

"Yes!" she squealed as they pulled away from one another.

"Well, first thing's first…Before we perform our song in the show, a short video will play on the screen. It gives us time to get dressed and ready to come out. So, we're gonna shoot that video. It's mainly you, but I'll be in it a little bit too. I already got my hair and makeup done, so now it's your turn. When you're finished you'll change quickly and then we'll shoot the video. After, we'll head to the stage and practice the song." While Gracie leaned against her, Maddie subconsciously played with her brown hair.

Nikki and Lorali walked over and introduced themselves before taking her hand and leading her to the makeup chair on the other side of the room.

"I'll be right here Gracie," Maddie whispered. She wanted to get up and sit with her because she could tell she was a little nervous, but it was so painful every time she moved thanks to last night's fall. Plus, she was hooked to the ice water tank. She gave Tina a quick look and motioned to the other side of the room. Understanding what her friend was saying, she stood and walked to the makeup/hair station, taking a seat next to Gracie. Hearing the two begin to chat and laugh Maddie leaned her head to the left, using the armrest as a pillow. Her head was pounding, her throat still hurt, and not to mention her knee was throbbing. Every little movement she made caused terrible pains to shoot from her tailbone down through her legs. Even her arms throbbed from the most recent injury. _As upset and hurt as I am, I wish Steve was here right now_, she thought as she closed her eyes. One small tear escaped and ran down her pale face.

* * *

><p>Twenty minutes later Gracie's hair and makeup were completed and she was dressed in the clothes she'd be wearing in the video. As she watched Tina carefully shake Maddie to wake her up, she grabbed her phone from her pocket.<p>

"Gotta get dressed Mads," Tina whispered, as her friend's sleepy blue eyes opened.

"K," she mumbled before beginning to unstrap the knee brace. Once completely unhooked, Tina took it and set it next to the couch. She knew Maddie was going to need someone to help pull her into a standing position. It had been extremely obvious how painful it was to move thanks to her newly injured tailbone.

Maddie took her assistant's outstretched hands. She tilted her face down slightly as she squinted her eyes, preparing herself for the intense pain she was about to experience. "1, 2, 3," Tina whispered. On 3 she used all her strength to pull her best friend up off the couch while Maddie did her best to stand. No one noticed Gracie filming a video of the whole thing on her cell phone. She even got Maddie crying out in pain. "You okay?" Tina asked her.

Standing, but still holding onto Tina, Maddie nodded, her eyes still squeezed closed. After a minute of standing waiting for the pain to dissipate, she took a deep breath and let it out before opening her eyes and walking towards the other side of the room. She smiled at Gracie, who had already put her phone back in her pocket, no one the wiser. "You look like a superstar! Look at you!" she cried, taking Grace's hand and twirling her around. The young girl giggled. "I'm gonna get dressed too," Maddie said, grabbing her clothes from the rack nearby. She slowly began to strip, doing her best to keep from grimacing at the pain branching off her tailbone. Knowing she needed help, but wouldn't ask, Tina helped her change.

"Are you hurt Aunt Maddie?" Gracie asked, noticing how hard it was for her to move around.

"A little bit, but nothing to worry about. I'll be okay," she smiled, trying to not only reassure Gracie, but herself. _I don't know how I can perform like this. This is excruciating_, she thought. For the millionth time that day she wished she and Steve were on better terms; she needed him. But at the same time she hated herself for needing him. She knew it was time to protect herself and that she could no longer need him like that. It would only result in her heartbroken and possibly him physically hurt.

"Okay," Gracie nodded, not really believing her aunt. _I wish Uncle Steve was here_, she thought as Tina finished helping Maddie get dressed.

"Shall we?" Maddie whispered, her voice cutting in and out, as she held her hand out for Gracie. She nervously took it, not knowing what to expect. Maddie picked up on her apprehension. "Don't worry! You'll be great! And if at any point you feel uncomfortable or anything, just tell me okay?"

Gracie nodded, her grip tightening on Maddie's hand as they exited the dressing room. As they began walking down the hall, Pete and Mo joined them, one on each side of them.

* * *

><p>At 6pm they were done with the video and were back in the dressing room. They changed into leggings, tank tops, and sneakers and were taking a short break on the couch while they waited for rehearsal to start. Once again, Gracie leaned into Maddie's side.<p>

"Hey Shorty!" Doc greeted as he entered the room. "How ya feeling?"

"Good!" Maddie lied as the two giggled over something they'd just said.

"And who is this?" Doc asked, smiling in Gracie's direction.

"This is Gracie! She's the daughter of Steve's partner," Maddie explained.

"Hi Gracie! I'm Doc!" He reached out his hand and shook hers.

"Hi!" she shyly responded, leaning further into Maddie.

"So, let me ask you something. Has Maddie been talking?"

"Yes," Gracie answered.

"Tattle tale!" Maddie laughed, tickling her.

"That's what I thought," Doc said as he gave the singer a pointed look. "For the millionth time, use either of these." He grabbed the Dynavox and small, dry erase board off the coffee table and handed them to her.

Narrowing her eyes at him she took the items. She grabbed the pen and began scribbling on the dry erase board. After a minute she held it up. She'd doodled Gracie's name with a heart at the beginning and end of it. Seeing what she'd written Grace asked, "Will you take a picture of us?"

"Sure thing," Doc replied, taking her phone from her. "Ready? On 3. 1, 2, 3!" He took the picture. Maddie was holding up the sign and pointing to Gracie while the two laughed. It was a cute picture. "That's a good one!" he said handing the phone back to her.

While Gracie smiled at the photo Doc focused his attention on a tired looking Maddie. He could tell she was trying to put on a front for Grace. "So, how do you really feel?" he asked, his eyes concerned.

She glanced to her left at Gracie before writing to Doc on the board. **My tailbone hurts ****so**** bad! The littlest movement is so painful. Tina had to pull me off the couch earlier! **

After reading the message, he looked at Maddie. Seeing the tears welling up in her eyes he glanced at Tina before saying to Gracie, "Hey, why doesn't Tina go and show you what the stage looks like while I make sure Mads is good to go. Then she'll meet you out there."

Gracie eyed Maddie hesitantly, nervous to leave without her. Picking up on her uneasiness she nodded and smiled at her before typing on the Dynavox. Pushing play the female robotic voice said, "It's okay. Go ahead. I'll be there in a minute."

Gracie immediately began giggling at the voice. Maddie had assumed it would make her smile, which was why she'd used the machine instead of writing.

"Come on sweetie! The stage is really cool! I'll give you the grand tour!" Tina said, taking the young girl's hand and exiting the dressing room.

Once they were alone Doc said, "So, it's bad?"

Maddie flashed him an 'are you kidding me?' look before whispering, "That's putting it mildly. I don't know how I can do this with this pain. It's excruciating."

He watched her wipe at her eyes as she did her best to keep her emotions in check. "I know you've just been trying to take Advil all day instead of any pain pills, but I think it's time to take one. It'll help the pain a lot."

"But it makes me sleepy," Maddie argued.

"So, take half of one. At least it'll help the pain so you can rehearse."

Doc stood and walked to the kitchen to pour her a glass of milk. Before returning to her he grabbed a muffin off the counter. Sitting on the edge of the coffee table he handed them both to her. "Eat a little bit and then take it."

Although she wasn't hungry she ate a quarter of the muffin and drank a quarter of the milk while he went back to the kitchen for the bottle of pills. When he returned he sat next to her on the couch. Satisfied with how much she'd eaten he handed her the medication. "Take it with the milk. It'll help coat your stomach. The last thing you need on top of everything is an upset stomach."

Maddie took the pill from him and quickly swallowed it. While she continued to drink the rest, Doc said, "There's an injection I can give you in your tailbone, but I only want to do it once. I was planning on doing it before the show on Wednesday. It'll really help the pain, but the injection itself is extremely painful. So, don't worry about the show. You'll be okay for it."

Setting the empty glass on the table Maddie smiled at him. **'Thanks Doc**' she wrote on the dry erase board.

"Good girl! Now is it so hard to do that and not talk?" He laughed at the look she threw him. "Okay, well you're good to go."

She slowly stood, already noticing a small difference in her pain. _The pill's definitely starting to help_, she thought as she headed toward the door. She turned and waved at him before walking out into the hall where Pete stood waiting. She linked her arm through his and together they made their way to the stage where Gracie was waiting.

* * *

><p>Maddie, her band, and dancers rehearsed with Gracie for two hours, finally calling it quits at 8pm. She could tell Grace was getting tired, not to mention it was a school night. Gracie's part wasn't difficult, but Maddie had just wanted to make sure she was as comfortable as possible, knowing it would help her nerves during Wednesday's show. Gracie had never done anything like this before and performing for the first time was scary enough, let alone doing it in front of tens of thousands of people. The more prepared Gracie was, the better and more at ease Maddie knew she would feel.<p>

**You did sooooo great!**, Maddie wrote on the small dry erase board and held up to Gracie while she sat on the couch. Tina was fastening her knee brace and hooking her up to the tank.

She smiled at the compliment from her place next to Tina. "Thanks Aunt Maddie!"

Maddie quickly erased her previous note and began furiously scribbling another one. **Tell daddy I'm sorry it's so late. I'll see you on Wednesday! Xoxo**

Gracie read the note, took a couple steps forward and gave her a hug. Maddie squeezed her tight, sorry to see her go. _I wish she could stay_, she thought. _She really helped distract me from thinking about Steve__**. **_She kissed her "niece" on the side of the head. "Be good!" she quietly whispered, pulling out of the hug.

"I will!" Gracie smiled as Tina took her hand.

"I'll be back in a little bit Maddie," Tina relayed to her friend. Maddie's only response was a nod of the head as she reached for the blanket next to her on the couch. _Oh man I'm tired_, she thought, now alone in her dressing room. She stifled a yawn as she laid her head on the armrest to her left and closed her eyes. Although she was exhausted she couldn't seem to stop thinking about Steve and what he'd said to her, effectively keeping her from getting any sleep. Not that she wanted to fall asleep. Every time she did, she found herself trapped in a nightmare where she was forced to watch him be murdered.

While she worked and rehearsed she didn't think about him or how much he'd hurt her, but every time she stopped, that's all that was on her mind. It wasn't just what he'd said the previous morning either, but everything. She couldn't keep from rehashing every little thing he'd said and done since she'd arrived in Hawaii. How he would act like he had feelings for her one minute, only for him to do or say something to make her think the complete opposite shortly after.

Maddie was grateful for the knock on her door ten minutes later letting her know break was over. She quickly unhooked her knee from the brace, stood, and walked towards the door, happy to be pulled from her thoughts. Ryan's smiling face greeted her as she opened the door.

"Come on Shorty!" he smiled, taking her uninjured right hand and walking with her down the hall towards the stage.

From his spot on Maddie's left, Pete suspiciously watched the two as they whispered quietly between themselves, their heads close together so he couldn't hear. It wasn't the first time he'd noticed them doing something like this since rehearsals began. _God, I hope they're not up to no good_, he prayed. It wasn't normally a good sign for him when they continuously spoke in hushed tones before a show. Especially the last show of the tour.

* * *

><p>"Danno!" Gracie cried when she spotted her dad standing with the rest of the team. She ran towards him leaving Tina behind.<p>

"Hey Monkey!" Danny smiled as she barreled into him. By the time the two pulled out of their hug Tina had approached, smiling at the interaction between father and daughter.

"Maddie wanted me to let you know she's sorry it's so late," Tina said.

"Is she here?" Danny asked, hoping by some miracle she had come.

"No, unfortunately she couldn't afford to come and lose time she doesn't have. She's already back rehearsing. There's still a lot to do. But, she says she's looking forward to seeing you all Wednesday," Tina answered, looking around at the rest of the team. It suddenly became obvious they'd interrupted something. A picture of Maddie across the room pulled her focus. It was taped to a large board on wheels. A picture of a couple also hung on the board. _They're trying to figure out what's going on_, Tina realized. She was just about to ask if they'd made any progress when Gracie spoke.

"She didn't say that!" Gracie stated. Tina looked at her, confusion on her face. Gracie started giggling. "She's not allowed to talk!"

"Look at you, you little smarty pants," Tina smiled as she lightly tickled Gracie before bringing her attention back to the team. "You're right, Maddie WROTE down that she was looking forward to seeing you guys!" she corrected herself while Grace continued to laugh.

"Wrote down?" Steve asked, not understanding.

Before Tina could answer, Grace did the honors. "Aunt Maddie isn't allowed to talk or sing unless she has to because her voice is almost gone, so she has to write what she wants to say. Or she types it into this thing that says it for her. It sounds really funny!" Remembering what the Dynavox sounded like only made her laugh harder.

"I bet Mads LOVES that," Kono sarcastically said.

"She doesn't," Gracie replied, not realizing she was being sarcastic. "Doc keeps getting mad at her because she keeps talking."

Steve did his best to keep the smirk from his face. _I bet she's fighting him tooth and nail,_ he thought. Although that side of Maddie often infuriated him, mainly when it came to her safety and wellbeing, he also loved that about her. She was a fighter. Always had been. That's what worried him now. She wasn't fighting whatever was going on. Instead, she was letting it get to her. Letting it rattle her. Which then kept her from taking care of herself.

"Very true!" Tina said. "In fact, I better get back. Make sure Mads isn't driving him crazy." She reached into her huge purse and pulled out a manila envelope. "Before I leave…here's everything you'll need for Wednesday, including directions on which gate to pull into that will be the closest to the crew-only parking area. You're badges are all in there. If you have any questions or if for some strange reason something's missing, just give me a call!" Tina handed Steve the envelope, meeting his eyes. She could see the worry in them and knew he wasn't just worried about Maddie's wellbeing, but also where they stood and whether or not he would be able to fix things between them. She flashed him a small, knowing smile before bending over and giving Gracie a big hug. "Bye sweetie! You did great today! You're going to be amazing on Wednesday! See you soon!"

"Bye Tina!" Gracie said as Maddie's assistant and best friend turned and walked down the hall to Carl and Frank who were waiting for her at the elevator.

"So, you had fun Gracie?" Chin asked once Tina was gone.

"YES! The stage is soooo big! Oh my God!" Gracie told them.

"Oh yeah?" Kono asked.

"Yeah! It's kind of like three stages connected to each other," Gracie explained.

"Wow, that IS big! Look's like she outdid herself this time," Kono smirked, remembering the short conversation about the stage she'd had with Maddie at the barbeque.

"Come here Gracie," Steve said, anxious to talk to her. She walked towards him before he picked her up and set her on the big, round table. "So…how's Aunt Maddie?" he asked as he slightly bent forward in front of her, so he was more at her eye level.

"She was good. She didn't talk a lot," Gracie answered. She began unconsciously swinging her legs a little as she sat on the table.

"Because of her voice?" he clarified.

She shrugged her shoulders. "Umm…maybe that was why. But it seemed like she was just quiet. I could tell she was thinking a lot." Gracie paused, thinking back to her time with the singer. "She talked the most when Doc and Pete weren't there."

"Where was Pete? He wasn't with her all the time?" Steve asked, trying to hide the anger bubbling within himself. _With whatever's going on he should be with her at all times_, he thought.

"Steven, did you convince my daughter to spy for you?" Danny asked, his eyes narrowing at his partner.

Steve quickly turned his head and met Danny's eyes. "It was her idea! She offered." Before Danny could respond, Steve turned his attention back to Gracie, a broad smile on his face. Danny just shook his head and laughed with the rest of the team. Although having his ten-year-old spy for his partner was not something he should condone, it was pretty funny. It was definitely a side of Steve none of the team had ever seen, that is until Maddie came into the picture. She brought out a part of him they assumed didn't exist. His more human and sensitive side.

"So, where was Pete?" Steve asked, ignoring the laughs from his coworkers.

"He was right near us most of the time, but sometimes he was right outside the dressing room door," she answered.

"Did she seem tired?" Steve questioned.

Gracie thought back for a minute. "Yeah, she fell asleep while they did my hair and makeup. But she didn't sleep for very long. Tina had to wake her up."

_Great, I was worried she wasn't getting rest_, he thought, worry filling him. _Damn it. She really needs sleep right now._ "Did you notice anything else? Was she in pain?"

"Yeah," Gracie whispered, hesitant to tell her uncle about how much pain she seemed to be in when she'd first gotten there. In fact, she wasn't sure she should show him the video she shot. She might've been only ten, but she knew it was going to upset him.

Steve picked up on the change in her demeanor. "Was it her foot and knee?"

"Maybe a little…"

"What did you see?"

_Oh crap! What if Gracie heard someone talking about Maddie hurting herself last night? Or what if Maddie told her about it? _Chin worried, knowing Maddie didn't want Steve knowing about it until after the show. _He'll freak out, but maybe it's for the best if he finds out now._ Chin and Danny made eye contact, both thinking the same thing,

"I don't know. I think maybe her back hurt or something," Gracie told him.

Steve furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. "Why do you think that?"

"She was walking kind of funny and had a hard time moving."

Steve relaxed. _I'm sure it was her knee and foot. That was already making her walk differently_, he thought. "Probably just from her leg. I'm sure she was limping."

"No, she wasn't really limping that much. Not like she was at the barbeque. She was walking…kind of like Frankenstein," Gracie tried to explain.

Chin and Danny knew exactly why she was walking funny, but neither spoke up.

Steve became even more concerned. Of course, he internalized it all, not wanting his team to know just how distracted and worried he was about Maddie. It just wasn't their business.

He unconsciously licked his bottom lip before slightly biting it. "Here kiddo." Steve helped her down off the table. "Show me what you mean."

"Okay," Gracie mumbled. She stood still as she thought back to how Maddie had been walking, wanting to show them the best she could. They waited patiently while she thought it over. "She was walking like this," she said as she very slowly and very stiffly took steps forward.

"Anything else?" Kono asked.

"I heard her whisper 'ow' a lot when she sat down or moved."

_She was NOT walking like that yesterday_, Steve thought, his mind racing at what could have happened, all of which only made him worry more. _God I wish I was with her, or at least that she'd talk to me_. "Thanks Gracie!" Steve smiled, hiding his worry from everyone. "So, you had fun?!"

He wasn't sure he'd ever seen such a big smile before as she thought back to her time with Maddie. "YES! It was soooo fun! I LOVE her! You know Uncle Steve, you guys should get married, that way she'll always be around!"

Steve did his best to keep the blush from his face as he felt the panic begin to fester in his chest. He could feel his coworkers' smirks as they looked towards him. _Why does the idea of her being my wife make me want to smile like a schoolboy, but also freaks the hell out of me? How is that possible? _he wondered, confused by his feelings.

Completely oblivious to the sudden tension and uncomfortable moment her comment had caused, Gracie excitedly continued, pulling her phone from her pocket. "Want to see all the pictures I took? Tina even took some of us when we were rehearsing on the stage and when we shot the video."

"Definitely!" Steve told her, anxious to see Maddie.

"Here sweetie, I'll put them on the smart table," Kono offered, taking the phone from her. She set it on the screen and touched a couple different icons, downloading the pictures to the table computer. "There we go!" She handed the phone back to her and tapped the folder she'd just created, as everyone gathered around the table.

The first picture that opened was of the two of them standing next to one another. Maddie was whispering to Gracie as she pulled her tight against her side. It was obvious the young girl was nervous by the unsure look on her face. Because she was telling Gracie something Steve couldn't really see her face. A couple large cameras were in front of them while Maddie's dancers were sporadically standing behind them. They were all in costume, including Gracie.

"We are waiting to do the video," Gracie explained.

Kono flipped to the next photo. It was the same scene except it looked like they were filming. "Here we are actually making the video," Gracie said.

Everyone was extremely animated in the photo, including Gracie. _Mads looks beautiful_, Steve thought, able to see her face. _I don't know how she's able to do all this stuff feeling like she is._ He smiled as he stared at the picture, completely in awe of how driven she was. Although he was worried about her, he couldn't help but also be proud of her.

"Looks like you're having fun!" Lori spoke up from her spot across from Steve. She'd been quiet the entire time, unsure of what to say as she watched him closely. _It's like he has a one-track mind__…__MADDIE!_ she thought, frustrated over the entire situation. And not just frustrated, heartbroken too. Every time he brought Maddie up, her heart ached. But what was worse was seeing how intently he was looking at the photos. _And it's not Gracie he's smiling at_,Lori told herself as she stared at the grin on his face, one put there by simply looking at a picture of the singer.

"It was a lot of fun!" Gracie responded. Kono flipped to the next photo and Grace immediately started laughing. It was the photo Doc had taken before they started rehearsing. Maddie was holding up the dry erase board, a silly look on her face. "**GRACIE"** was written on the board in cool lettering, a doodled heart sat in front of her name and at the end of it. Maddie was pointing to Gracie next to her while the two laughed.

"Now there's the Maddie I know," Kono smirked.

Steve shook his head, his smile becoming even bigger at the sight of his best friend laughing and being silly. _I miss that side of her,_ he thought. _Who am I kidding? I just miss her!_

"See! I told you she's not supposed to talk!" Gracie cried, still laughing.

"That's a good picture Monkey!" Danny told his daughter, happy to see that she'd had so much fun.

"You know, you should print it out and put it in a frame," Chin suggested.

"Definitely!" Lori agreed, trying to contribute and be a part of the team.

"That's a good idea!" Gracie squealed in excitement. "Daddy, can we do that?"

"Of course!"

Kono flipped to the next photo. "Woah, that IS a big stage!" she blurted, seeing Maddie, Gracie, and her dancers on the stage rehearsing.

"I told you!" Gracie exclaimed. "And that is just one part of it! That walkway," she pointed to it on the screen. "…comes out to another stage."

Steve said nothing as he inspected the photo. The smile he'd had only seconds before was slowly sliding from his face as he took in Maddie's appearance. A lot of the makeup she'd had on for the video had worn off and he could see how tired she looked. Her face was pale and she had light circles under her eyes. _She's pushing herself too hard. Damn it!_ Steve thought. _I really hope Pete can convince her to go home and get some sleep tonight. _He looked down at his phone, checking the time.

"What's this?" Kono asked, her voice filled with concern.

"Um…" Gracie mumbled, sounding unsure. "I took that when I first got there."

At the change in Gracie's voice and hearing the concern in Kono's, Steve looked up from his phone. His stomach plummeted at the picture on the screen. Maddie was staring off into space, obviously unaware a picture was being taken. Although she had makeup on, she looked pale. But it wasn't that that upset Steve. It was the look on her face. The look in her eyes. She looked so sad, so lost. She looked devastated. _Did I cause that? Is she that upset over what I said? _he wondered.

Chin and Danny shared a look as they peered over at Steve. Although he was doing his best to appear unfazed, it was obvious he was upset by what he saw.

Kono glanced over at her boss to see him unable to tear his eyes away from the picture. Deciding that it was probably not the best thing for him to see right now, she flipped to the next one. "Is this a video?" she asked.

"Yeah, but you don't have to watch it," Gracie responded, picking up on the sudden silence that had descended over the group since the last photo of Maddie was shown. However, it was too late. Kono had started playing it.

Steve's jaw clenched as he watched Maddie unable to get off the couch by herself. He watched the incredible pain flash across her face and heard the noises she made. "What the?" he began, his eyes wide. His face twitched in anger. Seeing this, he was outraged that no one was filling him in, but mostly he was furious with himself. _If I hadn't screwed up I'd know what was going on_, he told himself. _I mean what the hell? It doesn't look like it's her knee that's giving her trouble. What the hell is going on? _

As soon as she realized what the video was of, Kono stopped it knowing it was only going to further upset Steve. However, it was too late. The team's eyes were all on him, waiting to see how he was going to react.

"Excuse me," he mumbled, rushing to his office.

"Is Uncle Steve okay?" Gracie asked, noticing something wasn't right.

Danny placed his right arm on his daughter's shoulder, giving it a light squeeze. "Yeah, don't worry Monkey, he's fine. Uncle Steve's just worried about Maddie, that's all." Gracie nodded at her dad's statement. "I moved your backpack into my office. Why don't you head in there and finish your homework. We'll be leaving soon."

"Okay," Grace softly said before disappearing into his office.

Seeing how upset Steve was over Maddie and then hearing Danny's comment, Lori needed to get out of there before she lost it. "Do you think it's okay if I head home? I'm really exhausted. Plus, Kono and I didn't finish the canvas. In the morning, we'll pick up where we left off."

"Yeah, go ahead. Go get some rest! We'll see you in the morning," Danny told her.

"Thanks," she whispered, hurrying to her office. She wasn't in there more than fifteen seconds before she was back out, bag in hand, and speed walking down the hall towards the elevator. Once they were sure she was gone, Chin and Danny's eyes met.

"He really is an idiot when it comes to this stuff," Danny stated, shaking his head.

"He should never have started anything with Lori. Now she's obviously upset. Things are going to get weird," Chin added.

"Especially when he and Maddie figure things out and start dating." At Danny's statement Kono sighed, causing both men to turn towards her. "What?" he asked.

Kono looked surprised, having not realized she'd sighed so loudly. She appeared uncomfortable as she avoided eye contact with her teammates. "Nothing."

"Cuz…" Chin warned. "Tell us."

"I still have some work to do before I leave. I'm gonna get on it," Kono quickly said, trying to avoid their questions.

"No way babe. What do you know?" Danny said as he placed himself in her path, effectively keeping her from going anywhere.

Kono sighed again, her shoulders slightly slumping forward. "Nothing…I don't know what happened between them yesterday…but I just have a feeling he really screwed up this time…BAD."

"Have you spoken to her?" Chin asked.

"Only when she called earlier. Besides that, no. I just have a feeling. I'll see what I can find out when I see her. I don't wanna bug her right now. She looked so sad and exhausted in those pictures. She just needs to get through these rehearsals and show, then I'll talk to her." Kono smiled at them, finding it sweet how they both were so concerned with Maddie and Steve. "Anyway, I'm gonna go finish a couple things." With that said, she stepped around them and walked down the hall to her office.

Danny and Chin looked across the room at Steve through his office windows. He was sitting back at his desk, his jaw clenched, his brow furrowed, obviously angry and upset. He was furiously going through the case file and all the information they'd gathered thus far for the millionth time that day.

"Wednesday can't come fast enough," Danny mumbled.

"You got that right. These have been the longest 48 hours," Chin agreed. They were silent for a minute, their attention still on Steve. "Well, there are a few things I want to finish before heading out as well."

"Yeah, me too," Danny mumbled before they both walked to their respective offices.

* * *

><p>Once inside his office, Steve ran his fingers through his hair. "What the hell is going on over there? She's a mess!" he mumbled to himself, worry over her wellbeing practically exploding from him. He quickly pulled his cell from his pocket as he walked around to his desk, plopping down in his comfortable chair. Leaning forward, his elbows on his desk, he hit Maddie's number for the second time that day and held the phone to his ear. "Come on baby, pick up," he whispered as he listened to it ring and ring. Steve didn't even realize that his eyes were squeezed shut in anticipation as he willed her to answer. However, Maddie must not have gotten the message because before he knew it he was listening to her voicemail. "Hi! You've reached Maddie! I OBVIOUSLY can't come to the phone right now, but if you leave your name, number, and a BRIEF message, I'll get back to you as soon as I can! Thank you and have a wonderful day!"<p>

Hearing her voice made Steve both happy and sad. He missed her. He absolutely hated not being with her when he knew she needed him. Although she'd never admit that was the case, he knew it was the truth. Something was seriously wrong and he knew he needed to be with her. Finally hearing the tone, signaling it was time to leave his message, he took a deep breath and loudly let it out. "Madeline…call me back. Enough already." With that said he hung up. He was angry and frustrated and knew if he hadn't hung up he would've started yelling. Knowing her well, he knew if he did that there was NO WAY she'd be calling him back. Not that there was any chance of that happening to begin with. "Damn it!" he cursed dropping his phone to his desk. He squeezed his eyes shut once more as he rubbed his forehead with the fingers from his left hand, trying to calm down. _Breathe, just breathe. In. Out. In. Out_, he told himself.

After a few minutes Steve began to feel himself calm and slowly opened his eyes. Glancing at his watch he saw it was nearly 9:30pm. _She's supposed to be home around 11pm. That is if she shows up. Hopefully Pete makes her go home to get some sleep_, he thought. Deciding to look through the file and information for a little bit longer before heading out, he picked up various pieces of paper. A lot of the file was still out of order from when he took his anger out on his desk, sending the file and its contents flying. Although he was slightly calmer, he was still upset and angry. His clenched jaw was evidence of that, as was the deep indentation between his eyebrows.

Ten minutes later, Gracie entered his office looking incredibly sleepy. At the sound of his door opening Steve glanced up. "Hey kiddo," he smiled, seeing his niece standing in front of him. "You look tired."

"Danno said I could lay on your couch. It's comfier than the chair he has," she mumbled as she rubbed her tired eyes.

"Of course!" He immediately stood, walking to the left of his desk to the large bookcase. Bending over he opened one of the bottom cabinets and pulled a pillow and blanket out. A smile on his face, Steve walked towards the couch. Setting the pillow at one end, he said, "Here, lay down. I'll get you snuggly." She slowly trudged towards the couch. Sitting down she toed her shoes off before laying her head on the squishy pillow. He carefully placed the large, plush blanket over her. Seeing her eyes immediately flutter closed Steve smiled. He made sure she was covered before walking back to his desk.

* * *

><p>Thirty minutes later Danny entered his partner's office, careful to be as quiet as possible. He eyed his sleeping daughter, biting his bottom lip slightly, before turning his attention to Steve. "It's 10pm. I gotta get her home. It's way past her bedtime."<p>

"Go for it. I'll see you in the morning," Steve mumbled, never once looking up from the document he was reading.

"Come on. We're all leaving. Chin and Kono. You," Danny said. He wanted to be sure Steve went home. That he didn't stay there all night pouring over the case to distract himself from thinking about Maddie. The last thing he needed on top of all this was to be exhausted. When Steve made no move he whispered, "Seriously. Let's go!"

Setting the paper down he finally looked up. He stared at his partner before scrubbing his hands over his face. Steve sighed deeply before placing both palms on the desk and standing up. "Okay."

Although Danny was surprised by the lack of fight he'd put up, he decided not to address it. Instead he walked to his partner's couch and uncovered his daughter before carefully picking her up in his arms. Knowing he needed help Steve grabbed Gracie's backpack from the floor in front of his desk where Danny had set it when he'd walked in. He held the door open while Danny carried her out and then followed them. As they entered the hall Chin and Kono exited their offices and joined them. Together the four co-workers walked down the hall and entered the elevator.

As they rode down to the first floor, Steve suddenly noticed they were missing someone. "Where's Lori?" he asked.

Danny shook his head remembering how visibly upset Lori had been when she left. She'd claimed to be tired, but they all knew she was hurt and wanted to get out of there. "She left over an hour ago."

"Oh," Steve said, satisfied with the answer.

"You're going to have to deal with that situation sooner rather than later by the way," Danny told him, his tone slightly irritated.

Steve said nothing, not wanting to discuss it. Danny was just about to say something when the elevator dinged and the doors slid open. _Thank God_, Steve thought, knowing he'd just been saved from one of his partner's lectures.

The four exited the building and headed to their cars. Steve helped Danny get a sleeping Grace in his Camaro before getting in his own truck and driving off.

* * *

><p>Tina returned to the arena around 8:45pm to find Pete standing outside a set of closed doors. Behind them was a long hallway leading to the backstage area and stage. She smiled at him, able to read the tension and worry in his demeanor. Not to mention the exhaustion. "She working on new material?" she asked coming to stand beside him. She leaned her back against the door.<p>

"Yep," Pete said somewhat shortly, obviously annoyed.

"You okay?"

Pete sighed as he too leaned against the door, staring straight ahead down the hall. "I don't like this. Not being in there with her," he finally answered.

"I know, but she's okay. You have this whole place covered," Tina reassured him.

"Apparently not," Pete snapped, referring to the incident with the roller skates.

"Pete, there's no way those were tampered with while you guys were here. They probably arrived here that way. There's absolutely NO WAY someone got by you!"

"God, I hope so," he whispered, the thought making him sick. He might have been pissed off at Steve, but he would never let him down like that. Not to mention, he cared deeply for Maddie.

"Trust me. That's what happened." Tina reached out and quickly rubbed his upper right arm.

At the feel of her touch he stiffened, turning to look at her for the first time since she'd approached him. "So…did you see Steve at all today?"

Her face dropped a bit recalling their conversation. "Yep, I did."

Pete watched her face take on a slightly sad look. Especially her mouth. "How was he?"

"Upset. Really upset. And worried. Really worried," she answered. "She won't answer her phone or call him back. It's getting to him."

"Yeah, I figured she'd react to his comment that way. I can't believe he said what he did! And before she was about to go into these insane rehearsals in the physical state she's in?!" Pete said, shaking his head.

She couldn't help but smirk at how protective he was of Maddie. She knew he thought of her like a sister. _It's sweet_, Tina thought. "How badly did you want to punch him when he said that?"

Pete's gaze returned to the hallway in front of him. "I have no idea what you're talking about," he said, playing dumb.

Tina let out a small laugh. "Oh come on Pete! I saw the look on your face when you heard what he said!"

Pete chuckled to himself. "It took everything I had not to get out of the car and clock him. Happy?" He paused, listening to Tina's infectious laugh. _She has a great laugh_, he thought. "But…Maddie needed me more. It was like he'd knocked the wind out of her. She was frozen. The look on her face…he really hurt her. It might've been different if he hadn't said a bunch of stupid things at the barbeque. Or if he hadn't gone out with Lori the other night and hooked up with her. Of course, this is after kissing Maddie. Or if he hadn't been fussing over her like a boyfriend only to turn around and flirt with Lori moments later."

"Or if he hadn't kissed Maddie after the barbeque and basically admitted to having feelings for her," Tina added in.

Pete looked at her, his head moving so fast that a sharp pain shot through it. "Wait, what happened after the barbeque?" he asked, eyes wide with surprise as he rubbed his neck.

Realizing Pete had no idea what happened between them, she suddenly became nervous that Maddie would get upset. "You didn't know?" she asked feeling guilty.

"No. What happened?" He asked. Picking up on her sudden hesitation he added, "T, tell me. I won't say anything to her about it."

Biting her lip, Tina thought it over. Deciding she might as well since she'd basically already told him, she sighed and began the story. "I guess when they went to bed he brought some stuff up. They talked and seemed to have finally both gotten on the same page. Just as they were getting ready to sleep, he kissed her a couple times."

Pete's eyes closed in disbelief as he digested this new piece of information. Finally he opened his eyes. "And then he said that the next morning."

"Yeah," she answered, biting her bottom lip.

"Well that explains so much on her end. Damn it Steve." Pete sighed rubbing his hand across his face. He was even angrier at Steve now. "She's gotta be heartbroken and that's putting it mildly."

"Yeah."

"She's not gonna let him in. And there's no way she's going to tell him about what happened last night. Not after he did that," he realized, understanding the extent of how upset Maddie was.

"Probably not," Tina stated, agreeing with him.

"I knew she was pushing herself because she was upset, but…she's going to push herself even harder than I thought. It's how she works. Maddie throws herself into things when she's upset, hoping to forget about what's bothering her."

"Maybe he'll be able to get through to her. I mean, if anyone can it's him. Maybe he'll be able to fix this," Tina said hopefully.

"I don't know. She's just not herself. She's already guarded and now she feels she can't trust him. He's the one person she's always been able to trust no matter what. She's gotta be freaking out inside right now. That's why last night when she told me she wished he was there with her and I told her I'd call him, she said no. I thought it was because she didn't want him knowing what happened, but it's not that."

"Nope. Even though she loves him and wants him with her, she's not going to allow herself to get fooled again. You're right, she thinks she can't trust him and she doesn't believe anything he's told her now."

"Which is completely untrue. She can trust him."

"I know, but to be honest…I can't tell you I wouldn't feel the same way if I were her. She's already upset and hiding something and then the one person she's always been able to count on in her life, the one person who's always come through for her, the person she's in love with, does and says all this inconsistent and hurtful stuff. She feels stupid, like he's laughing at her and thinks she's a big, pathetic joke."

"Really?" Pete asked, shocked. "She thinks he'd do that? She should know he'd NEVER do that!"

"He really hurt her, Pete! And he laughed at the idea of them together…after kissing her and basically telling her he had feelings for her the night before. I mean, what do you expect?"

"Damn it. This is worse than I thought." Again Pete rubbed his hands across his face. "Did you tell Steve any of this?"

"No, Maddie made me swear I wouldn't," Tina answered.

"So then what did you tell him?" Pete asked, curious.

"I told him she was just busy. And when he told me she was upset with him, I said that she believes what he said was the truth. His face dropped and you could tell that really upset him. He said it wasn't the truth and that he had screwed up. He asked me if she said anything to me besides that. I didn't answer and he could tell I knew more. He tried to get me to tell him, but I explained I'd promised Maddie I wouldn't, but I felt so bad for him. He looked so sad. So scared that he'd screwed up for good this time."

"He might have," Pete stated.

"I know…"Tina paused, really hoping that wasn't the case. _They belong together. They're soul mates_, she thought. Sighing she continued, "So, I made a deal with him. I told him if she didn't tell him herself after he sees her, that I'll tell him what I know. I'm hoping if he knows exactly how she feels then he'll have a better chance of fixing things."

"She's not going to tell him," Pete said, once again looking down the hall.

"I know, but I'm really hoping she will."

"If she does, it'll be a miracle. There's a better shot of pigs flying than Maddie letting him in right now." He paused before returning his gaze to her. "When you tell him, it's going to kill him. When he finds out HE'S the one that made her feel like that…oh man, it's going to destroy him. You know that right?!"

"I mean, I know he'll be upset," Tina said.

"Oh yeah. He's always been the one to protect her from things. Since the first moment they met. That's actually how they met, you know. He was four years old and stood up for her. He's been extremely protective of her ever since, never wanting anyone to hurt her. To find out that he's the one that hurt her so badly is…it's gonna be beyond hard for him. To be honest, I don't know what he'll do."

Both were completely silent as they thought about it, both filled with such sadness over what was going on. The two were soul mates. It was obvious. As they stood there, their backs against the closed doors, lost in their thoughts, Tina did her best to stifle a yawn. However, Pete heard it and looked over at her. _She's tired_, he thought, studying her face and noticing the weariness in her eyes, the slight paleness to her tan skin, and the way her body was somewhat drooping. "T," he said.

The change in tone grabbed her attention. He went from sounding sad and angry to sweet and concerned. "Yeah?" Tina answered, her forehead wrinkled in confusion.

"Why don't you go back to the dressing room and try to take a nap until she takes a break. My guess is you can get at least 2 hours of sleep in."

"I'm okay, Pete," she smiled. "Plus, who's going to keep you company?" She smirked at him, slightly biting her bottom lip.

He chuckled at her comment. "As much as I love your company…I know you're tired and I don't need or want you getting anywhere close to the kind of run down, exhausted state Maddie's in. So, go get some rest."

She thought about arguing, but he was right, she was really tired and could definitely use a couple hours of sleep. Plus, it was sweet he was worrying about her. _Definitely a change in him_, she thought. _Sure, he's always cared and didn't want anything to happen to me, but this is different. I can't explain it, but it is. _Letting out a big yawn, she said, "Okay, I'll go. But…if you need me for anything or if Mads does, wake me up okay?"

Pete smiled, happy she wasn't fighting him. Then again, he figured since she didn't it meant she was more tired than he thought. "I will, I promise!"

Tina began trudging down the hall, excited to be getting some rest, but also disappointed she wouldn't be hanging out with Pete. With so many people always around, it was rare they got to chat just the two of them. But, she knew she needed sleep, not only for herself, but also for Maddie. Pushing herself the way she was, Tina knew Maddie would need her more than ever. Especially when she'd have to see Steve.

Right before turning left towards Maddie's dressing room, she turned and slightly waved at Pete. "Night Pete!"

"Night T!" he called back just before she turned and disappeared down the hall.

* * *

><p>Two hours later Pete was still waiting at the doors to the stage, but now was in a chair. His mind was a million miles away as he thought about everything that was going on. He'd given up thinking about Steve and Maddie because the more he did, the angrier and more frustrated he became. So, instead he went back in time, trying to remember exactly when he'd noticed a change in Maddie. He thought if he could pinpoint when things changed, he might be able to remember an event or occurrence of some sort that could possibly help him figure out what she was hiding. Why she was so scared. Unfortunately, he didn't really get anywhere. He knew it was at least three months ago. That was at least when he'd noticed a big change in her. However, he was pretty sure that whatever caused that change happened before that.<p>

Pete was beginning to get frustrated with his lack of progress when the doors opened. He watched the band and most of the dancers exit. As more and more of them walked by he wondered what was taking her so long. Finally Ryan and Maddie appeared. He was whispering something to her while she nodded. When he saw Pete, he stopped whispering and walked ahead, leaving the two alone.

Pete cringed at the sight of her. _She's exhausted_, he thought, taking in her appearance. Her skin was pale and her blue eyes were half open as she limped slowly through the door. "Hey Shorty," he greeted, standing and approaching her. She managed a small, tired smile in response. "How ya doing?" With the smile still present, she gave him a thumbs up. "Look at you…following Doc's orders and not talking! I'm proud." He took his position and walked next to her, very slowly, but still walking. "So, what's going on? Dinner?" Maddie nodded at him. "Perfect! Let's go back to the dressing room quickly, get the brace on you." While the two slowly walked the rest of the way in silence Pete sent a quick text to Tina to wake her up.

Upon entering the dressing room, Maddie immediately made her way to the couch and sat down. It was obvious her tailbone was incredibly painful by the way she cringed as she lowered herself. He helped her into the knee brace attached to the ice water tank, noticing her knee seemed more swollen than it had earlier. Very gently he propped her leg up on the coffee table, hoping it would help decrease the swelling, or at least keep it from getting worse. _She's gotta be in more pain, which explains why she was not only walking so slowly, but limping_, Pete thought as he grabbed her sweater and helped her into it. It was as if she was a zombie, staring off into space as she slowly lifted each arm to slide it in the garment. Her shoulders were hunched forward making her look small and fragile. _She looks so tired, so sad_, he thought. _I wish I could do something. I wish I could fix what he did. Stupid Steve! _

Pete laid the plush blanket on her lap just as the door to the small bedroom opened to reveal Tina. "Hey Mads!" she cheerfully greeted.

Pete looked up, taking in her appearance. _She looks a lot better than she did. Okay good, at least I don't have to worry about Tina_, he thought as he handed Maddie the Dynavox and dry erase board.

Maddie flashed her the same tired smile he'd received. "Is it dinner?" Tina asked.

"Yeah," Pete answered.

"I'll go get you something," she told Maddie.

Maddie began writing on the dry erase board before holding it up. **Ryan's grabbing something for me. But thanks! **

"No problem! Well I'll go grab something for myself. Pete, what about you? Want something?"

"Yeah. That would be great!" he replied as he opened the tank connected to Maddie's knee brace wanting to check the ice level.

"Alright! I'll be back," Tina announced as she exited the room.

"Pete," Maddie whispered.

He turned and met her eyes quickly, surprised to hear her voice. "Yeah Shorty?"

"Would you mind grabbing me my purse? It's in the kitchen," she whispered.

"Sure!" He quickly walked into the kitchen returning with her big, black, Balenciaga bag. "No talking," he smirked as he set the bag next to her, hoping to get some sort of a reaction out of her. Something other than sad, exhausted looks, but she gave him nothing.

Maddie mouthed 'thanks' to him before searching through her large purse for her phone. While she did so Pete disappeared into the kitchen.

With her iPhone in her hand she quickly unlocked it only to be greeted by 7 missed calls and 4 new voicemails. Immediately she began to panic worried that something had happened to Steve. _He only called three times yesterday and they were spaced out throughout the day. I checked my phone a few hours ago, so these are all very recent_, she quickly thought, the fear suffocating. Hesitantly she went to her call log. Seeing who the calls were all from she exhaled a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. Only one call was from him, the rest were all from Jesse. _I wonder why he's started calling me like crazy all of a sudden? He called me so many times at the barbeque and a couple times yesterday. Now six calls in the last few hours?! _Flipping to her voicemails, she saw Steve had left her one a little before 9:30pm. _I wonder what it says? Probably the same as the one from this morning and the ones from yesterday. _Although she wanted to listen to it, if only to hear his voice, she knew it would only upset her more. She already couldn't stop thinking about him and everything he'd done and said the last few days. All the hurtful things were making her doubt every sweet moment they had. As much as she wanted to believe every nice thing he'd said, she couldn't. Saying what he did yesterday morning and laughing at the idea of them together after he acknowledged his feelings for her the night before had been the last straw. _I can't believe I fell for it, again. Listening to his message is only going to remind me how this was all a joke to him and I just can't handle that right now._ Deciding to leave the voicemail alone she glanced at the other three new ones. _All from Jesse_. She rolled her eyes. _What the hell does he want?_ She stared at the three voicemails he'd recently left her, the two from earlier, the four from yesterday, and the two from Saturday night and debated listening to them. Maddie hadn't had any desire to hear what he had to say, so she'd just left them. Last night, she'd become curious, wondering what he wanted to have called so many times. However, now she felt uneasy about it, remembering the last time she saw him and what he did.

She decided she better listen to one just in case he was planning on showing up or something. That was definitely not something she wanted to happen. She didn't want him anywhere near her and neither did Pete. Looking at the 11 voicemails, she wasn't sure which one to listen to. _Hm__…__well, might as well start from the beginning_, she thought as she clicked on the first message he'd left her Saturday. Maddie pressed play and raised the phone to her ear. "Hey Mads," he began. Jesse's voice caused an involuntary reaction in her. She pulled the blanket up higher, as if she was trying to hide. "I've called you a bunch over the last few months…and I don't blame you for not calling me back. I really screwed up. All I can say is I'm sorry and I know that doesn't fix anything or change what I did. Anyway, I want, no need, to talk to you, so please give me a call when you can." He paused and at first she thought he'd hung up until she heard him loudly sigh before saying, "I love you."

Maddie's eyes shut at his last words. She thought she'd never have to deal with him again. Sure, he had continued to call since they broke up nearly four months before, but she never responded. _I wonder what he wants to talk about? I mean, there's gotta be something going on for him to call so many times in the last couple days_, she wondered, completely boggled by the situation. Deciding to listen to a message in the middle she hit play. "Maddie, I know you're busy, but I really need to speak with you. This is important. I'm not kidding, call me back. I'm serious!" Her forehead wrinkled not liking the slight change in his voice. His tone wasn't gentle or apologetic, but instead more forceful, definitely irritated, approaching agitated.

_Do I even want to listen to a more recent one?_ Maddie asked herself. However, just as she was about to press play the crashing of ice against the thick plastic walls of the tank pulled Maddie from her thoughts. Pete met her eyes and noticed her slightly wince at the noise. "Sorry, that's loud," he apologized, continuing to fill the tank. "That reminds me, how's your head? Headache?"

_Pounding, but he doesn't need to know that. I can already see how concerned he is. I don't want to make it worse_, Maddie thought. She gave him a thumbs up and wrinkled her nose as she flashed him a smile. She put her phone to sleep and laid it next to her. _I'll listen to more later_, she decided.

"You know, you can confide in me. I know you felt betrayed when I told Steve about what was going on." She raised her eyebrows at him in an expectant kind of way causing him to chuckle. "And when I brought you home to him without telling you." She nodded her head once as if saying 'thank you for not excluding that'. "But anyway, I know that you felt betrayed and I'm sorry for that. I thought I was doing the right thing. But I promise Mads, you can talk to me. If you tell me not to say anything to him, I won't."

Maddie smiled and reached her hand out, rubbing his arm to let him know she knew that and appreciated his offer.

Pete closed the now full tank and was just about to continue the conversation, but the ringing of Maddie's phone interrupted him. As the creepy music began to play, the same song that played at the barbeque, his head shot up and their eyes met. His eyes went from gentle to angry. And angry was putting it mildly. Maddie bit her lip as her eyes grew wide and her eyebrows arched at the intense fury she saw in his.

She thought about silencing the phone, but it was pointless. She could tell Pete knew exactly who was calling. Maddie waited for him to lose it and start yelling, but instead he stood as calmly as he could manage. Her eyes were filled with confusion as she watched him deeply inhale and exhale obviously trying to calm himself down.

_Why the hell is he calling?_ Pete wondered, fury and rage filling couldn't help it. It happened every time Jesse's name was brought up or when he thought about how he saw Maddie fly across the room only to crash into the wall and fall in a puddle on the hotel room floor. Her clothes were torn and her face was bleeding. He had wanted to kill Jesse that night, In fact, the only reason he hadn't was because of Mo, Carl, and Frank. _I told him that night that if he ever tried to contact her or get near her I would personally kill him_, Pete recalled. _So why the hell is he calling?!_

Now standing, he breathed in and out, trying to calm himself down. He lowered himself into one of the armchairs by the couch, his anger apparent in the way he was clutching the chair arms, his knuckles turning white. Something that did not go unnoticed by Maddie. Pete took another deep breath, preparing to bring the Jesse subject up. It wasn't just that he was curious, but more that he NEEDED to know. He was her head of security, his job was to keep her safe and Jesse was a definite threat to her. He cleared his throat, nervous for the discussion. They hadn't spoken about what happened three months ago except that Steve was not to be informed. The whole thing embarrassed Maddie and it was obvious to the few people who really knew what had happened that it was not something she was willing or wanting to discuss. So, he respected her wishes and said nothing. He'd kicked his ass and that was enough for both of them…well, until now. _If he's been contacting her, I have to know. Just__…__ask her. Don't beat around the bush_, he told himself. "So, Mads," he began only to be interrupted.

"Hey! Dinner's here!" Ryan sang as he entered the dressing room carrying two plates. He plopped down on the couch next to Maddie, placing one of the plates in her hands. "So, what's going on in here? Anything fun?"

Pete and Maddie looked into one another's eyes, a silent conversation going on between them. Ryan glanced between the two, picking up on the tension. "Everything okay?" he asked hesitantly as he handed her some silverware.

Maddie plastered on a fake smile and turned to him nodding, but Ryan wasn't stupid. He knew something was going on, but decided not to ask any questions. He'd ask Maddie about it later.

"Here ya go Pete!" Tina said, walking in with food for both him and her.

"Thanks T!" he smiled, taking the plate from her.

"No problem!" she replied, sitting down in the other armchair opposite his. The coffee table sat in the middle.

The four began to eat their dinner, making small talk. Maddie sat there trying her best to force some food in her mouth, but the Prednisone was definitely taking its toll on her appetite. Not to mention she just didn't feel well. Her throat was a bit worse than it had been the last couple days. Not terribly, but definitely worse. Her head was pounding. It felt like there were a million little creatures in her head banging away on her brain as if it was a big drum. Doc was right, her knee continuously hurt even though he'd given her an injection in it each day. The pain medication definitely took the edge off, but it still was incredibly painful. However, her knee had been acting up most of this tour, so she had gotten kind of used to living with the pain. Of course, it was never this bad. The bottom of her foot was extremely painful. Having had to dance on it for two days had made it a thousand times worse. She had looked at it earlier that day and cringed at what she saw. All the sweat and pressure on the cuts must have caused them to become infected. Maddie wasn't a doctor, nor did she claim to be, but she knew it was infected. She hadn't said anything to anyone, including Doc, knowing it would cause a bunch of drama and that everyone would freak out. She'd tell him about it later, after the show. With all the drama of her tailbone he hadn't checked her foot. He had asked about it and she'd lied, claiming it was okay. Her tailbone…now that was what was making her feel the worst. Of course, the rest of the injuries were uncomfortable, but it was the tailbone that was pushing her over the edge. Every small, minute movement sent unimaginable amounts of pain throughout her body. Maddie had injured herself many times in her career. It was inevitable with how elaborate her stage shows were and then throw in the fact that she was beyond clumsy and she was bound to hurt herself. However, none of them had ever been this painful. She was an extremely strong girl, never letting anything stop her or slow her down, a trait both good and bad, but ever since she'd fallen on the skates all she wanted to do was go home, get in bed, and cry her heart out. Every single movement took a lot more energy out of her than it should of and energy wasn't something she was in high supply of right now. Maddie had always thought that injuring your tailbone meant the pain was localized to your actual tailbone, but she couldn't have been more wrong. The pain was everywhere. Her legs, arms, back. Everywhere.

Maddie sat there thinking about how uncomfortable she was and she instinctively wished she was wrapped up in Steve's arms. Her eyes fluttered shut, her heart physically hurting as she remembered what'd he'd said. _Great, now you're back to thinking about him_, she thought as she set her fork down on her plate and leaned back against the couch.

She had been so deep in thought and hadn't been paying attention to what the others were saying that she didn't notice the way they kept eyeing her worriedly. In fact, Maddie hadn't even been aware that Mo had joined them for dinner, leaving Jared outside the door.

"So, Mads." Tina paused, waiting to make sure she had her attention. Maddie looked up, her eyebrows raised in a questioning manner, a signal for her to continue. Setting her nearly empty plate on the coffee table, Tina proceeded. "You haven't asked me if I saw Steve at all." At the blank stare Maddie was giving her she clarified. "You know, when I picked and dropped Gracie off at Five-O headquarters…where Steve works."

"Oh," Maddie whispered, shocked that her best friend was bringing this up now, in front of people. Tina knew how upset she was over everything and how she felt about it, so she just couldn't believe she was doing this to her now. With all eyes on her, Maddie felt obligated to ask. Not to mention, if she was going to pretend as if nothing had happened between them and that she wasn't upset, she'd need to be able to talk about him. She needed to behave how she used to, before her feelings for him, and that meant asking about him. So, she did her best to keep from showing how heartbroken and devastated she was and asked, "That's right. Did you see him?"

"Yeah, I did. Both times actually," Tina responded, intrigued to see how the conversation was going to go.

"Cool." Maddie forced a smile, trying to swallow the lump that had formed in her throat at the mere mention of his name.

They all waited for her to ask about him and when she didn't Tina said, "Do you want to know how he is? Or what he said?"

_Oh come on Tina! Drop it! _Maddie thought, inwardly cursing her best friend. She attempted to reach forward to set her plate on the coffee table, but was finding it difficult due to her elevated leg. Carefully she wrapped her right hand around her leg in order to help set it on the floor, but Ryan stopped her.

"Here, let me do it, Mads." He took the plate from her and placed it next to his on the coffee table.

"Thanks Ry," she whispered as she pulled the blanket higher up her body. The ice-cold water coursing through the brace had her absolutely freezing.

"So…do you?" Tina asked, not letting her friend off the hook.

_Damn it, I was hoping that would have been a good subject change_, Maddie thought. She smiled tightly before saying, "I'm sure he's fine."

"Actually…he's upset." Maddie turned her head knowing what was coming. She focused her attention on the other side of the dressing room. "Mads…he didn't mean it."

Maddie sighed and looked her assistant and friend square in the eyes. "Tina, we've talked about this. He did, but it's okay. I'm fine with it. Really, I'm not upset."

Tina had already had this conversation with her, but was hoping Pete, Ryan, and Mo could help talk some sense into her, which was why she'd decided to bring it up in front of them. "Maddie, he didn't mean it," Pete said. "I promise you he didn't. I get why you're upset."

"Seriously!" Tina exclaimed. "Maddie, if I were in your shoes, I'd feel exactly the same way."

"But I'm not upset. What should I be upset about?" she asked, playing dumb. "I mean we ARE friends! We have been since we were 4."

"Shorty, bottling up how you feel and pretending everything's fine is NOT the way to handle this. You need to call Steve and talk to him. What he did was screwed up…" Pete told her.

"…and he knows that Mads. Trust me, he knows!" Tina added, remembering how upset Steve was.

"Guys, I appreciate your concern, really I do, but I'm fine. Completely okay. And Steve didn't screw up at all. He only told the truth, so he shouldn't be upset because I'm definitely not."

"Well, he is Maddie," Tina said. "In fact, he's thinking about not coming to the show." Everyone's eyes flew to Maddie, wanting to see her reaction.

She froze at Tina's comment, her heart rate increasing. "Really?" she asked, her voice so soft they could barely hear it. _Sure I'm mad at him, and I'm stressing out over the idea of seeing him, but I still want him to come to the show_, she thought.

"Yes, really," Tina answered.

Maddie took a second to reign in the numerous emotions she was suddenly experiencing. Finally she responded. "Why wouldn't he come?" she asked, trying to act indifferent when she was anything but. She could feel tears welling up behind her eyes and the pressure in her chest at the thought of him not coming.

"He knows he hurt you and he's worried he'll upset you if he comes. He doesn't want you to be upset before your show."

"I'm fine, he can come. I'm not upset and I don't not want to see him. You can tell him that," Maddie told her.

"Why don't you call him and tell him?" Tina suggested, hoping to get her to reach out to Steve.

"Because I don't have time right now. There's still a lot we need to do. We need to finish the choreography for this last new number. Then we need to perform all the new songs with the lights and special effects to make sure they match the choreography before we run the entire show in full costumes tomorrow. We also need to run through the beginning of the show with the changed choreography. So, I just don't have a minute to let Steve know everything's fine. Because we are fine. In fact, we are great! And so am I!" While she'd been talking Maddie had unhooked her knee brace and was now standing up. "Well, we better get back to work. I'll meet you all on stage."

"Are you sure you're finished eating Shorty? You barely ate anything," Pete asked, his eyes on her discarded plate of food.

"Yeah, I'm good. I'm not hungry right now. But I might have some later, so Tina, maybe you can wrap it up for me."

"Okay," Tina responded, sad at the way Maddie had chosen to handle things with Steve. She knew for her to be like this she had to be really hurting.

"See you shortly Ryan," Maddie whispered as she exited her dressing room. Because Pete was still eating dinner, Jared walked with her. Standing in the open doorway that lead to the hallway off the backstage area, she turned to him. "I'll see you in a while." With that said she walked through the door. Now that she was alone, Maddie let the tears she'd been holding back fall. _I wish I'd never realized how I feel about him_, she told herself as she walked out onto the massively large stage.

* * *

><p>Pete, Tina, Mo, and Ryan remained in her dressing room after her abrupt departure. Pete furrowed his brow thinking over what she'd just said. "You guys aren't done working choreography for the new songs?" he asked Ryan. "I mean four new songs…that should've been finished yesterday, no problem."<p>

Ryan's forehead crinkled unsure why he thought it was only four songs. "It's not four. Where'd you get that number?"

Pete immediately met Tina's eyes, silently questioning if she had any idea what was going on, but she looked just as baffled as he did. "What? What do you mean it's not four?" he asked, his attention returning to Ryan.

"Let's see," Ryan looked up at the ceiling as he counted the songs in his head. "It's… seven full choreographed numbers, plus maybe another 4 or 5 new ones that are mainly just her. I could be wrong on that second number; it might be less."

"Are you kidding me?" Pete exclaimed, anger at the situation bubbling within him. _No wonder there's so much to do! She's running herself into the ground!_ he thought. He turned his attention to Tina. "How many did she give you Saturday night? To give to the band."

Tina thought back to the other night in Maddie's studio. "Five."

"Damn it! This is because she's so upset. She's completely throwing herself into her work…More like drowning herself in work. Damn him and his stupid fucking mouth! Not to mention his shitty timing!"

Tina, Mo, and Ryan uncomfortably eyed one another, shocked over Pete's reaction. It was incredibly rare for him to curse like that or let things get to him at that level. They all watched him sit, steaming in his chair. Ryan wasn't sure what to do or say so he finally stood and walked towards the door, letting everyone know he was heading to rehearsal. It wasn't quite time, but he wanted to go see what Maddie was doing, make sure she was okay after their ambush. Mo followed him. With Jared out at the door to the stage, no one was outside her dressing room.

Now that they were alone, Tina gave Pete a couple minutes to calm down before she finally spoke up. "What are you going to do?"

Pete sighed loudly, leaning his head back against the chair while he closed his eyes. "What can I do? She's already too deep in this…nothing can be changed now. If I'd known yesterday? Maybe I could have done something."

"Are you going to call Steve?"

Pete's forehead crinkled, a look of slight disgust and annoyance appearing on his face. "Why? So he can make things worse? No way."

"Maybe what she needs is to see him. Hash it out with him."

"You saw her Tina. You heard her. There's no way she's going to tell him how she feels. She's going to protect herself. Bringing Steve here is only going to rattle her and make things worse. The old, real Maddie…yes, bringing him here would have been the answer because she would have actually talked to him, spoken her mind. But this new Maddie? This quiet, sad, exhausted, secretive version of herself? There's no way! I don't want him near her until…I don't even want him near her at all right now. To be honest, I don't think he should be allowed to see her before the show Wednesday. Or even come to the show for that matter! Did you already give him the passes?"

"Yeah, when I saw him earlier." Tina paused, trying to decide if she should voice her opinion. He didn't seem to be in a very compromising or rational mood. _Screw it, just say it_, she told herself. "Pete, you can't do that. He needs to see her."

"I don't give a crap what Steve needs right now! My job is to protect Maddie. And right now, she needs to be protected from him!" he yelled. "He doesn't want to come anyway, so it's fine!"

"Yes, he does! Plus, when he told me he was wondering if he should even go to the show, I told him that even though Maddie wouldn't admit it, she'd be devastated if he didn't go. So, he said he'd be there." Pete rolled his eyes as he sat fuming in the chair. "Pete, calm down. Just listen to me. He needs to see Maddie, but to be honest…she needs to see him too. You know that. Deep down, you do. It might make her more upset at first, but she needs him right now. If she's going to tell anyone what's going on it's going to be him."

"You think she's going to tell him anything after how's he's made her feel?"

"No, that's my point! You have to let him see her so he can try and fix this mess. If he doesn't she's not going to tell anyone anything. Plus…" A huge, sappy smile broke out on her face. "They love one another. He hasn't realized it yet, but he does. And he will. They belong together. They just need to figure it out. They've been best friends for over twenty years and suddenly their relationship is supposed to be different and perfect just like that? Of course Steve is going to freak out! Have you met him? She's the one constant in his life and vice versa. If there wasn't hesitation or confusion on either of their parts I would be concerned."

Pete glared at her, knowing she was right. She gave him a moment to process everything now that he seemed a bit calmer. Finally he cleared his throat, preparing to speak. "So what? You want to call him and have him come talk to her?"

"No, not right now. You're right. There's too much to do. She's too deep in this. The number of new songs cannot be changed at this point, which we both know means she won't be getting any sleep before the show. But I do think you shouldn't keep him from coming early on Wednesday and seeing the show."

"My only concern with Steve hanging out backstage during the day on Wednesday is that he's going to try to talk to her about everything. She'll get upset and rattled. She needs to be as focused as possible or she won't be able to pull the show off."

"I agree, so tell him what you just told me. That trying to talk to her about everything before the show is not in her best interest. That he needs to wait until after. Trust me, when he sees her he'll understand and come to the same realization." Tina paused before quietly saying, "He's going to freak when he sees her, ya know?"

Pete's eyes closed as he envisioned what Steve was going to do when he saw how exhausted and unhealthy Maddie looked. Although a lot of her current state had Steve to blame, Pete couldn't help but feel like he'd let his buddy down. Steve had hired him to protect Maddie, to keep her safe. Not to mention that on Sunday as they were pulling out of the driveway he'd specifically asked him to make sure she took care of herself. That she ate, drank water, and got some sleep. He felt like he'd failed him, but what could he do? She was a grown woman and he could only do so much.

"I know. But what can we do? Maddie's a big girl. We can only try and convince her so much when it comes to work. She's always thrown herself into things, wanting to do the best she can. And unfortunately she uses it as a distraction when she's upset," He finally responded to Tina. "But yep…Steve's gonna freak. And he was worried before?!" he scoffed. "Who knows how long it will be before he lets her out of his sight now…and Maddie will just LOVE that!" he said sarcastically. "I'm glad I won't be around for that battle."

"When are you leaving?" Tina asked.

"I think I'm heading out Saturday. I'll stay for the big after party on Friday and then head out. Steve promised her a few weeks without any security or anything. Well, except him. That was their deal. Of course that was before this whole thing happened, so who knows. Maybe I'll stay longer. How about you?"

"I think as of right now I'm here until Monday. But I might stay longer because of what happened with Steve. I don't know…the idea of leaving her here alone with him when she's heartbroken upsets me. But I'll definitely be here till Monday. I want to help her get settled. It's been," she paused, thinking back over the last few years. "I don't know…at least three years since she's been in one place longer than two weeks. There's a lot to unpack. I want to make sure she has everything she needs. I might have to have things packed up from the Los Angeles house. Anyway, we'll see. I was going to kind of play it by ear."

"Good, I'm glad you'll still be here after I leave. She'll need help getting settled." Pete rubbed his hand across his face and she suddenly was aware of just how tired he looked.

"Why don't you try and get some rest while she's out there? Jared's at the door, so she's okay," Tina suggested.

"Nah, I'm okay. I'll just get a cup of coffee."

"Pete," she said, her tone stern. "How can you expect to keep her safe if you can't even see straight because you're exhausted? Get some rest!"

He met her eyes and forced himself not to smile at how cute he thought she looked when she was trying to be tough. "Okay," he surrendered. "I'll go across the hall and pass out in there for a couple hours." He slowly stood and began walking to the door. Just as he reached it he turned around. "Wake me up if she comes out early or if something happens."

"Will do," Tina smiled. "Good night Pete."

"Night T," he mumbled as he exited.

* * *

><p>Steve drove to Maddie's, hoping and praying she'd go home tonight. He knew that she wouldn't want to, but after seeing the pictures of how tired she was, he was hoping that Pete and Doc would insist on it.<p>

He walked into the large house at 10:30pm. It was pitch black inside, a sure sign no one was home. As he made his way further into the house his heart ached as he flipped on lights.

Planning on taking a shower he found himself upstairs in her bedroom. As he looked at the bed, images of her curled into him flooded his mind, making his heart ache more. Knowing he'd hurt her, again, he doubted she was going to let him be that intimate with her. Suddenly images of him climbing on top of her on the bed as they kissed came back, followed by the sweet kisses he'd given her before bed the other night. "How could I have said that after kissing her?" he asked himself, feeling terrible. Thinking about her like this and how he'd screwed up only upset him more. Finding himself suddenly beyond angry he changed into some running clothes and headed downstairs. Exiting the door leading to the back patio, he ran towards the left, in the opposite direction of the house and her studio. With the house out of sight he passed her private beach and entered the woods that were on her property. After ten minutes he glanced at his watch._ Ten to eleven_, he thought. _I better get back. I wanna shower before she gets home. That is if she even comes home._ Steve turned around and began running back to the house.

He'd entered through the back door at 11pm and, with no sign of anyone there, he jogged up the stairs. Grabbing clothes from his bag he took them into her bathroom and jumped in the shower.

As he stepped out less than ten minutes later, his stomach grumbled. _That's right. I haven't eaten anything since lunch_, he thought as he dressed in sweats and a t-shirt. Although he hated eating late, he knew he needed to have some dinner, so he headed to the kitchen.

He stood in front of the open fridge staring at the contents as he tried to decide what exactly he wanted. He turned his head to the right to check the time. "11:30pm," he whispered as he stared at the clock on the oven. "Where are you Maddie?"

Turning his attention back to the food, Steve's eyes fell on the takeout he'd brought home for her the night before. Not wanting it to go bad he grabbed the container and a plate and dished it out. Once he'd warmed it up he sat at the kitchen counter eating, his eyes flitting between the clock and the hall leading to the garage praying, she would walk in at any second.

At nearly midnight he finished his late dinner. However, there was still no sign of her. "Oh come on Maddie…come home," he whispered to himself as he quickly rinsed his plate before sticking it in the dishwasher. Every minute that went by he was filled with more worry. He was worried that if she didn't come home tonight she'd be in worse shape than she was in when she'd first arrived in Hawaii nearly five days before. The thought scared the shit out of him. He'd thought she was in bad shape then…he didn't want to imagine her worse than that. Sitting there worrying about her while he watched the clock was driving him insane, so he decided he'd wait for her upstairs.

With a heavy heart Steve climbed the stairs and trudged down the hall to her room. Once inside, he climbed in her bed and reached for the remote. Pushing the power button her television slowly rose out of the foot of the bed frame. He never watched TV before bed, but he knew he needed the distraction. Settling on the history channel he did his best to focus on it as opposed to Maddie.

He'd made it through two programs when he looked at the clock. "1:30am! Damn it!" he exclaimed. Muting the TV, he reached for his phone on the nightstand and hit her number. His heart sunk when it went straight to voicemail, never once ringing. "She turned her phone off…that's how much she doesn't want to talk to me." Steve's eyes closed as he listened to her voice, missing the sound of it. "Hi! You've reached Maddie! I OBVIOUSLY can't come to the phone right now, but if you leave your name, number, and a BRIEF message, I'll get back to you as soon as I can! Thank you and have a wonderful day!"

He took a big breath right before the beep sounded. "Hey…so, you're not home….I really hope you're at least resting. Wish it was here, but I guess as long as you're getting some sleep it doesn't matter…" He sighed heavily before continuing. "I'm really worried about you Mads. Please don't push yourself too hard. I don't want anything happening to you…" He shook his head and ran his fingers through his hair before continuing. Suddenly his voice became much quieter, practically inaudible. "I wish you were here with me, where I know you're safe. Anyway…good night baby…. And again, I'm so sorry. Please call me back."

Steve hung up and turned the TV off, knowing it wasn't going to be able to distract him anymore. He flipped the lights off and slid down into bed. He smiled as he breathed in, her scent filling his nose and taking over his senses. His head full of thoughts of her, he shut his eyes, hoping he'd be able to get some sleep.

* * *

><p>At 1am they took a short twenty-minute break. Jared walked Maddie to her dressing room and as he held the door open for her he said, "I'm gonna go grab a quick nap, but Mo will be right outside. Pete will take you back to the stage at the end of the break." Maddie nodded, giving him a slight smile as she situated herself on the couch.<p>

Once he shut the door and she knew she was alone, she reached for her cell phone, wanting to not only listen to some more of Jesse's messages, but to see if he had called again. Normally, she wouldn't have given them any thought, instead deleting them without listening; exactly what she'd done since she broke up with him almost four months before. However, she had a strange feeling, and not exactly a good one.

"What does he want?" she whispered to herself, seeing he'd called her another three times since dinner. She started listening to the messages she hadn't heard yet from oldest to newest. In the older ones, starting Saturday during the barbeque, he was apologetic. He sounded sad and regretful. If she hadn't known him she would've believed him; he was pretty convincing. Maddie hit play on the fourth message and brought the phone up to her ear. "Hey, I don't blame you for not answering or calling me back. I really don't. I don't know what got into me that night, but I promise you it will NEVER happen again. I just…I miss you. We need to talk about this. We were good together, meant to be. At least give me a chance to apologize. Call me back Maddie. I love you."

She sighed as she pulled the phone away from her head. That message wasn't very different from the last three she'd listened to. _Is he delusional? I would never get back together with him!_ she thought. Leaning her head back against the couch she continued to listen to his voicemails. The more she listened to, the more upset Jesse became, making her stomach churn.

Maddie listened to one of the ones he'd left that day. The second his voice came on, she cringed. "All I want to do is talk to you!" he yelled. "You owe it to us to talk to me! I want to see you! And I will! I was hoping you'd be reasonable about this, instead of me having to go through other channels. Call me back!" She winced, hearing him break something before hanging up. _What other channels?_ she wondered, feeling on edge and nervous. "Well this isn't good," she whispered to herself.

"What isn't?" Pete asked as he walked in her dressing room. Maddie jumped, not expecting a visitor. "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you. I knocked but you didn't answer. I was getting worried. You okay?"

Just as he began walking towards her, her cell phone rang again. Just like earlier, the doomy, creepy song filled the air. She froze as their eyes met, unbelievable anger in his.

"Maddie, give me the phone," Pete ordered.

"Pete…" she whispered, holding on to it.

"Now," he seethed.

Hearing how angry he was, she handed it over and watched him turn it off before setting it on the coffee table. He sighed heavily as he sat in the armchair closest to her. "How long has he been calling you?" Pete asked doing his best to keep the rage from his voice as he clasped his hands together. After all, it wasn't her who he was mad at.

"Pete…" Maddie mumbled, not wanting to talk about it.

"I know you don't want to talk about him or what happened, but I'm sorry, you have to. I need to make sure he isn't going to show up at some point. I mean, what if he decides to come see you in the next three weeks when it's just Steve with you. He has NO idea what Jesse did!"

"And he never will!" Maddie said, her tone serious.

"If you think he's coming, then yes, Steve needs to know. For your safety and protection, he needs to know."

"No, he's not gonna show up, so it's not a problem. Don't worry about it," Maddie told him. However, after hearing that last message, she knew there was a good chance he was going to try and see her at some point.

"Are you just telling me that because you don't want Steve to know what happened?" Pete asked.

"No," she lied. She could tell Pete wasn't completely buying it so she added, "Look, if I thought he was going to try and see me, I wouldn't let you go home. I wouldn't let you leave me alone with Steve for three weeks. Okay?"

Pete studied her, looking for any sign of deception. Satisfied, he said, "Okay, but if at any time you feel that could change, all you have to do is call me and I'll come right back to Hawaii."

"I know," Maddie smiled at him.

"Just, leave your phone off for now. I don't want his calls bothering you or freaking you out. After the show, I'll have Tina go get you a new phone number. Okay?"

"Yeah, that's a good idea." Before Pete could say anything more on the subject a knock sounded on the door. Maddie exhaled a sigh of relief as Ryan popped his head in the room.

"Break's over, you ready?"

Maddie nodded as she and Pete stood and walked out of the room and down the hall towards the stage.

* * *

><p>At 3am Maddie, the band and dancers, and a lot of the crew (the lighting specialists, the sounds engineers, etc) all called it quits for the night. They decided to get some rest and reconvene rehearsals at 9am, giving them around 5 hrs to sleep.<p>

Although she was exhausted, Maddie was afraid to go to sleep. Now that she wasn't with Steve she was back to having nightmares every time she fell asleep. The same nightmares she'd been having for months now. The situations or specifics varied, but the idea was always the same. She was forced to watch Steve be killed and it was all her fault. It wasn't just that she would wake up absolutely terrified. But it was also that for hours afterward, and sometimes the entire day, she felt unsettled and distracted, unable to shake the gruesome and heartbreaking images from her mind. They just seemed so real and she couldn't shake the feeling that they were some sort of premonition as opposed to dreams.

Reluctantly, and after much convincing on Pete's part, she agreed to try and sleep. She changed into a fresh pair of black leggings and a white long sleeved shirt with a baggy, Chaser, faded maroon sweatshirt over it. Sitting on the pullout bed barefoot, she took the opportunity to look at the cuts on the bottom of her right foot. "Oh man…no wonder it's killing me," Maddie whispered to herself. They had, at some point, ripped open and bled, quite profusely if her discarded sock had anything to say about it. They were no longer bleeding, but a disgusting, pale yellow colored liquid was oozing from them as they tried to scab over. The skin surrounding the cuts had been red the last time she'd checked her foot, but now the red was spreading. _That can't be good_, she thought. She continued to investigate her foot, her nose wrinkled in a disgust, when a knock on the door interrupted her.

"You decent?" Pete asked from the other side of the door.

"Yeah," Maddie answered softly, but loud enough so he could hear her. As the door began to open she quickly grabbed the pair of black socks lying next to her and pulled the first one over her injured foot. _Don't need Pete seeing this and completely freaking out_, she thought.

"How ya feeling?" he asked as he walked inside the room. He set the large knee brace and tank on the floor before taking a seat next to her on the bed.

"Fine," she lied, pulling on the other sock. She felt awful. Her head and body still ached and her throat was still sore. The thing that now worried her was that there was a tickle forming in her throat causing her to cough every now and then. She knew she was definitely going to get sick, she just hoped it'd be after the show Wednesday. She already had too many things going against her. She didn't need this too.

"I don't even know why I ask Mads. I know you aren't feeling well. I know you well enough that I can tell," Pete told her, hoping it would get her to be honest.

Maddie looked down at her feet dangling off the bed. "I'm tired. And I'm in pain. But…it's nothing I can't handle or haven't handled before." She looked up at him, meeting his eyes. "The show must go on right?"

For a brief minute he was silent, worrying over the sadness he saw in her eyes. Eyes that used to always be happy and sparkling. He hadn't seen those eyes in a while and truth be told, he missed them. _Closest they've gotten were little moments recently with Steve. That is when things were okay between them, _he thought. "Pete?" Her voice pulled him from his thoughts.

"Right. The show must go on…however, if things get really bad…speak up. We'll reschedule the show."

His statement caused her to chuckle. Not a happy chuckle, but a sarcastic, sad chuckle. It was a heart wrenching sound. A sound he never wanted to hear out of her again.

"We both know that can't happen," Maddie stated, the quality of her voice better than it had been, but it was still nearly gone.

Pete sighed loudly knowing what she said was the truth. She had to perform Wednesday no matter what kind of state she was in. _How did this happen? How did things get this far? Get this bad?_ he wondered, feeling slightly responsible. He glanced to his right to see her eyes drooping as she did her best to stifle a yawn. "Let me hook you up to this. Do you want to get under the covers or just lay on top?" he asked, standing up and picking up the knee brace he'd set on the floor nearby. "If you lay on top I'll cover you with a big blanket."

Maddie thought about it, but decided it'd be easier to just lie on top of the made bed. "Just a blanket will be fine. Thanks P." She scooted back on the bed and laid her head on a pillow.

Pete's stomach sunk as he noticed what she was wearing or, to be more accurate, what she wasn't wearing. After months and months of wearing Steve's clothes every night to bed, she was in her own clothes. _Not a good sign_, he thought.

He gently lifted her right leg and set it in the huge brace, carefully fastening each Velcro strap. "So…" he began, uncertain if he should bring it up or not. "Nice jammies."

Maddie knew exactly what he was getting at. She looked away, unable to meet his eyes. "Thanks," she murmured, nervously biting her bottom lip.

"Must say though, I prefer your usual jammies." At her silence he asked, "Speaking of which…you didn't bring them?"

"I'm giving them back. They aren't mine," Maddie replied her voice distant and emotionally shut down as she continued to look anywhere but at him.

"Hmm…" Pete fastened the last two straps before propping her leg up with pillows, hoping that elevating it would help with the swelling He leaned over and pulled the tank closer to the bed and plugged it into a nearby outlet. He then reached up and connected her brace to the tank and immediately cold ice water began circulating into the knee brace.

"I hate this thing," she murmured, instantly beginning to feel cold. Pete disappeared into the main room of her dressing room for a moment before returning with her big, plush blanket.

"Here ya go Shorty," he mumbled as he covered her. She immediately snuggled into it as he sat down on the edge of her bed and sighed. Finally he turned and met her sleepy eyes. "Mads…he didn't mean it."

"Pete…not again," Maddie groaned. "They're just clothes. It doesn't mean anything."

"Yes it does. You and I both know that," he responded. She didn't answer, knowing he was right. "Here's your phone." He set her iPhone near her on the bed. "Thought maybe you'd want to call him before you go to sleep. But if you do, turn it back off when you're done."

"Pete, it's after three in the morning. Steve is asleep. He has to work in the morning," Maddie stated.

"My guess is he isn't asleep or at least not sleeping very well. Give him a call Mads." With that said he stood, leaned forward, and kissed the spot on her head where her hair met her forehead. "Night Shorty."

"Night Petey. Don't let the bed bugs bite," she whispered, snuggling further into the blanket.

"Call him," Pete said right before shutting the door behind him.

As much as Maddie missed Steve and wanted to hear his voice, she couldn't call him. She had to distance herself from him. To say he'd hurt her was an understatement. To be honest she wasn't sure if she could really be around him anymore. Seeing him briefly at things like her show was different. She didn't think she could have him stay at her house, never letting her out of his sight. Not when he knew she had feelings and he'd pretended to feel the same. As some kind of cruel joke or to get her to no longer be mad at him? She wasn't sure why he did it, but then again the reason didn't really matter. It only mattered that he did it. These were the thoughts swimming through her head as she fell asleep.

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><p>I hope you liked it! Please, please, please review or private message me! I LOVE hearing from you guys! It makes my day!<p>

xo


	29. Chapter 29

** DISCLAIMER: I do not own "Hawaii Five-0" or any of its characters. However, I do own Maddie, Pete, Doc, Tina, Ryan, Lyle, Mo, etc. Also, I do not own the songs "Bad Romance" by Lady Gaga and "Firework" by Katy Perry.  
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><p><strong><strong><span>AUTHOR'S NOTE<span>: ****Hello everyone! I hope you are enjoying the latest chapters. It's hard to tell because I'm not getting as many reviews as I do when they are Steve and Maddie chapters. lol.

Like I told you in the last couple chapters I have over 200 Microsoft Word pgs typed and ready to go. Here are pages 100-160.

Anyway, there are some things I need to make you aware of. In this chapter her stage is talked about a little more. Now, I will go into full detail of the stage in Ch. 31 and 32, but there is a bit of it here. Her stage is HUGE. It is basically three stages. I refer to them as Stage 1, Stage 2, and Stage 3. In this chapter, Stage 3 is not really talked about. If you picture a standard stage, that is, at least in a general sense, what Stage 1 looks like. Coming off the middle of Stage 1 is a catwalk. At the end of the catwalk is Stage 2. Stage 3 sort of comes off Stage 2, but I'm not going to worry about explaining that right now, since it's not talked about in this chapter. Does this all make sense to you guys?

There is a piece of her stage that is described in this chapter. I did my VERY best to paint the picture for you without it being confusing. Basically it is a small circle stage that is in the air. I refer to it as the "flying circle". Like I said, I describe it in this chapter. Please, please let me know if it makes sense, or if it doesn't. It will help me better know how to write and explain the ENTIRE stage in Chapter 31.

Also, I use some stage terms in this chapter. Downstage is actually at the front of the stage. The part closest to the audience. Upstage is the back of the stage, closer to the backstage area. If this doesn't make sense and you'd like to see what I mean, I can attach a diagram of it to my profile. I can also do that with Maddie's stage. I can put a diagram of it on my profile. Just let me know if that would help you guys understand everything.

Again, I want to remind you about the room they all tend to hang out in at the arena. It's a huge room and can be entered from right outside where the crew parks. On the other end of the room is a hallway that leads further into the arena, including Maddie's dressing room and eventually to the stage. When writing, I'm referring to this room as the "main room of the arena".

I told you many many chapters ago that when it came to Maddie's songs that sometimes I would write them and other times I'd use songs that already exist. For this chapter I am using songs that already exist. Most of the time that is what I will do because it allows you guys to know what the song sounds like. What the melody is, how it goes, etc. In this chapter I use the songs "Bad Romance" by Lady Gaga and "Firework" by Katy Perry. I've also mentioned in the past that just because I use a specific artist's song, that doesn't mean that's what Maddie's voice sounds like. She has her own voice and it's killer.

As always, thoughts are in _italics_. Now, when it comes to things being in **bold**... In this chapter anything Maddie writes on the dry erase board is in **bold**. Also, text messages are in **bold**. Same with flashbacks and when she sings. You'll know which is which because, well it's obvious. I spell it out for you.

When she is singing and the words are in **bold**, you'll notice that there might be some words that are in parentheses. That's what's being sung by her background singers.

It is Tuesday in this chapter, which means the next Chapter, Chapter 30, will cover what happens on Wednesday, which is the day of her show. So, you will see what happens when Steve and Maddie see one another! I bet you guys are sooo excited! hahaha! I know I am!

There are a lot of chapters coming up that are Steve and Maddie, since she will be with him for at least the next three weeks. Also, the Five-0 team will be working on trying to find out who is stalking her. There's not really going to be any chases or anything like that for awhile. At least not when it comes to the stalker. Yes, other cases that the team picks up will have a lot of action. But the stalker is going to be screwing with her for awhile. Eventually you will discover why. It makes sense. I want it to be creepy and hard to guess. I HATE when I'm reading or watching something and it's super obvious who the "bad guy" is! So, all my details do mean something in this story. I am constantly leaving clues to various things. You just have to find them, lol.

Anyway, I'll stop rambling and let you get to the chapter. It's a LONG one!

The MORE reviews I get on this one, the sooner I'll post Chapter 30. It's ready to go...and like I said, Steve and Maddie see each other for the first time since he put his foot in his mouth.

Well, ENJOY!

xoxo,

Laura

P.S. THANK YOU so much to all the reviews and PM's I've gotten. I appreciate all your feedback and ideas! I love it! When I post Chapter 30, hopefully later tonight (if I get some feedback! lol) I will respond to all your reviews over the last couple chapters. This note was already way too long and didn't want to make it longer! I do appreciate each and every one of your reviews! YOU GUYS ROCK!

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><p><strong>CHAPTER 29<strong>

At 5:30am, not even three hours after she'd gone to bed, Maddie's eyes flew open, tears streaming down her face. Her breathing was labored and she was drenched in sweat while her blanket hung off the bed. Disoriented, she glanced around the room trying to discern if it was in fact a nightmare, which she was hoping, or if it had really happened. It didn't take long for her to realize where she was and understand that what she'd just been through didn't in fact occur. _It felt so real_, she thought as she did her best to try and calm down, hoping to shake the images of Steve's face. There had been such betrayal in his eyes right as he'd been killed.

Maddie filled her lungs with as much air as she possibly could before slowly exhaling every last bit of it. She repeated this numerous times, hoping it would help her relax and she'd be able to go back to sleep. However, big surprise, it didn't work. There was absolutely no way she was going to be able to fall back asleep tonight. She was too scared and rattled. What surprised her was that she was filled with an immense amount of guilt. _It was just a dream Madeline. There's no reason to feel guilty_, she told herself, however it didn't as if the walls were closing in on her, she knew she needed to get out. Quietly, she released her leg from the brace and tiptoed into the adjoining bathroom, taking a fast five-minute shower. She knew she had to be quick about it so there was less of a chance of Pete hearing the water run. She felt bad that because of her no one was really getting any rest. Just because she was too afraid to sleep and the head of the label was out to get her, didn't mean everyone else had to suffer. When Pete had said goodnight she could see how tired he was. She wasn't necessarily trying to sneak away from him. Sure, she needed some time to herself, but she also just wanted him to get some rest.

Dressed in a pair of light wash, skinny, AG jeans, a t-shirt, and black Converse Chucks, Maddie walked back into the bathroom. She zipped her grey hoodie up and grabbed her purse before standing on the back of the toilet. Trying to be as quiet as possible she opened the small window. She stopped, waiting to be sure she didn't hear anyone awake in the next room before dropping her big, black, Balenciaga purse through the open window. Carefully she hoisted herself up, not only trying to be as quiet as possible, but also making sure she didn't hurt herself any further, especially since she wasn't wearing her knee brace.

She suppressed a groan as her feet came in contact with the pavement outside. She paused, taking a few deep breaths, while waiting for the intense pain in her foot and knee to subside. Maddie glanced around, taking in the early morning darkness. She could tell the sun was getting ready to come out, ready to wake everyone up for another beautiful day in paradise.

There was nowhere special she wanted to go; she just needed to get out. Clear her head. Be alone. She slipped the hood on to hopefully keep herself from being noticed by the few paparazzi camped outside the arena that were just hoping to get a glimpse of her. She began quietly walking towards the outer fence. As she studied her surroundings, she decided that walking out of the actual exits was definitely out of the question. Not only were there a couple photographers at each one, but also members of her security team. At the main gate was Billy while Kurt and Joshua were each stationed at the other two exits. _Looks like I've wandered off one too many times in the past. Pete's making sure everything's covered, _she thought as she neared the fence, making sure to stay out of sight. As she walked along it she took notice of how high it was. There was absolutely no question that she could jump it, but she figured it would be too obvious. Her security and the paparazzi would most definitely notice a girl climbing and hopping over a fence and it wouldn't take very long for them to realize it was her. _There's gotta be another way_, she thought as she continued to walk the perimeter. A mischievous, victorious smile broke out on her face as she caught sight of the small break at the base of the fence a few feet in front of her. Maddie squatted, jamming her purse through the hole before getting flat on her stomach and crawling through herself. _There are moments it pays to be tiny_, she thought. _And this is definitely one of them._ She picked up her purse as she stood and then turned around, catching one more glimpse of the arena.

_Better be back before anyone notices_, she told herself. She knew if Pete woke up and discovered she was gone he would completely lose it, especially after what happened with the roller skates. It was obvious it had rattled him, although he was doing his best to hide it from both Tina and herself. There was no doubt he was on edge, constantly surveying their surroundings, looking for even the littlest thing out of place or out of the ordinary. She wasn't sure how much Tina had picked up on it, but she definitely had. Maybe it was all the years she'd been friends with Steve, listening to him talk about things he'd learned or missions he'd been on. (Well, what he could tell her.) Plus, the further in his career he got, the harder it was to read him, forcing her to adjust.

With no destination in mind Maddie walked along the sidewalk, the arena growing smaller behind her with each step. Her mind was on Steve, wondering if she thought there was any way they could ever get back to how it used to be between them. Before she'd realized how she felt about him. _Guess that's why you don't fall for your best friend_, she told herself, rolling her eyes.

She was so deep in thought that she hadn't realized she'd found her way to the beach, which wasn't too far from the arena. Maybe a fifteen-minute walk. Maddie didn't want to think about why, out of all the places she could have gone, she'd automatically found herself at the beach. The place she and Steve had always gone growing up. The beach was their place, especially at night. She couldn't count all the times they'd snuck out to watch the sun come up over the water, exactly what she was about to do now.

Maddie plopped down in the sand and immediately toed her converse sneakers off. Peeling her white ankle socks from her feet she stuffed them in her shoes. She leaned her hands back behind her and dug her toes into the sand. She looked out onto the water as the sun slowly began to peak through. She winced at the intense stinging and pain in her right foot, momentarily forgetting that sand probably wasn't the best thing to get into her infected cuts. "Oh well, too late now," she mumbled, pushing the discomfort from her mind, wanting only to focus on the serene, beautiful scene in front of her.

Although she was still sad and worried, Maddie relished the moment. She couldn't remember the last time she was anywhere in public alone. Completely alone. Without Pete, or Tina, or anyone from her team. And definitely without the prying eyes of photographers wanting to know what she was up to every minute of the day. _I missed home_, she thought as she squished her toes further into the sand.

She stayed like that for a while, basking in the gorgeous sunrise over the ocean, reminding her how much she missed Hawaii. _I wonder if they've noticed I'm gone?_ she thought. She debated getting up and heading back, but she wasn't quite ready to return to reality just yet. She figured if Pete knew, he was already mad. What would it matter if she stayed out a little longer? Her eyes returned to the beautiful sunrise as she listened to the waves crash against one another. _Such a peaceful sound_, she thought happily.

However, her happiness was short lived. She couldn't help it, the beach reminded her of him and she suddenly found herself wishing he was there with her. _No Maddie_, she told herself. _You can't think like that anymore. He hurt you for the last time. Plus, it's safer this way, for everyone involved._ Thinking about him caused her to recall what he'd said to her. She closed her eyes, the words echoing in her mind. **"Come on, Carl! You know we're just friends." Steve said before he began laughing.** It wasn't so much what he said that had broken her heart. Sure, what he said had hurt, but it was the laugh. A laugh filled with disgust and disbelief, as if Carl had said the most asinine, hysterical thing possible. And then to top it off Steve added, **"I mean, seriously?"** Maddie opened her eyes, tears running down her face. She hadn't really been alone since he had said it. Sure, there were moments here and there she'd been by herself in her dressing room, but she was still surrounded by people. Here she wasn't. She was completely and utterly alone, so she felt safe releasing her emotions. All she had wanted to do when they'd driven away from the house on Sunday morning was bawl her little eyes out, but she was in a car full of people. People that had just heard their exchange. So, to top it all off, not only had the man she loved just broken her heart, but he'd done it in front of an audience, leaving her feeling something beyond embarrassed. So, she had refused to cry, and it had taken everything to keep those tears in. For days she'd kept them inside and now that she was finally alone they came flooding out. What started as simple tears had quickly become gut-wrenching sobs as she released the pent up emotions. Maddie's face fell forward against her knees as her entire body shook with heartache.

She cried and cried, the emotions and tears seeming to be never-ending. Finally, nearly twenty minutes later she decided it was time to stop feeling sorry for herself and get back to the arena. She knew if she was gone too long Pete would call Steve, afraid that instead of walking off voluntarily that she'd been taken. According to Pete they received kidnapping threats quite often and with the stalker out for her she knew he'd worry that someone had gotten to her. She slowly stood up and began walking towards the pathway along the beach, brushing sand off her jeans with her right hand while her cut up left hand carried her sneakers. "Ow," Maddie whispered, her face distorting in pain every time the infected cuts made contact with the sand. The pain continued as she ascended the stairs up to the pathway.

Once on the pathway Maddie walked to the rinsing station to the left of the stairs. Flipping on the excruciatingly cold water she began rinsing her feet off. She started with her left foot. Once it was clean she wiped the water off on her jeans and then slipped her sock and shoe on. With her weight solely on her shoe clad left foot she began rinsing her right, injured foot in the freezing water. Using her fingers, she did her best to clean sand and dirt from the wounds, however touching them caused them to bleed. "Great," Maddie mumbled, annoyed and tired of having this inconvenient, not to mention extremely painful, injury. _Is it completely out of line to blame this on Steve?_ she wondered to herself, chuckling softly while she tried to rinse the blood and remaining sand from her foot. _I mean, I fainted because he surprised me. AND..I was exhausted because I couldn't stop having nightmares he was being murdered__…__ Yeah, it's definitely Steve's fault! _She knew it really wasn't, but thinking about it made her laugh a little, something she desperately needed at that moment.

Although the cuts were still filled with sand and dirt particles, she knew it was as good as she was going to get it at the beach. She'd just have to clean it again when she got back to the arena.

Carefully, Maddie slipped her sock on, wincing as the fabric came in contact with the bleeding gashes. Once her shoe was on she began the fifteen-minute walk back to the arena. She did her best to keep from limping, the pain in her foot significantly worse than it had been before she'd snuck out.

Approaching the venue, she immediately noticed how busy it looked, people running around everywhere. "Yeah, they know I'm gone," she whispered, cringing slightly at the lecture and rant she knew she was going to receive from Pete. Realizing there was really no need to sneak back in since they all obviously knew she was gone, she eyed the three different entrances, trying to decide which one to use. She chose the one that had no paparazzi, the one Billy was stationed at. _That's weird. There was definitely one at this entrance when I left_, she thought, however, she dismissed it, figuring they'd finally gotten a life and gone home to get some rest. Little did she know, the photographer had seen her climb out of the window and out through the fence. Having an amazing camera he was able to keep an incredible distance from her, so that she had no idea he was tailing her. He'd taken a few pictures, but for the most part he'd been shooting video of her.

Billy spotted Maddie as she neared the entrance, making eye contact with her. He remained in his position as he contacted Pete. "I've got Shorty. She's unharmed and approaching my entrance now," he whispered into the small microphone coming out of his sleeve. Billy knew if he rushed to her the few paparazzi around the outside of the venue would spot her and run towards her. He waited until she entered the gate and then nonchalantly began walking next to her.

"How bad?" Maddie questioned as they approached the entrance to the main room of the arena.

"He's been beside himself, completely freaking out," Billy answered. "And rightfully so Mads."

"I know." The two walked into the main room and Maddie's eyes immediately fell on Pete's angry, worried ones as he stood on the other side of the room. His arms were crossed firmly as he gave her a disapproving look.

"I got her. You can all come back. Return to your posts," Pete spoke into the tiny mic at his wrist, never once breaking eye contact with her as she walked towards him.

When she reached him he joined her and they walked down the hall side by side in complete silence. They turned and headed down another hallway before reaching her dressing room. Pete held the door open for her and she slid by him into the room. She immediately went to the couch, anxious to get off her throbbing foot. Hearing the door shut she prepared herself for what was to come.

"What the hell were you thinking?" Pete yelled as he stood near the closed door, his arms crossed.

Maddie placed her left foot on her right knee and slowly began to untie her Converse Chucks. "I just needed some space," she whispered.

"Then you tell me! We would have gotten you out of here for a while. You don't just take off. Especially after what happened the other night. I know you don't want to really talk about it, but someone tried to hurt you Madeline! Intentionally! It's not safe for you to go off by yourself right now. And you're injured! How would you have run if someone came after you?! This was such a stupid, selfish move!" Pete ranted as he began to pace. Finally he stopped and looked towards her, so angry she could have sworn she saw steam coming out of his head. For the first time since they arrived in the dressing room Maddie met his eyes. When she'd first gotten back he'd been across the room and wasn't close enough to really take her in. And honestly, he'd been too mad to really study her except to see she was safe and unharmed. But now, as he looked into her eyes, he immediately understood why she had done what she'd done. He approached her, taking a seat on the edge of the coffee table directly in front of her. Her face was splotchy from crying and her eyes were swollen and blood shot. His heart broke at the sadness he saw in her. Not just her eyes or her face, but her entire body. It was written all over her. The look in her eyes, the way her face appeared almost dull, no glow of happiness or joy present, the way her body was slumped forward, and so on, Pete's face softened, feeling bad for her. He wished there was something he could do to make her feel better, but she wouldn't talk to him. She'd shut everyone out.

"I'm really sorry Pete. I just needed some space," Maddie mumbled.

"I know Shorty. Just…next time tell me and I'll figure out a way you can get space, but where you're still safe, okay? I promise." He reached his hand forward, placing it on her left knee. As he gently rubbed it he admitted, "You just scared the hell out of me. I wasn't sure if you'd left on your own or if someone had somehow gotten to you."

"I should've told you. Sorry. It's just that you were asleep and I knew how tired you were."

"Don't worry about me Shorty. I can take care of myself. But next time, and there better not be a next time, at least make sure your phone's on!"

A look of confusion appeared on her face before she reached in her purse and pulled out her cell. Seeing it was off, realization hit her. "I forgot to turn it back on after you turned it off last night. Sorry!"

"Just so you know, I was just about to call Steve when Billy radioed me. I mean his number was up on the screen and my thumb was about to press 'call'," Pete told her.

Maddie averted his gaze. "Looks like I got back just in time then."

"Mads, ya gotta talk to him. I know what he said hurt, but I promise you he didn't mean it. You can't keep going on like this."

Maddie ignored his statement, refusing to talk about Steve anymore. It was what it was and there was nothing left to discuss. "I'm sorry I worried everyone."

Pete inwardly sighed at the way she completely ignored him. "It's okay, but don't do it again!" Standing up he leaned forward and placed a quick kiss on her forehead, right at her hairline. "I'm gonna go get your brace." He disappeared into the other room, quickly returning with the ice tank and knee brace. As he placed it over her jeans and fastened it, he asked, "So, where'd ya go anyway?"

"Honestly, I just went for a walk. I ended up at the beach and watched the sun come up."

"Sounds nice. Feel any better?"

"Physically?" she asked, unsure if he was asking how her knee and tailbone were or something else.

"No," he answered, meeting her eyes briefly before returning his attention to the ice tank.

"Honestly? No." Pete froze, not expecting her honest and blunt response. He looked up, about to say something when she continued. "But, I don't want to talk about it."

"Okay, fair enough. But if you change your mind…I'm here." Maddie gave him a tired smile before he finished attaching the brace to the tank. "Do I even want to know how much sleep you got?" he asked, worried that she looked even more tired than she had before she'd gone to sleep. She wrinkled her nose, shaking her head at him. Pete sighed. "Nightmare?" Her lack of a response was answer enough. Well, that and the way she looked away after he asked the question, subconsciously nibbling on the side of her bottom lip. "You can't go on much longer like this Mads. I mean, you need to sleep."

"I know. I'll figure it out," she replied, even though she had absolutely no idea what she was going to do. She knew Pete was right; she did need sleep. The only problem was, how was she going to get any with these awful recurring nightmares. The only time she'd been able to stay asleep in the last several months was when she was snuggled into Steve. When he was there holding her, the nightmares didn't come. But sleeping with him was no longer an option. It was too painful for her. She'd rather have the nightmares than snuggle and sleep with him. It would only serve as a constant reminder that the idea of them together was a complete joke to him. _Guess I'll just have to keep going like this until I either find another way to get rid of the nightmares, learn to not let them affect me so much, or they go away on their own. But, sleeping with Steve? Definitely not going to happen!_ she told herself.

Maddie was pulled from her thoughts by a body suddenly hugging her tightly. "You scared the hell out of me! I was sooo worried!" Tina declared, her arms tightly wrapped around her best friend and boss.

"Sorry," Maddie mumbled, hugging her back.

Tina pulled out of the hug, her happy, worried expression suddenly morphing into an angry one. "What were you thinking? Taking off like that after someone tampered with your roller skates? We were worried that you didn't leave voluntarily."

"Sorry," Maddie repeated herself.

Just as Tina was about to continue with her rant and lecture, Pete caught her attention, effectively sending her a signal to stop, that it wasn't a good time for this. Catching on, she studied her friend, quickly seeing why Pete had told her to back off. _She looks so sad_, she thought. _I wish there was something I could do for her_. "Well, after your little adventure, you must be hungry! Craft services is just about to set out breakfast. I'm gonna go get you something."

"Okay," Maddie mumbled. "Thanks." Once Tina was gone Maddie looked towards Pete. "So…is Doc coming by before dress rehearsals start?"

Pete eyed her suspiciously, wondering why she was asking for Doc. He assumed that she must be in some serious discomfort to actually want to see him. "He should be here any minute. Yesterday he told me to expect him no later than 8am. Why? Is everything okay?"

Maddie paused, debating whether or not she should tell him the truth, that her foot was killing her. _He asked you to be more honest and open with him,_ she told herself. Taking a deep breath Maddie prepared herself for what she knew would be a seriously poor reaction. "Yeah, actually…um my foot…it's really painful."

Pete was so shocked she'd confided in him that he stood there frozen for a few seconds, completely speechless. Finally he snapped out of it and approached her. "Let me take a look." He took a seat on the coffee table in front of her and waited for her to give him some kind of response. Maddie eventually nodded and he gently pulled her black Converse sneaker from her foot. "Oh Mads," he whispered, seeing that her crisp, white sock was now brownish-red from blood.

"Yeah, I told you it hurts," she mumbled, biting her bottom lip.

Carefully, he peeled the sock from her foot and immediately gasped. "This is bad! I'm so glad you spoke up!" He peaked around at the big cuts, making sure to not put too much pressure on any part so he wouldn't cause her more pain. "It's definitely infected. I mean really infected and I'm not even a doctor." He looked up at her. "How long has it been like this?"

Biting her bottom lip and raising her eyebrows, Maddie said, "It was red yesterday, but when I got dressed this morning I noticed it was much worse."

"You should have said something the second you noticed it looking worse." Pete returned his gaze to the wounds. "Did you take your shoes off at the beach?"

She scrunched her nose and, once again, bit her lip as she responded. "Yeah…"

"Maddie! Beaches are so dirty and if it was already bad, why on earth would you put your bare foot in the sand?"

"Honestly, it didn't dawn on me. I was too distracted. And by the time it did, it was already too late."

Just then Tina returned carrying two plates filled with breakfast. One for Maddie, one for herself. She walked to the couch and took a seat next to her friend. After handing her the plate she leaned forward wanting to see what exactly Pete was doing with her foot. "Oh my God! That is nasty! That cannot be healthy!" she exclaimed, getting a good look of her infected, oozing, bloody, cut up foot.

"Yeah…it isn't." Pete sighed, gently setting her foot on the table next to him. "Well, I don't feel comfortable messing with it. Doc should be here any minute and he'll take care of it." Standing up he walked towards the door. "You guys are making me hungry! I'm gonna go grab a plate, I'll be back in a few. Mo's outside if you need anything."

Both women smiled at him as they began eating their breakfast.

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><p>Steve had arrived at headquarters around 6:30am, having not been able to sleep very well. Not only could he not clear his mind, worrying about whether or not he could get her to believe him or just worrying about her in general, but he couldn't sleep without her. He'd discovered that all it took were those three nights of having her in his arms for him to never be able to go back to sleeping without her. He wasn't sure why or what that meant and he didn't really want to think about it. All he knew was that he tossed and turned when she wasn't there.<p>

He was hoping that the fan mail he'd requested a couple days before had finally arrived. However, 6:30am was a little early for it to be delivered, so until then he kept himself busy. He'd already read and re-read the file way too many times to count hoping to find something he'd missed, but he was always disappointed. There was nothing new to go over until he got the fan mail, so he decided to go through the footage from the traffic cams and ATM's around the restaurant, Jake's. It wasn't that he didn't trust Danny to do his job, because he most certainly did, it's just maybe having a fresh pair of eyes would help them find something useful. The only problem was they had no idea what they were looking for, something that was frustrating the hell out of him.

Slowly the team trickled in, first Danny, who joined him, followed by Chin. At 8:15am, Kono and Lori walked in.

"Morning Boss!" Kono greeted, a smile present on her face. Steve was standing at the smart table going through the footage with Danny, while Chin was in his office secretly going through the footage from around the arena. (Well, a secret from everyone except Danny).

Steve looked up, flashing her a weary smile. "Hey Kono."

She nearly winced at his tired appearance, catching herself just in time. _He looks tired_, she thought, taking in the bags under his eyes. _Tomorrow can't come fast enough for him. He's probably climbing the walls, so anxious to see Maddie. Find out where they stand._

Kono approached the table. "What's up?"

"Going through the footage from the cameras around the restaurant again. We're hoping something jumps out at us," Steve answered. "Did you finish canvassing the dumpsters yesterday?"

"No, we were gonna head out and finish that up. We still have a few more to check out. Not a ton. Should maybe take us and hour or so," Lori answered, looking at Steve.

He looked back, meeting her eyes. "Great! Sounds good. Keep me posted." To her disappointment Steve immediately returned his focus to the task at hand, not giving her much attention. _If only Maddie hadn't shown up!_ she thought, irritated with the entire situation.

"Lori, I'm just gonna quickly change and then I'll be ready to go," Kono stated, walking towards the women's locker room.

"Yeah, me too!" Lori responded catching up to her. She glanced over her shoulder at an oblivious Steve, completely preoccupied with the footage in front of him.

* * *

><p>Doc had arrived at 7:45am, a few minutes after Pete had returned with his breakfast. He'd gotten really upset with Maddie over the fact she hadn't told him about her foot yesterday. He hadn't checked it solely because he hadn't had the chance. He had headed back to his hotel while she'd been rehearsing with Gracie because he was beyond exhausted. He hadn't gotten a lot of sleep the night before because he'd been called at 4am after Maddie had fallen.<p>

The first thing he did was give her an injection in her knee, the previous days wearing off. These injections were the only reason she'd been able to dance and rehearse. He'd spent the last forty minutes cleaning sand and dirt from her foot, a process that was incredibly painful for her. "Finally, it's clean," Doc announced. "I can't believe you went bare foot in the sand with your foot looking like this!"

Maddie did her best to give him a cute, innocent, 'don't be upset with me' look, which although he pretended didn't work on him, it did. At least a little. "No more barefoot in the sand. Actually, no more barefoot at all," he instructed. "Kendall, can you grab me the antibiotic ointment, gauze, wrap, and tape?"

"Sure thing Dr. Warsten," she replied, overly sweet.

While he waited for the items, he met Maddie's eyes. "Mads, this is really serious. This is a terrible infection. I need you to keep this wrap on all day. You can't take it off at all. I'm going to put some antibiotic ointment on it and I'm going to give you oral antibiotics. Let's hope it looks a lot better tomorrow. You want to keep this as clean as possible. If you feel the wrap gets even the tiniest bit sweaty while you're rehearsing, tell me and I'll redress it. I'm not kidding Maddie, this is serious."

"Okay," she replied, coughing slightly.

"Okay," Doc smiled at her, hoping to receive a genuine smile back. Upon arriving he had immediately picked up on the fact she was more withdrawn and sad than the last couple days. Not to mention even more quiet. In other words, she was even more unlike herself than usual; something that really concerned him. The more time he spent with her the more worried he became that she would pick up old bad habits.

Kendall returned with the supplies, pulling him from his thoughts. He covered the cuts with antibiotic ointment before wrapping gauze around them. Once he was satisfied there was gauze protecting every part of the wounds, he began wrapping her foot. When he was done he put a few pieces of tape to make sure it wouldn't be coming unwrapped while she was dancing and rehearsing. "Alright, I wanna take a quick look at your vocal chords."

Maddie leaned forward a bit and opened her mouth. Using a tongue depressor Doc held her tongue down while flashing a light in her throat. "Even without using the camera I can tell it's not much better than the other day. I mean, it's a tad better, but not much. I was really hoping for more improvement by now. I'm sorry, but you can't talk or sing today. However, I know you're doing dress rehearsals and you'll probably need to go over the new songs, so just barely sing them. Maybe only do one run through where you're singing them. Still rehearse the songs on the other run throughs, just don't sing the song. Only dance. And like before, use the Dynavox and dry erase board when you need to talk."

Maddie nodded, not bothering to argue or groan. She just wasn't up for it.

"How's the sore throat?" Doc asked.

"Okay," she mouthed as she tried to stifle a cough. However, it was definitely worse.

"Really?" he questioned, squinting his eyes at her. "Because it looks more inflamed than yesterday. Are you sure it's not bothering you more?" He handed her the small dry erase board to use.

She shrugged her shoulders before writing, **It is what it is. It's not awful, so it's no big deal**. She coughed, quickly clearing her throat to try and hide it.

"What's with the coughing? You alright?" Doc asked.

Maddie smiled sadly as she quickly thought of a lie. **Yeah. Something went down the wrong pipe at breakfast and I've had a tickle in my throat ever since. It'll go away, no big deal**, she wrote.

"Well, let me know if it doesn't. You're body's been trying to fight off a bug for days now, but with the lack of sleep…there's a good chance you're finally going to get it full blown." Rooting around in his bag, he pulled out a bottle of medicine. He dished out a pill and handed it to her. "Here's the antibiotic I want you to take for your foot. You need to take one pill, twice a day. Tomorrow we should hopefully see an improvement." Doc watched her swallow the pill and asked, "Have you taken the prednisone today?"

Maddie shook her head in response.

He grabbed her morning dose from the bottle she'd left on the coffee table and handed the pills to her. "How's the appetite?"

"Fine," she mouthed.

"It doesn't look like it's doing very well from your untouched plate of breakfast." He looked at Maddie, her silence confirming his suspicions that the medicine had completely suppressed her appetite and she wasn't eating much.

"It's terrible. Non existent," Pete revealed.

Doc tried to make eye contact with Maddie, but she refused, instead she looked down at her hands. The fact that someone else was telling him her appetite was gone as opposed to Maddie worried him. She knew that was something they had to really watch when she was on this medication and if it got too bad she knew she was supposed to tell him. It made him nervous she didn't. _She's coming off this tomorrow,_ he thought. "Kendall, can you make Maddie a shake please?"

"Sure thing Dr. Warsten," Kendall responded, absolutely hating that she had to do anything for Maddie.

Hearing Doc mention a shake, Maddie rolled her eyes. _He doesn't need to worry. I'm fine,_ she thought. She erased her previous message from the board and quickly wrote a new one. **It's just the meds. I promise. **Once he read it, she erased the board and met his eyes, sending him a serious look.

As he looked at her, he could tell she was being truthful. "Okay, but I still want you to start using the shakes."

"What are they?" Pete asked.

"It's a natural shake. Two different powders. It'll give her the nutrients she needs without eating a meal. Great for when she has no appetite. They're small, but jam packed with everything she needs," Doc explained. "Tina knows how to make them."

Pete looked at Tina, double-checking. She sent him a quick nod assuring him.

"What time do rehearsals start?" Doc asked.

"As soon as she does a quick wardrobe fitting. They're just waiting for you to be done here," Tina informed.

"Okay, well we're done for now. I'll be here all day and I'll check your foot again a little later." Doc stood. "I'll get out of the way, so you can do what you need to."

"Okay. Thanks for everything Doc," Maddie whispered.

"No problem Shorty," he smiled before turning and walking to the door. Just as he was about to exit, he said, "Don't forget…no talking!" With that said he left, letting Maddie start her long day of dress rehearsals.

* * *

><p>At 8am Lori and Kono headed out in navy blue, HPD coveralls, that way they weren't getting their real clothes dirty. Right after they left four HPD officers came in each pushing a dolly. Each dolly held four, large boxes. "Commander McGarrett?"<p>

Steve's head shot up. "Yeah?" he asked, standing up straight and walking over to the first officer.

"You need to sign for these. Chain of Custody," the officer said, handing him a clipboard.

Steve already knew what was in the boxes, however it was obvious they didn't. He'd made sure to make it so nobody knew what the contents of the boxes were. He'd also been sure to keep the case and what exactly they were investigating confidential. He didn't want it getting out that there was an investigation surrounding Maddie. The press would have a field day with that and hound her, exactly the last thing she needed at the moment. Not to mention, Steve didn't want whoever was stalking her to know he was looking into things. He felt this was the only advantage he had over her stalker right now.

"Here ya go," Steve said, handing back the signed papers.

"Then these are all yours. Where do you want them?"

Steve looked around the room. "Why don't you stack them over there." He pointed to the corner of the room, not far from his office and the round table he was planning on using to go thru the contents.

"Okay, sounds good." The first officer pushed his dolly over to the corner and began unloading his four boxes. Once he was done the next one did it, and so on. "We'll be back shortly. We gotta go grab the rest."

"There's more than this?" Danny questioned, finally speaking up from his spot at the smart table. "Are you kidding me?"

"Oh yeah, there's a lot more," the officer answered, a small smirk on his face as he looked back over his shoulder at them before continuing on his way out.

"This is gonna take forever. I mean months. Months, Steven, months!" Danny mumbled, hating his job at the moment.

"It better not take months," Steve mumbled. He wanted to catch this guy and fast.

Fifteen minutes later, all the boxes had been delivered and were neatly stacked on the other side of the room.

"I wanna get started on this fan mail. Maybe we'll find something and be able to come back to this footage once we have more to go on," Steve stated. He walked over to the large round table near the boxes. Wasting no time he grabbed a box, set it in the middle of the table and pulled the top off. Sitting down, he slid on a pair of gloves before reaching in and pulling out some of Maddie's fan mail. Danny joined his partner mirroring his actions.

The two sat in silence for the next ten minutes as they began reading some of the mail from the first box.

"Tell me we don't have to go through all those," Chin remarked as he entered the room.

"Take a seat babe," Danny said as he motioned to the seat beside him.

Chin slipped on a pair of gloves and pulled out a handful of letters from the box before taking a seat. He looked over at Steve noticing how focused he was. "So, McGarrett," he began. "Have you heard from Maddie?"

"Um…" Steve said, never looking up as he pretended to think about it, like it wasn't a big deal if he spoke to her or not. Something that couldn't be further from the truth. "No, I guess not," he casually said, acting as if it wasn't completely driving him insane. His tone and the fact he didn't even bother to make eye contact with either co-worker told them he wasn't up for talking about it.

Danny and Chin glanced at one another, sympathetic looks on their faces as they slightly shook their heads. Although Steve was hiding it, they knew he was upset and worried.

* * *

><p>At 9:30am, Kono and Lori burst into Five-0. "We found something!" Kono yelled triumphantly.<p>

Steve's head flew up as he looked in their direction. "What'd you find?!" he questioned, standing up and walking to meet them. However, as soon as he reached them, he made a face and took a step back, his hand coming up to his nose.

"Hey! None of that! Do you know what we had to go through to find this?!" Kono announced.

"Yeah babe, cause we can smell it," Danny retorted, having approached them as well.

"Ok, enough," Steve snapped, not in the mood for any banter. He just wanted to find whoever was bothering Maddie. "What did you find?"

"We found the two laptops," Lori answered. She was hoping this would win her some points and Steve would begin to pay a little more attention to her. The last couple days he'd been so preoccupied worrying about Maddie that he had barely acknowledged her.

"Great! Let's get them to Charlie and hope he can pull prints," Steve instructed.

"Sure thing Boss," Kono replied as she and Lori began to walk in the direction of the Crime Lab.

"You know what? Chin, why don't you go ahead and take those to Charlie. Kono and Lori, why don't you go to the locker room and get cleaned up." Steve said nothing further as he turned on his heels and walked back to the table. He sat down and immediately dug back into the fan mail.

After all their hard work and dumpster diving the least he could have done was tell them they did a good job. Kono and Lori sighed as they headed off to shower in the locker room while Chin took the laptops and left for the lab and Danny returned to the table. He waited a minute, trying to find the right thing to say. However, he eventually gave up knowing that no matter what or how he said it Steve was going to, well, be Steve.

"Steven," he began.

Steve inwardly groaned, knowing that some sort of lecture or rant was coming by the sound of his voice. "Daniel," he responded without looking up from the current letter he was reading, his tone mocking.

"Wanna talk about it?"

"Talk about what?" Steve asked, feigning ignorance.

"Come on, don't play dumb. You know exactly what I'm talking about."

"If I did I would admit it, that way this conversation would be ending sooner rather than later," Steve said as he continued to read the letter in his hand.

Danny nodded angrily, annoyed at his partner. "When was the last time you called her?"

"I'm going to need a little more information before I can answer your question," he replied. He was doing his best to avoid talking about Maddie with not only his team, but Danny. It just wasn't their business and, to be honest, he'd had enough of their lectures and input. He knew he'd screwed up royally and didn't need anyone else to point it out.

"Damn it Steven! Stop playing dumb," Danny exclaimed. For the first time since the conversation started Steve looked up at his partner, giving him a blank stare. "Maddie! Maddie!" Danny yelled, extremely frustrated. "When was the last time you called MADDIE?"

"I don't know," he lied. He had tried to call her on his way to work, but, big surprise, he'd gotten her voicemail.

"So then, she still hasn't been home?" Danny asked, trying to get Steve to open up.

"Nope," Steve answered as he reached into the box and pulled out a new envelope. He opened it before carefully removing the letter.

Danny had had enough. "You know, I get that you're in Navy Seal mode wanting to catch whoever is messing with the love of your life, but it's time you realize you're not in this alone. We've all been doing everything we can to help you. In fact, two members of your team have spent two days sifting through dumpsters…for you. In fact, they're the only ones who finally found something and you can't even thank them?"

"She's my friend. Not the love of my life," Steve responded.

"Is that all you got from what I just said?!" Danny exclaimed, beyond annoyed. "And, by the way, wasn't it a similar statement that now has Maddie not wanting to talk to you or see you? Wake up Steve!" Furious with his partner, Danny stood and walked towards the elevators, needing some space.

Now alone, Steve rested his forehead on his hand. He sighed loudly, closing his eyes. Danny was right; of course he'd never admit that. He'd been an asshole, difficult to work with, and it wasn't just because he wanted this guy. He was distracted at every moment of the day, unable to think of anything or anyone besides Maddie. He was absolutely terrified he'd screwed things up for good this time and he didn't know how to fix it, especially when she wouldn't answer her phone or call him back. Besides that he was just really worried about her. The pictures and video Gracie had taken the day before showed she wasn't doing well. Things weren't like they were when he was with her at her house. There he had control over the situation, well mostly. But now, he had none. He had no idea how she was doing. If she was getting any rest. If she was eating or drinking enough water. Steve needed to be with her and every minute that passed that he wasn't was driving him crazy. He couldn't get her off his mind, which scared the hell out of him. He'd never let anyone get to him like this.

His thoughts were interrupted by Chin, who had just returned from dropping the laptops off with Charlie. He sat and picked up where he left off. "Where's Danny?" he asked.

"He'll be back soon," Steve replied as he pulled another letter from the box.

It was obvious to Chin that he wasn't in a talkative mood. He hadn't been the last few days. He knew his boss was too worried about Maddie, plus he knew something had happened between them. He figured Steve had screwed up again. Chin decided it was better to just leave him be, so he focused on the boxes of the thousands of letters they needed to read.

* * *

><p>At 10am Maddie, her band, and her dancers were rehearsing the first few numbers, wanting to make sure the changes were okay before they began running the entire show in full costume. Because they were not new songs, Tina, Pete and four other members of her security team (Mo, Carl, Frank, and Jared) were in the arena watching. Although they were focused on Maddie, they were also glancing around making sure nothing was out of the ordinary or out of place. The crew, bodyguards, and basically everyone that wasn't on the actual stage performing, wore headsets so they were able to communicate with one another over the loud music and screaming fans during a show.<p>

For the opening of the show Maddie was lowered from the ceiling on a flat, circular device (kind of like a "flying circle") as she sang the beginning of the first song. It was kind of like a small, circular, mini stage in the air. Right before she sang the second verse, she would jump off the "flying circle" and down onto the stage from a significant height. For safety reasons she was in a harness attached to two wires, one on each side of it. During this part of the song, crewmembers were controlling the "flying circle" and her wires. When she jumped down to the stage she was actually being lowered at the same time. This way she couldn't get hurt.

The beginning of the show always made her security team nervous, Pete in particular. In fact, he insisted on always checking the harnesses she would be wearing (there were numerous times during the show that she was in one) before every show, making sure they were safe and secure. He'd done that on Sunday when they'd first arrived at the venue. In every city he and the rest of the team, many of them Navy Seals, would look over the stage, making sure everything was safe and that there was no way she, or anyone else, could get hurt. Basically they would make sure everything was set up properly and nothing had been tampered with.

Maddie was in her harness up in the rafters getting situated on the "flying circle" while the band began playing the show's intro music. Pete stood near the stage, his eyes trained on the specific area of the ceiling where she would be lowered from. Because she wasn't supposed to be singing, Trent, her head sound engineer on tour, had her vocal track playing so she could lip-sync. She never did this live, but for these rehearsals it was necessary. For everyone to rehearse they needed to hear the vocals, but because Maddie was under strict orders not to use her voice, this would have to do. However, she made it very clear that no matter what the state of her voice was, she would be singing live for the show the following day. She had told them that she'd rather sound like crap than lip-sync.

The song began and Maddie's vocals started to play, although she was not visible yet.

**Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh!  
>Caught in a bad romance<br>Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh!  
>Caught in a bad romance<strong>

**Rah-rah-ah-ah-ah-ah!  
>Roma-roma-mamaa!<br>Ga-ga-ooh-la-la!  
>Want your bad romance<br>**

Members of her crew had been slowly lowering her down while she mouthed the words to the song. As she continued to "sing" she could suddenly be seen standing in the middle of the circle incredibly high above the stage.

**Rah-rah-ah-ah-ah-ah!  
>Roma-roma-mamaa!<br>Ga-ga-ooh-la-la!  
>Want your bad romance<strong>

Her stage was massive. Coming off the main stage (Stage 1) was a long walkway, or catwalk. At the end of it was a large, rectangular stage (Stage 2). She had designed it this way so she could get closer and interact with fans who didn't have super close seats. The circle started off being lowered above Stage 1, but as it reached a certain height it stopped lowering and instead began moving forward. Once it was over Stage 2 it stopped moving all together and stayed suspended high in the air.

Maddie went into the first verse of the song, moving to the song, but not to the extent she would live. Because she was so exhausted, she didn't give it her complete all, knowing she needed to save as much energy as possible whenever she could. After all, it was only the start of the day and they'd be running through the full show all day, over and over again, until they ran out of time. Just thinking about it made her feel as if she was going to pass out.

**I want your ugly  
>I want your disease<br>I want your everything  
>As long as it's free<br>I want your love  
>(Love-love-love I want your love)<strong>

**I want your drama**  
><strong>The touch of your hand<strong>  
><strong>I want your leather-studded kiss in the sand<strong>  
><strong>I want your love<strong>  
><strong>Love-love-love<strong>  
><strong>I want your love<strong>  
><strong>(Love-love-love I want your love)<strong>

While she was "singing" and performing on the flying stage, it came to a complete stop above Stage 2. Her sixteen dancers were in their positions, spread out as they performed the song's choreography. Eight of the dancers, including Ryan, were on the second stage, while the circle Maddie was on was far above them. The other eight were spread out on the main stage (Stage 1) and the catwalk that connected the two together.

**You know that I want you  
>And you know that I need you<br>I want it bad, your bad romance**

As the song went into the first full chorus, Pete and Tina noticed the change in the choreography. "Wow, that's much more complicated! It looks amazing!" Tina said to him, having to yell to make sure he could hear her over the music.

"Yeah, it does," he replied, his eyes never once leaving Maddie.

**I want your love and  
>I want your revenge<br>You and me could write a bad romance  
>(Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh!)<br>I want your love and  
>All your lovers' revenge<br>You and me could write a bad romance  
><strong>

Joey, Hunter, and Cooper were the three crewmembers who controlled Maddie's wires as they sat on a flat area that had been built in the rafters and scaffolding above the stage. Technically it was part of the stage. They also kept an eye on everything to make sure it was all running properly. That there were no problems. Along with Billy (one of Maddie's bodyguards), they made sure Maddie was safe at all times, including when she was up there with them while she was strapped in her harness and climbing onto the flying stage as she waited for the show to begin and to make her entrance. While they were in charge of her during this song (and the other times she was hooked up to her harness and wires), two other crewmembers were in charge of controlling the actual small, circular, flat, flying stage.

Maddie continued "singing" and performing, still high above the stage. Suddenly in his headset Pete heard Joey asking Hunter something. He wasn't able to completely understand what he asked, but he didn't have to wonder long when Joey said, "Pete, something looks weird with her wires and harness."

**Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh!  
>Caught in a bad romance<br>Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh!  
>Caught in a bad romance<strong>

**Rah-rah-ah-ah-ah-ah!  
>Roma-roma-mamaa!<br>Ga-ga-ooh-la-la!  
>Want your bad romance<strong>

Pete didn't wait to respond or ask questions. Instead, he panicked and jumped up on the stage. Since she had just finished the chorus, he knew she was about to jump off the circle, relying solely on the wires to keep her from either seriously hurting or killing herself.

Seeing Pete jump on stage, Lyle yelled, "Stop!" in the microphone he was holding and the band immediately ceased playing. He knew Pete wouldn't do that unless something was wrong.

Mere seconds before the band stopped playing Maddie jumped and the cables locked on her. Her body whipped back at the abrupt stop causing pain to course through her body. "Ow," she whispered, forgetting her mic was on. The way she was jerked caused intense pain in her tailbone. In fact, it felt similar to how it did when she'd fallen and injured it.

"You okay Maddie?" Pete yelled up to her from his spot directly below.

"Yeah," she replied, looking around and realizing how incredibly high off the ground she was. However, before she could really process it, one of the wires attached to her suddenly snapped. "Woah!" she exclaimed as she dangled from the one wire causing her to hang on her side and halfway upside down.

With his eyes glued to her and his heart pounding, Pete stood below her. "Get it moving, NOW! I want her down!" he bellowed angrily. Mo, Carl, and Frank hopped on stage and ran over to Pete deciding they better stand with him just in case the other wire broke and Maddie came plummeting down.

"It's stuck! I don't know what's going on!" Joey cried into his headset, his voice beginning to panic.

"I don't care how you do it, just get her down!" Pete roared. "NOWWW!"

Maddie's eyebrows furrowed at Pete's words and tone. She couldn't remember ever hearing him so angry. _He's really freaked out from the roller-skates incident and now this_, she thought. "P, I'm okay. It's all right. They'll get me down," she said into her mic, hoping to calm him down. For some reason she wasn't panicking or scared, just a bit nervous. Mostly she was uncomfortable as she dangled slightly upside down and on her side. When she was right side up the harness wasn't very comfortable, so being stuck in this crazy position was a lot worse. The straps were pinching and pushing against her thighs, butt, waist, etc. The area that was the most uncomfortable was around her crotch. Even though these were custom harnesses, they still felt like they were made for a man. The pain in her tailbone was still excruciating, however she was thankful it had dissipated some.

Knowing something had to be done, the four men up in the scaffolding sprang into action, coming up with a plan, High above the stage Billy harnessed up and Joey, Hunter, and Cooper began slowly lowering him down to Maddie. "Hey Mads," he greeted as he reached her.

"Hey Billy," she smiled, from her awkward position.

"I'm gonna help straighten you out. Grab on to me and don't let go."

"Okay," Maddie whispered, as she reached her left hand out to him. Once Billy began pulling her so she was right side up she was able to grab him with her right hand.

"All right, now I'm gonna take you down, but that involves unhooking your harness from the wire. So, this is how we're gonna do it. Wrap your legs around my waist."

"You know, normally a guy has to at least buy me dinner before we go there. Quite a few dinners actually," Maddie quipped, hoping to ease some of the tension and that it would let Pete know she really was okay. Although there were probably a hundred crewmembers down below, it was so silent you could hear a pin drop.

Laughter erupted from the arena at her comment. "Good to know. I'll keep that in mind," Billy chuckled. "Okay, wrap your legs around my waist." Maddie did as she was told and Billy wrapped his strong, toned arms around her, holding her tightly to his body. "Now, use your left hand and unhook that wire." He felt her hesitate, afraid to let go of him in case she fell. "It's okay, I got you. I'm not gonna let you fall. Do you know what would happen to me? Steve would murder me! Actually he'd do something far worse…I don't even want to think about it."

"He's really not scary. He's a big teddy bear," Maddie responded, never understanding why she'd hear them say things like that about Steve. Billy laughed at her response, knowing Steve was only that way with her because he was head over heels in love with her.

Slowly Maddie used her left hand and unhooked her harness from the remaining wire before quickly wrapping her arm back around Billy.

"Hello Madeline. My name is Billy and I'll be your ride for this evening," Billy joked, earning him a giggle and an eye roll. "Okay guys I got her, lower us down," he yelled up to Joey, Hunter, and Cooper. They immediately began lowering him, however they also were ready in case his locked up too. If that happened they could manually override and lower him themselves. Thankfully, that didn't happen.

As Billy's feet touched the stage floor, everyone began clapping and cheering. Maddie let go of him and stood up only to immediately be approached by Pete. "You okay? Are you hurt?" he asked, spinning her around to get a good look at her. He inspected her up and down making sure she wasn't injured.

Now that she was no longer stuck dangling hundreds of feet in the air, she noticed her heart was racing and she was shaky. She quickly realized that she had been scared, terrified in fact, but the adrenaline coursing through her veins had kept her from feeling it. Now that she was down, she felt the fear within her increase. "I'm just fine Pete. Completely unharmed," Maddie smiled, reaching forward and giving him a hug. She didn't realize how tightly she was holding on to him, but it definitely didn't go unnoticed by him. _That scared her_, he thought. _She's rattled._ Her heart was pounding and her breathing was rushed as she hid her face in his shoulder. Suddenly she realized how quiet the arena was although she knew it was filled with people. Maddie took a few deep breaths hoping to help calm herself down before she raised her head and looked around. Immediately she realized everyone was staring. Embarrassed, she pulled away from Pete and joked, "What's a rehearsal without a little excitement?!" Everyone laughed and one by one they returned to their individual tasks now that they knew Maddie was safe and unharmed.

"Maddie, are you okay? What the hell happened?" Lyle questioned as he approached her. It was obvious he was freaked out by his wide eyes and serious demeanor.

"Yeah, I'm okay," Maddie answered, forcing a smile. "I'm not really sure what happened." But that was a lie; she knew exactly what had happened. However, she was really hoping and praying she was wrong.

"Why don't we take a break while we figure everything out," Lyle stated. Maddie nodded, anxious to get back to her dressing room. She definitely needed a few minutes to herself to process everything and calm her racing heart and shaking body.

Lyle picked up his microphone and announced, "We are going to take a break. We'll notify you when we are ready to resume rehearsal, so please don't leave the premises. Stay here at the arena. Thank you!"

Pete and Mo flanked Maddie as she turned and walked down the walkway to the main stage (Stage 1) before exiting upstage. Although he was looking around, making sure everything was safe and no one out of the ordinary was hanging around, Pete also kept his eyes on Maddie. He knew her well enough to know that she hated people worrying and fussing over her. He wanted to be sure that she was actually okay and not just saying it. As they headed to her dressing room he took in her appearance and behavior. He noticed she was trying to steady her breathing, which made him think her heart had to be pounding. He also picked up on the fact her hands were shaking. She kept bringing her fingers in to make a fist and then would let them back out. However, the biggest thing he noticed was that her eyes were darting every which way, as if she was afraid someone or something was going to pop out at her. If he hadn't already known that she knew something about whatever was going on, he did now. The question was, what did she know and how much? And how were they going to convince her to tell them? Pete sighed, wishing she'd confide in him.

Seeing how rattled she was, he stepped closer to her and laid his hand on her lower back. Maddie turned her head and flashed him a small, appreciative smile before leaning into him a bit.

As they reached the dressing room, Mo stayed at the door while Pete and Maddie went inside. Just before the door shut behind them Pete turned to Mo and instructed, "Keep your eyes open. I don't know what the hell is going on, but I'm really hoping that was just a malfunction."

"Sure thing," Mo nodded.

Pete walked into the dressing room to see Maddie already sitting on the couch staring off into space completely lost in thought. "Hey Mads," he softly said as he sat down on the coffee table in front of her. He waited for her to focus her attention on him before continuing. He braced himself for what he knew would be a poor reaction. "It's time to call Steve."

Maddie's eyes widened and immediately said, "No. That's unnecessary!"

"Are you kidding me? Do I need to remind you about what just happened?" he cried in disbelief. "Or what happened the other night?!"

"No! I remember! Trust me!" she replied, reaching behind her and lightly touching her injured tailbone.

"We need to call him. He needs to know what's going on," Pete told her, changing to an even, calm tone. It was obvious that yelling and raising his voice would get him nowhere with her right now.

"No. I told you I'd tell him after the show on Wednesday. Plus, we don't know that someone sabotaged the wires. It could've just happened. I mean maybe they're just worn out. I've been performing this show for over four months now."

"Fine, I"ll go look and see if someone tampered with them." Pete turned and headed towards the exit. "I'll be right back." Standing at the door he looked back behind his shoulder meeting her eyes. Giving her an extremely serious look he ordered, "Do not go anywhere. Stay here in this room. In fact, why don't you lie down and try and get some rest or something. Just relax and I'll be right back." He opened the door and began walking out when the sound of her voice stopped him.

"Pete?" Once Maddie had his attention she continued. "Promise you won't call Steve while you're gone."

He sighed, thinking her request over. Finally he said, "Okay, I promise I won't call him while I'm gone, but I'm not promising I won't call him at all." He didn't even wait for her response before he rushed out, heading in the direction of the stage.

Maddie's face fell and her heart began pounding harder at his answer. _Well, at least he's not going to do it right now, which gives me time to figure out how to convince him not to call Steve at all_, she thought.

* * *

><p>Ten minutes later Maddie's dressing room door flew open and Pete walked inside. She jumped, startled.<p>

"We're calling Steve," Pete informed her, his tone serious, while walking to the couch. Once again, he sat on the edge of the coffee table in front of her.

"What? Why?" Maddie questioned, panic in her voice, as she sat up.

"It wasn't an accident Mads," Pete stated. "I don't like that someone has gotten in here twice while you're entire security team has been here. Steve needs to know what's going on. I'm sorry, but he does."

"There's no way whoever did this did it while you were here. It had to have been done before we ever got here on Sunday!" she cried, hoping to keep Pete from making the call.

"I don't know. But I don't really want to take the chance. I'd rather assume it's happened while we've been here. I'd rather be safe than sorry!"

"Please don't do this Pete. Please," she begged, her voice quiet.

"Maddie…" Pete paused, searching for words. He knew no matter what he said, she would still say no. Finally he decided he just needed to do it no matter what she wanted. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone.

Seeing this Maddie immediately felt as if the walls were closing in on her. Her breathing began to quicken as panic set in. "Pete…don't. Don't call him! Please!" she cried as she began to slightly gasp for air.

"I'm sorry. I have to do this. I care about you too much to see something happen to you. He needs to know what's going on." Pete unlocked his iPhone and pressed the 'phone' icon.

"Pete." Maddie sharply inhaled a breath as tears began streaming down her face. "Don't call him."

He looked up and the sight of her broke his heart. "Maddie, why are you so upset?"

"I can't see him yet. I'm just not ready."

"What do you mean? You're gonna see him tomorrow. What's the difference?" Pete asked.

Her back and shoulders began shaking as what started off as just tears falling down her face turned into actual crying. "If you call him now and tell him what happened, you know he'll come. He'll act all concerned…like he cares and it'll just hurt too much."

"Maddie…he does care. I promise you he didn't mean what he said. I guarantee he only said it because he freaked out. Carl put him on the spot. Mads, deep down you know I'm right. You know that's what happened."

"No…it wasn't the first time he said something like that since I've been home. I mean, you heard him…he said he cares about me like a sister. And we made out only for him to go hook up with Lori right after. And then…try and make out with me again after he got back."

"He did?!" Pete asked, shocked. He hadn't heard that part.

"Yes, and at the barbeque he'd flirt with Lori and then with me and then with Lori. Then that night he basically admitted he has feelings for me and kissed me. But the next morning…" Maddie inhaled a shaky breath as a few sobs wracked her body.

Pete was happy she was finally talking to him about it. Holding in her feelings wasn't good for her. He knew she needed to get it out and have a big cry. Tina was right she was really hurting. She had it all wrong, but just like Tina, he didn't blame her for thinking what she did. "Mads," he began, only for her to interrupt him.

"I guess he was just trying to get me to not be upset with him anymore. That that's why he said what he did Saturday night. That that's why he kissed me. It was all just a mean joke. You heard him…the idea of us together is absurd and hilarious. That just the thought of me in that way was disgusting."

Pete's heart sunk. "That could not be further from the truth Maddie. You know, I think it's important we call him, not just because of what just happened, but because you guys need to talk about this."

Maddie cried harder. "No Pete. I can't talk to him about this. I already feel so stupid."

"So, then what are you going to do? Not ever talk about it with him?" he asked, confused.

"Yeah. There isn't any point. I know how he feels. We don't need to make it worse and more awkward by addressing it. I just want to pretend like nothing ever happened," she admitted to him.

"Maddie, no! You have to talk to him. You really don't know how he feels. I know that's how this seems, but you have it all wrong. I promise you that," Pete tried to tell her.

"Let it go P. It is what it is…just, don't call him. Please!" Maddie begged, tears running down her face.

He knew he should call him, but the look of pure devastation and sadness on her face was getting to him. "Maddie…you told me you'd tell Steve Wednesday night. When you do he's going to freak out on me for not filling him in."

"No, I'll make sure he knows it was me! I promise! Please Pete…I swear I'll tell him everything tomorrow night."

Pete was quiet for a minute, trying to decide what he was going to do. He sighed, finally coming to a decision. "Fine Mads. I won't call him," he mumbled, going against his better judgment. Sniffling and hiccupping, a small, relieved smile shone on her face through her tears. "Wait! Before you get too happy…I have a condition." He paused before continuing. "I'm going to call Chin and fill him in on what happened."

Maddie's eyes widened at his statement. "But what if he tells Steve?1"

"I'll tell him not to. I mean he obviously didn't tell him what happened the other night because if he had Steve would've already been here."

_He's right_, she thought. "Fine," she mumbled, agreeing to his condition.

"Okay, well I'm gonna go call Chin and look over the stage and make sure nothing else has been tampered with. I'm going to leave Mo and Jared with you. Why don't you try and get some rest before you have to start rehearsing again? I'll turn the TV on and you can just relax," Pete suggested.

Maddie managed a small, sad smile as she wiped some stray tears from her face. She pulled her Nike grey and teal tennis shoes from her feet before laying her legs on the couch. Pete grabbed a soft pillow from the bed in the other room and placed it on the couch to her left. As she laid her head on it, Pete brushed away some strands of hair that had gotten stuck to her tear streaked face. He grabbed the remote and turned the TV on and began flipping through the channels looking for something she'd like.

"Don't worry about the TV Pete. It's okay," Maddie mumbled.

"No, it'll help distract you from everything. From what just happened and from Steve. Just try and relax." He finally settled on a station he knew she'd like and then placed the remote next to her hand. "Before I go I'm just gonna put the brace on you." Pete immediately walked into the adjoining room and grabbed the tank and brace.

"Do you have to?" she groaned as she hiccupped and sniffled, occasional tears still falling from her gorgeous blue eyes.

"Yes," he replied, kneeling next to the couch as he strapped her knee into the cold brace. He quickly grabbed some ice water from the kitchen and dumped it in the tank. Maddie immediately shivered, something Pete noticed. He hurried into the other room and grabbed her blanket. "Here ya go Shorty," he said as he covered her with it. "Okay, I'll see you soon. I'm going to send Mo in." As an afterthought he grabbed her cell phone and set it next to her, just like he had done the night before. "Why don't you try calling him? Just talk to him."

"Nah, I'm good. I'll see him tomorrow," she murmured.

Suddenly Pete knew how to get her to call Steve. _Why didn't I think of it sooner?_ he wondered, annoyed with himself. "If you plan on acting like you're not upset and things are fine between you guys, then you might want to call him."

Maddie furrowed her eyebrows, as she thought about what he was saying.

"By ignoring his calls you're giving the impression that you're upset," Pete said, inwardly grinning, knowing he had finally found a way to get her to reach out to Steve. "Anyway, think about it." With that said Pete walked towards the door. With his hand on the knob he turned to look at her one more time, worry filling him at the sight of her so sad and despondent as she wiped away the remnants of her tears. Sighing, he turned back around and exited.

"Have Jared come take your place and then why don't you go in there and keep her company," Pete said to Mo.

"Sure thing!" Mo smiled before calling for Jared in the small mic at the base of his sleeve.

As he did this Pete pulled his phone from his pocket as he headed for the main room. Finding Chin's number he dialed it and waited for him to pick up.

* * *

><p>Maddie laid on the couch mulling over what Pete had just said. As much as she hated to admit it, he had a point. Ignoring Steve's calls was sending a message that she was upset. And yes, she was, but she just wanted to pretend like everything was fine. She had no plan whatsoever of ever talking about what had happened with him. She had every intention of keeping her distance from him both physically and emotionally, but still act as normal as possible,<p>

She picked her phone up and suddenly her heart was racing, feeling as if it was going to fly right out of her chest. Maddie wiped her face once more, clearing it of any evidence she'd been crying, as she unlocked her iPhone and hit the 'Phone' icon. _You don't want him to know you've been crying_, she told herself. She went to her favorites folder, and seeing Steve's name at the top of the list she became incredibly nervous. "You can do this Mads," she whispered to herself. _Just keep it short. Be friendly, but not too friendly. Don't be mushy. Just tell him you're returning his calls and that you've just been incredibly busy, which you have. Don't sound mad and don't sound upset_, she thought. She hoped that giving herself guidelines would help her get through as she was about to press call, her dressing room door opened and in walked Mo.

"Hey Shorty! How ya doin? You okay? That harness jerked you back pretty hard," Mo asked, walking across the room and taking a seat in the big, comfortable arm chair next to the couch she was laying on.

"Yeah, I'm okay. Just my tailbone. It was already hurting, but that jerk…ooo that was painful! In fact, can I have a glass of milk? I'll take a pain pill with it."

"Sure thing Shorty," Mo replied. He stood up and made his way into the kitchen to do what she asked.

While he was getting her a glass of milk Maddie took a deep breath and whispered, "Well, here goes nothing." She quickly pressed call, however she chickened out and hung up before it rang even once. _Yeah, there's no way I can call him,_ she thought. She just wasn't there yet. She sat and thought things over for a second. _Since I can't call him, I'll shoot him a text._ She quickly opened their text conversation, well the texts he'd sent her over the last couple of days, all of which went unanswered.

It took Maddie longer than it should have to type the text. She'd finish it only to doubt herself, delete it, and start over. After doing this five times, she sighed heavily, annoyed with her behavior. _Stop over thinking this! It's just Steve!_ she told herself. However, he wasn't "just Steve" anymore. That was the problem. He was now the man she loved. The man who didn't feel the same.

Before she could over think her latest draft of the text she quickly hit send. She watched the screen as the little bar slowly filled showing the message was sending. Her heart was pounding so hard she could hear it in her ears as she wondered how long it would take for him to respond. _If he even responds_, she thought.

* * *

><p>Around 10:30am the entire Five-0 team sat at the big, round table going through Maddie's fan mail. So far they'd come across many different kinds of letters. Some were letting her know how much she'd inspired them or telling her how her music had gotten them through a very difficult time in their lives. There were the ones from people who literally thought they knew her. And there were the ones from people who were in love with Maddie. All the ones Steve seemed to open the last thirty minutes were all inappropriate. Dirty, to put it mildly. It was starting to get to him. He didn't like people talking about her like that or talking to her like that.<p>

With a frustrated sigh he opened a new letter and began reading. **…****when I see you I just want to throw you down and rip your clothes off before****…**Steve felt his blood boil at the rest of the message, refusing to read the last couple sentences. He didn't need to; he got the idea. He grunted angrily and discarded the letter into the bin next to him. That's what they were doing with all the ones that didn't pose any kind of threat or problem. However, he wanted to hunt the author of that last letter down and beat the crap out of him.

"I know, some of these are really disgusting," Kono said, picking up on Steve's anger. "Does she go through these on a regular basis?"

"No," Steve answered. "She has someone that helps her, a couple people actually. She does go through as many of them as she can whenever she can, but there's just too many for her to handle by herself. Plus, she's always so busy."

Lori eyed Steve, also noticing his anger at a lot of the fan mail. It was extremely obvious how protective he was of Maddie.

He wasn't the only one either; both Chin and Danny were getting upset by some of the letters they were reading.

Steve had just dug into another one, when a specific chime filled the room. Steve's heart immediately began to pound, knowing he'd just received a text from Maddie. He did his best to act completely normal as he pulled his phone from his belt and looked at the screen. He quickly read the message_._ **Got your messages. Sorry I haven't called ya back, just been REALLY busy. I don't know why you think I'm upset or what you keep apologizing for, but everything's fine! :o) Anyway, I'll see you tomorrow. Have a good day!**

_She's not upset?_ Steve wondered after rereading the message a few times. _Because she looked pretty upset on Sunday. _

Wanting to catch her while she was still with her phone, he quickly typed a message back. **Hey! So good to hear from you! How are you? How's the knee?**

He reread it numerous times, trying to decide if that's what he should respond with. Her text to him seemed emotionally distant, which concerned him. _Should I bring up what I said? _he wondered. _She said she doesn't know why I'm apologizing or why I think she's upset__…__should I tell her?_

Kono watched him stare at his phone, an unreadable expression on his face. "Everything okay Boss?" she asked, effectively pulling Steve from his thoughts.

"Oh, yeah. Everything's fine," he responded, quickly deciding to send the text. Setting his phone on the table next to him he picked up the fan letter he'd been reading.

He was doing his best to focus on the letter in his hands, but couldn't keep from glancing over at his phone every so often. He felt his stomach sink as minutes went by with no response back. Just as he thought she wasn't going to respond, his phone chimed again. _Wait a second before grabbing your phone_, he told himself, not wanting anyone to realize how anxious he was.

Slowly Steve picked his phone up with his left hand while continuing to hold the letter in his right. **Knee's not bad. No worries**, he read. He was filled with disappointment at the short message. It wasn't just the fact that it was short, but that it was incredibly distant. She didn't ask how he was or say she was happy to talk to him. However, he couldn't really blame her. He'd screwed up. But then again, she said she wasn't upset, that she had no idea why he thought she would be. _What's going on? _he wondered.

Setting the letter down he took his phone in both hands and began typing. He wasn't exactly sure what to say. He'd type something only to erase it right away, changing his mind. _Stop over thinking this Steve. Just say what you want to_, he told himself. **I thought you were going to come home every night. Baby, tell me you are actually sleeping and not staying up all night rehearsing****…****. **Steve quickly hit send and set his phone next to him on the table. He discarded the letter he'd read into the 'no threat' pile and grabbed a new one.

Although he was trying to act indifferent and normal, Danny and Chin had a feeling that whomever he was talking to had something to do with Maddie. They weren't sure exactly who he was texting with, but it was incredibly obvious by Steve's sudden behavior change that it definitely had to do with her.

Suddenly Chin's focus was pulled by his ringing cell phone. Quickly he grabbed it from his belt. His heart began to pound as his stomach clenched with fear at Pete's name on the screen. _Oh no, I hope nothing's happened. I hope she's okay_, he thought as he glanced over at Danny's interested face. He inconspicuously flashed the screen to him before answering. "Hello?" Chin said as he rose from his seat and began walking towards his office for privacy.

_Oh shit, please let Maddie be okay, _Danny thought as he watched Chin close his office door behind him. He looked at his partner knowing that if something happened to Maddie it would absolutely kill him.

As he continued to go through more fan mail Steve didn't seem to really notice that Chin had stepped away. Probably because while he read he was also casually and inconspicuously, well for the most part, glancing at his phone. He could see that Maddie was there. A little bubble would appear, letting him know she was typing something to him, but then it would suddenly disappear. A few seconds later it would reappear and then once again disappear. He watched it do this for five minutes. _What is going on? What's taking her so long? I mean it's a simple question_, he thought. _Unless__…__she isn't getting any sleep at all and doesn't want to tell me. _Steve really hoped that wasn't the case. Pete had promised him that he'd make sure she was taking care of herself and that included sleep.

Watching his phone the bubble stopped appearing, letting him know she was no longer typing. He waited to see if it showed up again, but it didn't. _What's going on? _he wondered. Knowing he could easily obsess about this all day, Steve returned his focus to the task at hand: going through Maddie's fan mail to hopefully find someone that seemed to be overly obsessed or have it out for her.

Danny had been subtly watching Chin on the phone in his office, trying to gauge what was going on by his body language. He unconsciously held his breath as he saw him hang up the phone and head back out to them. As Chin met his concerned eyes Danny's stomach sunk. _Something happened_, he thought, reading the tight, worried, and angry expression on his coworker's face.

With his back to Chin and his head bent as he read the next letter Steve didn't see his coworkers exchange. In fact, he even missed the bubble appearing in Maddie and his text message conversation. Hearing the chime he picked his phone up and anxiously read the next message. **It's just been easier to sleep here, that's all. **_Why'd that take so long to write?_ he wondered.

Seeing how distracted Steve was Chin figured it was a perfect time to excuse himself. Pete had briefly told him what had happened with the wires and he said he'd come over and process the scene. Chin didn't want them to lose any possible evidence because of what was going on with Maddie and Steve. If that happened, Steve would feel even guiltier. "I'm gonna run a quick errand real fast. I'll be back in an hour. Or two at the most."

Danny watched Steve stare at his phone, obviously not hearing Chin.

"Everything okay Cuz?" Kono asked, knowing he never ran errands in the middle of a case.

Kono's question pulled Steve's attention from his phone for a quick second.

"Yeah, everything's fine. Just have an errand," Chin replied.

_Weird_, Steve thought, however he didn't give it as much thought as he should have. If he had, he would have figured out what was going on, but he was too distracted by Maddie. Satisfied with his response, he said, "Okay. See you soon." With that said, his eyes returned to his iPhone screen. Seeing she was typing, he was completely unaware that his co-workers were watching him. Not only were they shocked that he didn't question Chin more about his "errand", but he wasn't a big texter. Just a quick text here or there. So, the fact that he was no longer working, but instead focused on a text conversation spoke volumes. Kono and Danny made eye contact, sharing a look of shock and disbelief, and a little intrigue as well, as Chin quickly left. He wanted to get out of there before Steve realized something was going on. If he did, he knew he'd be able to get it out of him and then all hell would break loose.

Steve didn't have to wait long for the next text to come through. **Anyway, I have to go. Have a good day! **Wanting to catch her before she disappeared, he quickly texted back. **Be safe! Don't push yourself too hard. I'll hopefully see you tonight. **

Knowing her as well as he did, he knew she wouldn't write back after that, so he returned his phone to his belt. He sighed as he picked up the last fan letter he'd been reading. The problem was, he kept having to re-read the letter over and over because he couldn't stop thinking about Maddie. However, he reminded himself that what he was doing was incredibly important. He was trying to keep her safe and if reading thousands and thousands of fan letters helped him find a suspect, he'd do it. Having absolutely no leads, this was too important a task to mess up and overlook something because he was distracted._ Focus Steve. Just focus. Don't worry about her. Pete's with her. You can't do anything to help her there. This is what you can do. Find whoever's after her, _he told himself as he threw all his attention into reading her fan mail. Although he was now focused, he still had an aching in the pit of his stomach.

* * *

><p>Maddie sat rereading his text messages from their conversation, her heart aching. <em>God, if texting him hurts this much, how the hell am I going to see him and be able to act like everything is fine? <em>she wondered. _How the hell did I get myself into this stupid mess? Why did I have to realize I love him? And why couldn't I just deal with it and not get upset when I saw him with Lori? Why did I have to test the waters and rub against him in the movie theatre? Now I know what it's like to kiss him. I know how it feels. How amazing and right it feels. How the world just seems to stop moving. _Maddie dropped her head into her good right hand as she thought back to their encounter in the theatre. _Great, now this is all I'm going to be able to think about._ She sighed. _I wish we could rehearse or something. I need something to distract me from thinking about him._

Her prayers were answered as George walked into her dressing room. "Why aren't you rehearsing?" he exclaimed.

"Didn't you hear? There was an incident on the stage," Mo explained.

"Yes, I know," he responded, looking at him as if it had been no big deal.

"She just needs a moment to herself. She could have been killed!" Mo said, his voice rising ever so slightly at the end, which surprised Maddie. Mo was a quiet, soft-spoken guy. Always had been. It was extremely rare to hear him like this.

"But she wasn't!" George replied. "Maddie, you can't afford to be sitting on your ass. There's too much to do. From the little bit I've seen so far, you're sloppy out there. Not to mention, you're last couple shows were…well, you should be embarrassed. You're better than that!"

"George," Mo said, his tone angry.

George ignored him and continued as Maddie just stared at him. "You're nowhere near ready for the show tomorrow. I mean, you haven't even started running the show in costume yet. How could you just be sitting around?"

"The stage is being looked over. She can't use it until Pete clears it," Mo growled.

George shook his head, irritated. "Of course! There goes Pete overreacting." He paused, thinking things over. "I'll clear a space in the main room of the arena for you and the dancers. You guys can keep going over the choreography there until Mr. Paranoid clears the stage, which WILL be soon!" George turned and hurried to the door before saying, "You have 5 minutes and then you better be out there rehearsing." With that said, he walked out, heading left down the hall, no doubt on his way to give Pete an earful.

Maddie began pulling on her sneakers when Mo approached her. "Why didn't you say something? Tell him to go to hell…or something! You've been rehearsing almost non stop for over 48 hours. Sitting on your ass? He is lucky I didn't clock him!" Mo said angrily.

"It's okay. He's right…my last few shows weren't as good as they should be. And I'm not nailing this choreography," Maddie whispered, trying to use her voice as little as possible.

Mo shook his head. "Maddie you're exhausted. That's why you aren't getting the choreography perfectly. If you'd just rest a little and then went back, it'd help."

She gave him a sad smile. "Sometimes the show is more important than anything. And this is one of those times." She sighed before continuing. "Anyway, I have the next two months to rest. What's another day and a half?" She stood and he followed her to the door. With her hand on the knob she turned and added, "Plus, I welcome the distraction. It's just what I need right now." Before he could respond Maddie opened the door, walked out into the hall, and headed in the direction of the main room with Mo close to her side. He shook his head at her statements. _If only Steve knew what he did. She's gonna work herself into the hospital to try and distract herself from what he did and said_, he thought. He cracked his knuckles wishing his Navy Seal brother was there so he could kick his ass.

* * *

><p>While Maddie was rehearsing in the arena's main room, Pete watched as Chin inspected the equipment in the stage rafters. They both stood on the flat platform that Joey, Hunter, and Cooper were stationed at at the beginning of the show.<p>

"God, I'm glad she's okay," Chin softly said as he began looking over the device that helped lower Maddie down. They had already looked at the wires that had been attached to her harness and bagged them. They could tell that something was used to wear down the one that broke. What? They weren't sure. Chin was going to need Charlie to look at it and let him know.

"You and me both," Pete sighed, his eyes briefly fluttering closed as he remembered the image of her being jerked through the air before one of the wires snapped

"How is she?"

"She's tired. And in a lot of pain. She's running herself into the ground. She's using these rehearsals as a distraction, hoping to forget what Steve said and did. She's really upset," Pete answered.

"What did he do anyways?" Chin asked as he continued looking everything over.

Pete sighed, shaking his head. Just recalling it made his blood boil. "When we were leaving the house on Sunday, Carl, in true Carl fashion, asked Steve if he and Maddie were together yet? He asked him if he'd realized that the two had never been just friends. Of course, he asked this in front of a group of people, including Maddie."

"Oh no," Chin mumbled. "Let me guess? He freaked out."

"Oh yeah! He said, 'You know we're just friends' and then laughed at the idea of them together before adding a 'I mean, seriously?' to the mix."

"Oh shit. No wonder he's been such a basket case. He screwed up big time!" Chin said, shaking his head.

"Yeah, it was bad."

"Well, what if we tell him what's going on. Maybe if he was here and talked to Mads, tried to fix things... Maybe it would help her," Chin suggested as he opened a piece of the device with his gloved hands. He wasn't seeing what had been tampered with on the outside, so he thought maybe it was on the inside.

"She's not gonna talk to him about it. In fact, she plans on acting as if everything is fine between them. I guess after the barbeque he kissed her and basically admitted to having feelings for her. So now, she thinks she can't trust him. That he was just playing a mean joke on her. She thinks he must think of her as some stupid joke."

Chin's jaw dropped realizing how bad things were, how bad Steve had screwed up this time. "Oh my God….Sounds like he might not be able to fix it this time," he said sadly. "Unfortunately, that couldn't be further from the truth. That isn't at all what he thinks or how he feels about it. The complete opposite actually."

"I know and we've tried to tell Maddie that, but she just won't listen."

"There's the problem," Chin said as he grabbed the camera sitting on the floor to his right. Picking it up he began taking photos of the tampered part of the device.

Pete squatted down wanting to see what Chin had discovered. "Oh man, someone really did a number on this."

"Do you have another one of these?" Chin asked, pointing to the entire device and not just the piece of it that had been messed with. "I want to take this whole thing back with me. Maybe by some miracle he left prints behind. However, I'm not holding my breath. The guy's too smart," Chin stated.

"Yeah, we do. And, what do you mean?" Pete asked.

Chin suddenly realized that he hadn't filled him in on the case so far. "Well, we traced the text message she received the other night to a man. We went over there on Sunday to question him, but it turns out his car was broken into and his phone was stolen."

"He's gotta be lying!" Pete exclaimed.

"No, unfortunately he isn't. He did file a police report and the phone was on the list of stolen items. Anyway, we've canvassed the area around where the car was stolen. It was in the middle of the day at lunchtime. The guy has some balls breaking into a car at that time. We've pulled camera footage from the area and nothing. Of course, we don't have any kind of clue what we're looking for. We've gone over the car numerous times with a fine-toothed comb and nothing. Kono and Lori canvassed the area looking for the stolen items yesterday and today. They finally found the two stolen laptops. They are being looked over right now. Danny and I pulled footage from traffic cameras around the arena hoping maybe to see something, but so far…nothing."

"Great!" Pete yelled sarcastically as he stood up. "Damn it! What the hell is going on?"

"Right now, the team is going through some of her fan mail, hoping to find something that maybe can point us in the direction of a suspect." Chin sighed as he bagged and tagged the piece of equipment. "I'll tell you that whoever this is…" He looked over at Pete, meeting his eyes. "It's bad. For him to have gotten away with everything and not be seen by one person…he's been planning this. He's meticulous. The worst kind of stalker."

"Ah, shit," Pete swore. "I ca-"

"Son of a bitch," Mo interrupted as he approached.

Pete quickly turned to look at him, worry filling him. "What? Is Maddie okay?"

"Well, if you call George coming in and freaking out on her for resting for a few minutes okay, then yes!"

"What?" Pete asked in disbelief.

"Yeah, he came in asking her why the hell she wasn't rehearsing. That what happened was no big deal. That she needed to get off her ass."

"Are you kidding me?" Chin interrupted, feeling protective of Maddie. He thought of her as a little sister.

"Oh yeah," Mo nodded. "He told her she was looking sloppy in her choreography and that she should be embarrassed by her last couple shows."

"Where is she now?" Pete asked, his face twitching in anger.

"She's in the main room rehearsing choreography with her dancers and Lyle. Billy's with her," Mo answered. "P, he's going to run her into the ground and she's gonna let him because she's trying to distract herself. I don't know how she's gonna make it to the show like this."

"I know. But she's upset! I've tried to tell her a million times Steve didn't mean what he said, but she won't listen. She's using this show as a distraction. All we can do is try and protect her as much as possible. Next time George does something like that call me. I'll handle him."

"And how exactly will you handle me?" George asked, coming up behind him.

"She's exhausted. If you want this show to…well HAPPEN, you're gonna have to back off a little. She needs to rest!" Pete angrily told him.

"She had no problem going out there and rehearsing. She didn't say a thing about needing rest," George smirked.

"You know that's not how she is when it comes to work. She throws herself into it, especially when she's upset about something. She's gonna rehearse herself right into the hospital and then you're gonna have NO show! You're supposed to be her tour manager. You're supposed to have her best interest at heart. Start acting like it!" Pete yelled as he did his best to keep from kicking his ass.

"I do have her best interest at heart. She has to get this show done if she wants that vacation time. You said she needs rest right?" George countered, a smart-ass smirk on his face.

"What's wrong with you? She's exhausted!" Chin spoke up from his spot near the railings. Hoping to find something, he'd been looking for prints around the path the stalker would have had to take to tamper with the equipment.

"Who are you?" George asked, a bored look on his face.

"A friend of Maddie's. A good friend."

"What are you doing?" he asked, referring to the printing dust he was trickling around the railing.

"I'm part of the Five-0 task force. I'm taking prints, hoping to find whoever screwed with the equipment," Chin explained.

"Well, hurry up. We need the stage for rehearsals. Pete, you have thirty minutes," George told him as he turned and headed back towards the stairs that led down behind the stage.

"We'll be done when we're done," Pete furiously retorted. "And she'll be breaking for lunch."

George ignored his last statements as he disappeared down the stairs.

"God he's a piece of work!" Mo grumbled.

"What the hell is wrong with that guy? Is he new?" Chin asked. "He was not part of the team the last time I saw Maddie live." He couldn't believe what an ass George was.

"Yeah, he is new this tour. Johnny, ya know, Maddie's manager? …Well, his wife has cancer and it's pretty bad. He usually tours with Mads a good chunk of the time, but just can't right now. Her usual tour manager had a sudden conflict and wasn't able to do this first leg of the tour, but hopefully he'll be available for the second leg. Anyway, George was a desperate hire. We needed someone and we needed someone fast. It's been a nightmare. It's making everything worse on the road. If Johnny was with her he wouldn't have let her run herself into the ground like this. But George…well, he doesn't give a shit. He encourages it. He considers it a fantastic work ethic."

"Wow," Chin said, letting what he'd just witnessed soak in. "If Steve heard him talk to Maddie like that or say anything like he just did…he would be a dead man."

"That's for sure," Pete smiled.

"Where to now?" Chin asked. "I gathered as many different prints as I could find. To be honest there wasn't much evidence here. The guy was definitely careful." He shook his head, not liking the situation. _God, I wish Mads would let us tell Steve what's going on__…__ It sounds like things are bad. She really needs him_, Chin thought.

Pete exhaled, disappointed. "Let's head down and look things over on Stage 1."

"Alright, sounds good. Lead the way."

* * *

><p>Pete, Mo, and Chin had closely and carefully inspected the entire stage, including Stage 1, 2, 3, and the catwalk. To their relief, they hadn't found anything else tampered with.<p>

"Well, this is good," Chin said. "It looks like he just screwed with her harness system. Of course, that's the most dangerous to mess with, but she's okay. That's the most important thing."

"Yeah definitely. I still have NO idea how someone got in here!" Pete grumbled. It was obvious that he was feeling extremely guilty, like he had failed his job.

"P, you don't know he got in here while we've been here. That was the first time she'd used that wire system since rehearsals started. It could've been messed with on Saturday night or early Sunday morning before we arrived," Mo said, hoping to help his friend and boss feel better.

"No, I looked that system over myself when we got here on Sunday." Pete shook his head, biting his bottom lip. "Everything was fine."

"Well, hopefully we have a print or evidence of some sort that can help us," Chin said. "Is there anywhere else on the stage we haven't looked?"

"Yeah, let's look over the area under Stage 2." Pete walked upstage towards backstage with Mo and Chin following him. Once they were backstage, Pete turned right and went down a small ramp which led underneath Stage 1. As the three men slowly walked under the catwalk heading towards the area underneath Stage 2, they studied and scanned their surroundings, making sure nothing else seemed out of place or messed with.

"What's this?" Chin asked as they came to a halt under Stage 2. He was looking at a device that looked similar to a stretcher that Paramedics would put sick and injured people on. However, it was attached to a track that ran from underneath Stage 2, under the catwalk and ended under Stage 1.

"There's not a lot of time for her to change and/or be at her next entrance in between songs. At times she leaves Stage 2 by being lowered down here, but then she's gotta get to her costume changing area under Stage 1 for her entrance on that stage…and she might have a minute and a half or two minutes to do all that. Most of the time less than that. So, to make it go as quick as possible, someone is waiting under here for her and buckles her into this." Pete pointed to the flat bed and straps. "She then gets launched along the track. Someone is waiting at the end of the track under Stage 1 and unstraps her and gets her into the changing area. It saves us a good twenty/thirty seconds, sometimes longer, which is HUGE for us," Pete explained.

"Wow, these shows are complicated. So many things I never would have thought about," Chin responded as he squatted down and began investigating the device. While he did that Pete and Mo began looking over the track.

"You have no idea," Pete mumbled.

"What the?" Mo whispered, catching both Chin and Pete's attention.

"What? What is it?" Pete asked, concern in his voice.

"See this?" Mo pointed to a specific part near the rails.

"Yeah," Pete said. However, he didn't need him to say anything else as he saw it too. "Damn it! They've been down here too! They screwed with it."

"Yep!"

"When was the last time anyone was down here?" Chin asked as he took some photos of the tampered piece.

"This morning," Mo responded.

"And it was okay?"

"Yeah. It was fine. I'm sure of it."

"Son of a bitch! How the hell did they get through security?!" Pete questioned, obviously upset and worried.

"I don't know. I honestly don't know how it's possible for someone to get past us. I mean you cover every possible risk. You're on top of everything," Mo told his boss. Seeing how guilty Pete felt and hoping to help ease that he said, "Pete it could have been a lot worse. If we hadn't caught this at least she would've been fine. So, she would have gotten stuck underneath the stage, but she would have been completely unharmed. Nothing life threatening. There are a ton of other things that could have been messed with that could have really hurt her and endangered her life. Just try and look at it like that."

As much as he didn't want to admit it, Mo was right. He also knew there wasn't much that could be done until after the show on Wednesday except to keep an even closer eye on Maddie and the arena. While Pete was quiet for minute, thinking everything through, Mo said, "I'm gonna go grab a new piece. This one is too damaged; we can't use it anymore. I'll be right back."

"Great! Thanks!" Pete called to him as he ran back towards Stage 1, disappearing as he walked up the ramp and into the backstage area.

Chin set the camera down next to him and began brushing the surrounding area with printing dust, hoping that the stalker had left a print. Various prints appeared and using his phone he took photos of them. "I'll have to get every member of the crew printed."

"When someone is hired I not only perform a thorough background check, but I get their fingerprints. So, they're already on file. I have them all on my laptop, so I'll send them over."

"Great! That saves a lot of time! I don't want to be gone too long. I told Steve I had an errand to run," Chin said as he began scouring the floor looking for any kind of evidence. Whether it was a fiber or dirt or…really anything. He wasn't picky.

"He bought that?" Pete asked, surprised.

"Yeah," Chin answered, chuckling slightly. "Actually, he was really distracted when I got your call. He was texting someone and it completely had his attention. Very out of character for him. I thought maybe it was you or Tina or something." A huge, triumphant smile broke out on Pete's face, knowing exactly who Steve had been talking to. "What?" Chin asked, seeing his sudden shit-eating grin.

"He was talking to Maddie," he answered, the smile still present.

"What? Really?" Chin asked, a smile appearing on his face as well. "Well, that's great!"

"Yeah, I mean…it's a start. It would have been better if she had actually wanted to do it."

"What do you mean?" Chin questioned, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"I was able to kind of trick her into it. I told her if she planned on pretending like everything was fine with them, then she might want to talk to him. I told her that by ignoring his calls and texts she was sending a message that she was upset."

Chin laughed. "Nice one!"

"Yeah," Pete smirked. "I don't know why I didn't think of it sooner."

"Well, hey, at least she reached out." Chin finished gathering everything he saw and returned to the tampered piece. With his gloved hands he unscrewed it. "Can you hold open that bag?" he asked Pete, nodding his head towards the bag in his case.

"Sure," he answered as he grabbed it and held it open. Carefully Chin placed the piece in it.

"Thanks," Chin said as he took the bag and wrote the needed information on the front before sealing it. "Alright well, everything else seems to be in working order," he stated as he packed up his equipment and began to stand.

"Thank you so much for coming and doing this," Pete smiled.

"No problem! If anything else happens, just give me a call," Chin said as the two began walking under the catwalk and back to Stage 1. As they approached the ramp leading up to the backstage area, Mo was coming down, the new piece in his hand.

"Heading out?" he asked Chin.

"Yeah, gotta get back before Steve starts to get suspicious."

Mo chucked. "I'm surprised you were able to leave without him figuring it out."

"Yeah, me too. But, it was perfect timing. He was too distracted."

"Well, good to see you. I'm gonna go replace this and make sure everything works." Mo reached out his hand and the two shook.

"Yeah, you too. I'll see you tomorrow!"

With that said Mo disappeared under the stage. Pete and Chin walked towards the door leading to the hallway, passing many crewmembers busy working on various things.

"I've never seen it this crazy back here before," Chin stated as they entered the hallway.

"Yeah, there's still so much left to do and so little time. We are in crunch time right now," Pete replied as they walked down the hallway. As they were passing Maddie's dressing room he looked to Jared outside the door, a questioning look on his face.

"No," Jared said, understanding what Pete was asking. "She's still rehearsing in the main room." Pete sighed, shaking his head.

"Are you gonna tell Maddie what we found?" Chin asked.

"No. There's no reason for her to know about this right now," Pete answered. "She's already struggling with everything, she doesn't need anything to upset or distract her further. And as much as she'll pretend it's no big deal, it'll scare her. Today's incident already rattled her. We don't need anything else to happen," Pete explained. "To be honest, I'm not telling anyone except the security team. I don't want to scare everyone. That's the last thing we need right now."

"I completely understand."

As they neared the entrance to the main room, Maddie's music could be heard. "I take it we're close to the main room," Chin joked, earning him a smile from Pete.

Walking into the room, they immediately saw Maddie and her dancers rehearsing in the same corner they'd shot the filler videos in. Chin and Pete watched her as they walked further inside.

"She looks tired," Chin stated.

"Yeah, she is." Pete sighed, his face filled with concern. "This show can't be done quick enough. I just hope she makes it through okay."

"If anyone can do this, it's Maddie," Chin tried to assure him, however he wasn't sure she'd be able to pull this off either. She was too rundown.

As the song ended, Maddie caught sight of them. She flashed Chin a small, tired smile as she waved slightly. She was just about to walk over and say hi when Lyle's voice stopped her.

"Mads, you're still not getting this part. Let's do it again," Lyle said, sounding irritated and tired.

Maddie flashed Chin an apologetic look before returning her attention to Lyle and the song.

"This is ridiculous," Pete whispered.

"It'll all be over soon," Chin told him. "Well, I gotta go, but don't hesitate to call if something else happens or if you need anything."

"Sounds good," Pete smiled, appreciative. "Here, I'll walk you out."

"No, you stay here with Maddie. Take care of her." The two friends shook hands before giving each other a brief 'man hug'.

"Later! See you tomorrow!" Pete said as Chin walked towards the exit, his hands full with the bagged evidence and his crime scene kit.

"Looking forward to it!" Chin called back as he exited the main room and headed to his car.

Now standing there alone, Pete glanced at his watch. Seeing it was a good time to break for lunch he walked towards Lyle to let him know the stage was safe.

* * *

><p>Even though the stage was deemed safe around noon, they didn't resume rehearsals until 12:30pm because of lunch. Maddie and her dancers finished going over the first three numbers of the show and then began dress rehearsals. The lights in the arena went out and all the stage lights came on. Every crewmember was in their designated spot ready to start the show while Maddie and her dancers changed into their first costumes. While her wardrobe team, and Tina, helped her into the first outfit Pete stayed close, not wanting her out of his sight.<p>

As the back of her black, skintight bodysuit was zipped up Maddie turned to Pete. "Hey P?"

"Yeah Shorty?"

"So, because we're running the whole show including the new songs, you'll have to step out when we are performing the new ones."

Pete's jaw clenched and anger flashed across his face. "No," he adamantly told her.

"Yes," Maddie countered, just as insistent and forceful.

"Maddie, how can I protect you if I'm not with you?" Pete questioned, doing his best to keep his volume in check. All he wanted to do was yell. He couldn't understand why she was being this way. Why she wouldn't let him just stay. Especially after the incident earlier.

"Pete, nothing that has happened would have killed me," Maddie told him, a stubborn look on her face.

Pete scoffed, rolling his eyes. He couldn't believe her right now. "What about your harness?" he asked, his voice rising a bit.

"One of the wires wasn't broken," she replied as if the incident hadn't scared the hell out of her.

"Almost!" he yelled, finally losing control over his temper. All he wanted to do was protect her and he didn't understand why she wasn't letting him.

Maddie chuckled. A dry, sarcastic chuckle. "You're completely overreacting!" she cried.

"You're under reacting!" he exclaimed.

"Pete, in the end, this is my decision. On the new songs, go stand outside the backstage door. The one you've been at while I've been rehearsing the last couple days. It's not that far and if I need you, I'll let you know. You only have to stand out there on the new songs. I promise! The rest of the show you can be here hovering and driving me insane."

"What is it about the new songs? Why can't I hear them?" Pete asked, finally questioning her about them.

"I just want them to be a surprise. I want you and everyone to be surprised," Maddie answered, a sweet smile on her face. In fact, Pete thought it was almost too sweet.

"You better not be up to anything Madeline. I'm serious! This isn't the time to be playing jokes onstage," he told her, remembering how Ryan and the band had asked her whether they were pulling pranks during this show. It had been a ritual for them since before he was hired. The last show became a silly, prank fest and this was technically the last show. At least for a while.

"Who said anything about pranks? I'm not up to anything! I just want everyone to hear the new material for the first time at the show. They're personal songs, okay." Pete shook his head slightly, not sure if he believed what she was saying. "We're gonna start the show in a minute. Go out there. You have the new set list right?"

"Yes," Pete growled, angry.

"Okay, perfect. So where there is the word 'New' in place of the song title, step outside," Maddie explained as she stepped into the opening number's harness and buckled it. Pete took a step forward and tightened it, making sure it hadn't been tampered with and that it was completely secure. Once he was done, she gave him a knowing look.

"Fine," he grumbled as he turned and headed towards his position. "Be careful!" he called over his shoulder. She smiled, knowing she was so lucky to have such a wonderful, trustworthy man watching her back. She knew it was his job, but she could tell that he genuinely cared a lot about her, that it wasn't just a job to him.

"Ready Mads?" Tina asked, pulling her from her thoughts.

"Yep," she answered, following Billy so they could get up to the scaffolding for the opening number.

* * *

><p>Before Chin could go up to Headquarters, he had to drop all the evidence he'd collected somewhere safe. It wasn't going to all fit in his locked drawer in his desk. Plus, he didn't know how he'd explain himself to Steve if he walked by him with his arms full of evidence bags. "Yeah, that's not gonna work," he whispered to himself.<p>

Knowing that his best bet was to take it to Charlie and tell him to just leave it until Thursday morning, telling no one about it, Chin went into the back door of the building and straight to the lab. This would insure he wouldn't run into Steve.

"Hey Charlie," he greeted.

"Hi Detective Kelly!" the young scientist replied. "Looks like you have some things for me," he said, eyeing the items in his hands.

"I do, but this is a secret. It's a long story…I'll explain it all later," Chin said. Quickly looking around he asked, "Is there anywhere safe you can put this stuff? But where it's not visible? I don't want anyone seeing it." Charlie stared at the detective for a minute, confusion and apprehension on his face. Seeing this Chin added, "Look there's nothing shady or illegal about this. It's just…Steve doesn't know about it yet. He'll find out about it late tomorrow night, so you can start working on it Thursday morning."

"Maddie?" Charlie asked, everything beginning to make sense.

"How'd you know?" Chin questioned, surprised.

"Kono was down here earlier checking to see if I'd gotten anything from the laptops. She told me a little bit about what's going on."

"Oh okay. Yeah, this involves Maddie."

"Is she okay?" Charlie asked.

"Yeah, she's okay."

Charlie took a step forward and took one of the evidence bags from Chin. "Follow me," he said, walking across the lab to a closed door. He opened it and walked into the room. Chin glanced around and suddenly realized they were in Charlie's office.

"Wow, I've never been in here before! Nice office!" Chin said, pleasantly surprised at how large and lush it was.

"Exactly why it's a great spot for the evidence! No one knows about my office!" Charlie laughed as he placed the bag he was holding onto his desk. "Why? I have NO idea, but it works in our favor right now."

"Great!" Chin said, following his lead and placing the evidence on the large desk. "I have another bag for you, but it's in my office. I can't get it to you now because Steve's upstairs. I'll bring it down the first chance I get."

"Okay, great!" Charlie smiled.

"By the way, do you have anything on the laptops yet?" Chin asked.

"Not yet." Charlie walked towards the office door. "Speaking of which, I better get back to it. I know how important this case is."

"Of course! Thanks for the help!" Chin followed him back out into the lab. "I'll see you later. Call when you have something!" he said before turning and walking the remaining distance to the door.

"Definitely!" Charlie replied. "Oh and Detective Kelly?" he called out, effectively stopping him before he exited the lab.

"Yeah?" Chin answered, turning back to look at him.

"Please let me know if there's anything I can do. Even if it's coming in in the middle of the night for something. Seriously, anything! This is important to me too," he said.

The serious look on his face caught Chin off guard. Charlie always had a smile on his face. He was a happy guy, no matter what was going on. To be honest, it was a breath of fresh air, especially in their occupation. So, to see him without a smile really rattled him for a second. "For sure Charlie. We really appreciate it!" With that said, Chin let the door close behind him as he turned right and walked down the hall. Coming upon the elevator he entered and pressed "3" for Five-0 Headquarters.

_What am I going to say if Steve asks where I've been?_ he wondered. Hearing the elevator 'ding' right before the doors opened he found himself wishing the ride hadn't been so short. He needed more time to figure out what he was going to say.

Taking a deep breath Chin exited the elevator and made his way down the hall. As he passed the team's offices, he noticed they were all empty. _They must all still be reading Maddie's fan mail_, he thought as he continued toward the heart of HQ. Entering the open space where the smart table and large round table were he spotted his team exactly where'd he'd left them two hours earlier.

"Hey Cuz! I was starting to worry!" Kono smiled, having been the first one to spot him. The rest of the team looked up at him as he approached the table and took his seat.

"Yeah, all good!" Chin answered, pulling on a new pair of black gloves.

From his spot on his left, Danny eyed him. He was dying to know what had happened with Maddie. However he knew she was okay. Although Chin was asked to keep what was going on from Steve, Danny knew that if Maddie wasn't okay he would let Steve know.

"Where'd you go?" Steve asked, no longer distracted by texting Maddie. Danny nervously looked between the two men, thankful he wasn't the one being asked the questions. In fact, he was thankful it hadn't been him that was called to help Maddie, not that he wouldn't have done it. It was hard enough knowing about it and keeping it from his partner; he couldn't imagine being the one to actually be in contact with her and not be able to tell Steve.

"Just a quick errand," Chin answered as he reached into the box they were working on and grabbed a letter.

Steve eyed him suspiciously. _Since when does Chin leave work in the middle of the day for an errand?_ he wondered. _Especially when we're in the middle of such an important case._ _What's going on?_ Wanting to know more he asked, "What kind of errand?"

Briefly meeting his boss' eyes he said, "Just a personal errand." Hoping that would be the end of the questions he returned his attention to the fan letter in his hands.

Steve unconsciously bit his bottom lip. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, no worries bra," Chin smiled although inside he was filled with guilt. _I can't believe I have to keep all this from him! Especially because it has to do with Maddie. God, he's gonna be furious with me when he finds out I knew_, he thought.

"Okay, well if there's anything I can do, please let me know," Steve told him.

Chin was surprised by his statement. It seemed Steve had slightly snapped out of his earlier mood. _Probably because he finally spoke to Maddie a little_, he thought. "I will. Thank you."

Knowing that Chin wasn't going to say anything more about his whereabouts, Steve returned his attention to the fan mail. In fact, they all did. The room was so quiet you could hear a small spider walk across the floor as they read letter after letter, hoping to find some sort of lead.

* * *

><p>At 3pm they'd completed one run through of the show and were halfway through the second. Pete was in his usual position next to the stage near Maddie as he watched her. Standing on the Stage 2, she "sang", really lip-syncing because of Doc's orders, one of the singles, "Firework", off her current album.<p>

**'Cause baby you're a firework**

As Maddie began to sing the second chorus sparks began to fly out of the device in the chest of her costume, appearing as if she had fireworks coming from her heart. It was designed to send them out and away from her, so that she wouldn't get lit on fire.. However, something went wrong. The device began to sputter and spew before it flamed out. Unfortunately, some of the sparks landed on her left arm, burning her. "Ow!" Maddie cried out. The band quit playing and her dancers stopped moving as they looked in her direction. The vocal track cut off as Pete jumped on stage.

"You okay?" he asked as he reached her.

"Yeah," she replied, her right hand to covering the area on the top of her left forearm that was burning. Maddie knew how tense and worried Pete already was, this was the last thing he needed now. She was afraid he was going to call Steve and she knew of course he'd immediately race over. It wasn't that she didn't want him there, she did. She just didn't feel she would be able to handle the hurt and effectively hide it from him. Not yet at least. She just wasn't ready to see him. She needed more time to figure out how exactly she was going to be able to act completely normal around him. It was hard enough texting him earlier, there was no way she was ready to see him. In fact, Maddie didn't think she'd be ready to see him tomorrow even though she knew she had no choice. Not if she wanted him to come to the show.

Noticing she was holding her arm, Pete used his flashlight to take a look as he pulled her right hand away. He tensed, immediately seeing the burn the sparks had left. "Doc needs to look at this. Come on!"

Pete wasn't taking no for an answer as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders and began walking her backstage, not giving her a chance to object. In fact, he didn't give her a chance to say or do anything.

Maddie said nothing during the walk to her dressing room. She was too lost in thought, questions flying through it. _I don't understand. He said he'd go after Steve if I saw him and so far Steve's been unharmed. At least that I know of. Why's he coming after me?_ she wondered. However the more she thought about it the happier she was that it was her and not Steve. _Nothing he's done has been life threatening. I can deal with a little pain, but I can't deal with something happening to Steve._

Maddie was so deep in thought that she hadn't realized they were back in her dressing room until she heard Doc's voice.

"What happened?" he asked as he took a seat on the edge of the coffee table in front of her.

As she snapped out of her reverie she glanced around, surprised to find she was sitting on the couch in her dressing room.

"Maddie? You okay? What hurts?" Doc asked, concern in his eyes over her lack of response as she sat holding her left arm.

"Something happened during 'Firework'. Sparks hit her, burning her arm," Pete divulged as he hovered near her.

Doc reached for her arm, but she wouldn't remove her right hand from it. She just stared at him, her eyes wide.

"Let go, kiddo. Let me see it," Doc instructed. However, Maddie only continued to stare at him. He quickly turned to Pete as he pulled his pen light from his shirt pocket. "Did she hit her head or anything?"

"No," Pete answered, worry evident in his voice.

"Mads, you okay? Talk to me," Doc urged as he began flashing the light back and forth between her eyes as he checked her pupils. "Looks sluggish, but that's from the concussion she still has."

Maddie squeezed her eyes shut as the light became too much for her. "What?" she finally said.

"She speaks!" Doc joked, trying to lighten the mood a bit. It was obvious Pete was upset, feeling as if he couldn't do his job and keep her safe. And Maddie was off in another world, something she'd been doing a lot of the last few days. What exactly she was thinking about, he didn't know. However, he had a feeling it had something to do with Steve. "Let go of your arm. I need to see how bad it is."

"Oh, I'm fine. No big deal," Maddie responded as she tried to stand.

"Park it!" Pete ordered, his tone final, leaving no room for argument. "Let him see!"

Not used to hearing Pete speak like that to her, she did as she was told. Carefully she uncovered her arm.

"Not too bad," Doc mumbled holding her arm as he inspected the injury. "Definitely could have been worse." He glanced at Kendall and pointed across the room. "Can you grab me the burn kit in the bag against the wall over there?"

"Sure thing Dr. Warsten!" she cheerfully answered before doing what she was told. "Here ya go!" she said as she handed him the kit.

"Thanks." Doc pulled some ointment from the kit and began applying it to the minor burn. "How does it feel? Is it really painful?"

"Not really," Maddie answered, trying to ignore the intense stinging. She wasn't lying. Sure, it was stinging and burning, but compared to all the other injuries she had at the moment, it wasn't terrible. It was something she could suck up and deal with.

"That's good. Well, this ointment might make it feel worse for a minute, but it won't last. It should start to feel better in a little bit," Doc explained as he began wrapping gauze around the wound.

Maddie didn't say much as he finished bandaging her forearm. He was right, the pain increased and not just a little, but a lot. She found herself beginning to panic the more she thought about what was going on, which of course made her wish Steve was there with her. However, she knew if he was, it would make everything worse. _Why'd I have to realize I love him?_ she asked herself for what must have been the millionth time over the last couple days. _Why can't I think about anything else? It's like my brain's stuck on repeat. No matter what happens or what is said around me, it always leads me to think about Steve._

"Okay, keep this clean. I'll check on it later tonight. Make sure it isn't any worse. Sometimes you don't realize how bad burns really are until hours later, so let me know if the pain increases. I know this ointment is making it worse, so that doesn't count. If it never calms down or becomes even more painful, let me know. I'll be around," Doc told her after he finished wrapping it.

"Okay," she whispered, flashing him a pathetic smile.

He could tell Pete was waiting for everyone to clear the room so he could talk to Maddie alone. "Why don't you just rest for a little bit? Try and get some quiet time in before heading back to rehearsal. Plus, the ointment will stop burning by that time and the pain should have subsided quite a bit," he suggested as he headed towards the door, Kendall right behind him.

Once everyone was gone Pete took Doc's place on the coffee table. Sitting in front of Maddie, he watched her quietly for a moment. Although she was trying to hide it, he could tell she was scared. She'd never admit it, but she was. After a few uncomfortable, quiet minutes he finally spoke. "Tell me what's going on Madeline." The use of her full name did not go unnoticed by her.

"I don't know Pete," Maddie responded.

He shook his head, trying to keep his temper and frustration from exploding. _How can I protect her if she won't tell me what she knows?_ he asked himself.

"What won't you tell anyone? What have you been keeping to yourself the last few months? Does it have anything to do with what's going on here?" He questioned.

"There's nothing to tell. Accidents happen. Things happen. There are always glitches. You know that! That's why we always go through the show like this! I mean, I've performed this number nearly every night for months now and never had a problem. But with all the special effects and technology I use in this show, there's bound to be problems here and there. That's all this was. A freak glitch," she told him, her voice relatively calm for someone who was completely panicking inside.

"Maddie this is getting out of hand. You need to tell me what you know! And who said this was an accident?! Joey texted me while Doc was bandaging you. He and Derek looked at the device in your costume and it had been messed with. This is completely out of control!" Pete told her, exasperation evident in his voice.

Maddie had assumed it had been tampered with, but actually having it confirmed caused her heart to pound. Knowing Pete was waiting for her to say something, she cleared her throat and calmly said, "I better get back to rehearsal. There's still a lot to do." With that said, she carefully stood and walked towards the door.

"Maddie, why don't we call Steve. He needs to be here," Pete revealed, knowing full well she wasn't going to like the idea.

"No. Like I said, he'll be made aware of everything that's happened tomorrow after the show. Now, are you coming with me or not?"

Pete shook his head at the way she suddenly had stifled and squashed down her feelings. _If only he hadn't screwed up and said what he did the other morning. I could call him and it would be no problem_, he thought as he exited the room with Maddie.

* * *

><p>For hours Danny had been trying to find an opportunity to ask Chin about what had happened at the arena. Finally his coworker stood to use the restroom. He waited a minute before nonchalantly excusing himself.<p>

Entering the men's restroom, Danny approached the sink where Chin stood washing his hands. "What happened over there?"

Chin sighed. "Someone sabotaged part of the stage. I brought back the damaged pieces and a bunch of fingerprints. Also a few fibers and such. Hopefully something belongs to this asshole."

"Is she okay?" Danny asked.

"Well, it depends what you're definition of okay is." Chin responded.

His coworker's statement caused his stomach to drop. "What do you mean?"

"Well, she's exhausted. She's barely hanging on. She's running herself into the ground trying to distract herself from what Steve did. He really hurt her."

"Damn it," Danny muttered, smacking his palm on the counter in anger.

"Yeah, my feelings exactly," Chin said.

"Do you think Steve will be able to fix things with her?" Danny asked, praying and hoping the answer would be yes.

Chin sighed, running his hand through his hair. "To be honest Danny…" He paused, sighing once more. "I don't know. She's really upset."

"Oh shit," he mumbled. "Well, we're gonna have to do anything we can to help them."

"I agree, but let's let them try and work it out first. Maybe by some miracle he'll be able to get through to her."

"Let's hope," Danny whispered.

"I better get out there before Steve notices we've both been gone for a while. He's already suspicious because of my 'errand'." The coworkers chuckled.

With Chin's hand on the bathroom door, Danny said, "Yeah, seriously? That's all you could think of?"

"Yeah, yeah…I know," Chin smirked as he pulled the door open and exited the bathroom. Danny waited a minute before doing the same.

* * *

><p>A little after 6pm Maddie was three quarters of the way through her third run of the show. She was under the stage in a costume change. While Tina was pulling her pants off and Sheila and Ally were getting her out of her top, Nikki and Lorali were touching up her hair and makeup. With the pants from her next costume change on she was able to sit down while they all continued to pull at her, trying to get her dressed in time for the next song that was starting in forty seconds. This meant she had to be in her entrance in thirty seconds.<p>

Now that she had a moment to sit, the adrenaline flowing through her from performing for hours straight began to dissipate and she noticed the intense aching in her body. _Oh no_, she thought, realizing she was finally going to get sick. _I almost made it. 24 more hours and I would have gotten through the show._ Feeling a tickle in her throat she quickly pulled her hand away from Ally and covered her mouth as she coughed, turning her head away from Nikki, who was fixing her makeup. As the coughing subsided she sniffled. All heads turned towards her, their eyes wide with concern.

"Oh Mads," Tina mumbled, knowing exactly what was going on.

"What? I'm fine. Just allergies. It's dusty down here," she lied, not wanting anyone to know. She didn't need or want everyone to act even weirder around her. Worry about her more. It was already driving her insane. She couldn't wait for the show to be over so she could just go back home, crawl into bed and hide from everyone and their worried, concerned looks.

"Fifteen seconds!" Billy called as he poked his head around the curtains that formed the dressing room under Stage 1. "She ready?"

"Almost," Tina replied as the women went into overdrive trying to get her ready. "There you go. Go kick some ass!" she told Maddie as she finished attaching her mic pack to her current costume.

"Thanks!" Maddie replied as she rushed to Billy who escorted her to her next entrance. Normally her escort was a crewmember and not a member of her security team, but Pete was on high alert and had decided to change some security protocols for this third run through and the actual show the following day. He didn't ever want Maddie out of their sight. She wasn't thrilled with the change, in fact she found it out right annoying, but she knew she had to give him this one. If she didn't, she knew he'd call Steve and Steve's changes would be a whole lot worse because it would be him on her like glue, never letting her out of his sight. That was something she just couldn't handle right now.

Listening to the band playing the lead in to her next song, she stood with Billy. He watched her carefully, picking up on the fact something wasn't right. She rubbed her temples, the loud music exacerbating her already pounding headache.

"Headache?" he asked.

She quickly dropped her hands and busied herself with making sure her in-ears were in and everything was good to go. With Billy on her right side, she looked straight ahead, avoiding eye contact. "Nah, I'm good," she lied.

"Ready?" Joey asked, suddenly appearing from the shadows of the stage.

"Yep," Maddie replied taking a few steps forward as she listened carefully for her cue. She faltered slightly, briefly feeling dizzy. Billy immediately reached for her.

"You okay?" he asked, concerned.

She shook his hands from her before closing the gap between Joey and herself. "Just perfect! You know me, the definition of clumsiness." She forced a small laugh, hoping to ease the sudden tension. Hearing her cue she entered the stage and began the next song. Joey and Billy shared a worried look as they watched her perform.

* * *

><p>They had just finished the fourth complete run through of the show. As the lights in the arena came on Lyle walked towards the stage. With towels and robes in hand, Sheila, Ally, and Tina rushed to Maddie and her dancers. The last song in the show involved water, where they basically sang and danced in the rain for three plus minutes. However, the water was set to 80 degrees, so sure they were all drenched, but at least they weren't freezing.<p>

"Thanks T," Maddie mumbled as she handed her the now wet towel. Sheila helped her into her robe, not wanting her to get cold before getting changed.

"That was the best run through so far. It's almost there! I can't believe we are gonna pull this off," Lyle said excitedly as he climbed up on the wet stage. Crewmembers were busy trying to get it dried off for safety purposes, plus they would be running the show again. "There are still some areas where it's not quite right. But they'll be fine as long as we continue to run through the show." Lyle looked at all the people surrounding Maddie before saying, "Mads, come with me for a second."

She nodded and began to walk with him away from everyone, however Pete followed. Having a feeling she knew what Lyle wanted to discuss, Maddie turned to her head of security. "P, give us a few."

He squinted his eyes in suspicion. This wasn't the first time she hadn't let him near her during a conversation with someone. He was worried she was up to something. Not only would she not let him hear or see the new songs, or anyone not performing or working the actual show, but there were many instances where she'd spoken to Ryan away from everyone. It wasn't just the hushed conversations with Ryan, but the strange looks as well. As if they were speaking to one another without actually saying anything. Pete was praying that Maddie wasn't planning on pulling anything in this show. With everything going on, it was the last thing she should be doing. "Why?" he asked suspiciously, looking between her and Lyle.

She smiled sweetly at him. "Just stuff about the performance to a new song."

"You're not up to no good are you?" Pete asked.

"Why do you keep asking me that? No, I just need to discuss the logistics of this song. Don't worry," she tried to assure him. "It'll only be a few minutes and even then, you'll be able to see me the whole time. We'll just be right over there." She pointed across Stage 2, which they were on, to an area further away.

Hesitantly Pete stopped walking, staying behind like she wanted. He didn't need to tell her he didn't like whatever was going on. She could already tell just by his expression and demeanor.

"He's on edge," Lyle said to her as they walked away.

"Yeah," she whispered. Truth be told, she was on edge as well. She was just hiding it better. "Anyway, what's up?"

The two stopped and just as he was about to speak Derek, the head of special effects for her tour, joined them. "I was going to fill her in, but why don't you go ahead, Derek."

"Sure thing," Derek said. "As you know I've been working on the concept for your new song 'Love the Way You Lie'. It's definitely a hard thing to achieve. Especially in three days."

"So, it can't be done?" Maddie asked, really hoping that wasn't the case.

"No, we are almost there."

"What's your definition of almost there?" she questioned.

"It'll be ready for you to test tomorrow late morning or early afternoon," Derek estimated.

"That's cutting it awfully close," Maddie replied.

"I know, but if for some reason it doesn't work we have a back up plan for the song, which will still look amazing."

"But not as cool, right?" Maddie asked, already knowing the answer.

"It'll look great, but, you're right, it won't be as cool. However, I have concerns about this idea. It's a dangerous and risky idea. Especially only having three days to figure it out and work out the kinks. I mean, you essentially want me to cover the entire stage with fire while you're on it. I mean, Maddie…it'd be different if we had a few weeks to do this. Really make sure nothing can go wrong. But three days? I don't think it's a good idea for this show. Too risky," Derek revealed, being completely honest with her.

Maddie looked towards Lyle, wanting to know what he thought. He sighed as he crossed his, not wanting to be put in the middle. "It's an awesome idea, Mads." He paused. "However, I have to agree with Derek. If we had more time…"

Both men watched Maddie, trying to read her as she processed what they'd just said. Finally she spoke. "I appreciate your honesty and concern, but do whatever you have to to make this work. Dangerous or not, risky or not, that's what I want and if you can get it working in time then that's what we're doing."

Both men sighed at her decision. "Okay, we'll have it ready for you to test tomorrow when you get back from press," Derek told her.

"Thank you both," Maddie smiled, before walking away to join Pete who was waiting for her exactly where she'd left him. Although he hadn't been right next to her, his eyes had never left her, making sure she was always in sight.

"Everything okay?" Pete asked as Maddie reached him.

"Yeah," she whispered, pulling her robe tighter to her body.

He studied her appearance and immediately could tell something wasn't right. "Everyone's breaking for dinner, so why don't we head back to the dressing room so you can change out of that wet costume and then we'll join them."

Maddie nodded as the two of them began the walk back to her dressing room.

"From what I saw of the show, it looks great! You're gonna blow them out of the water tomorrow!" Pete said, hoping to put a smile on her face. "I don't know how you've been able to pull this off with everything going on. I'm really proud of you, Shorty!"

"Thanks P," she mumbled. She wasn't trying to be rude, but she just wasn't in a talkative mood. Not only were her knee and tailbone injuries excruciatingly painful, but her head was throbbing and her body was beyond achy. There was no doubt in her mind that her fever was back. Her throat was worse, causing incredible pain every time she swallowed, and she was trying to keep from sniffling. Not only that but it was insanely difficult to keep from coughing when she had a consistent, and intense, tickle in her throat. Maddie didn't want anyone realizing she was now full blown sick. She figured she'd just take some Advil when no one was really paying attention.

Mo nodded at Pete as he and Maddie reached the dressing room, letting him know it was clear and safe for her to enter. He held the door open for her as he said, "I'll wait for you out here while you change and then we'll go grab some dinner."

"Okay," she whispered. Her throat was getting so bad that it was beginning to hurt even when she spoke.

While Maddie was inside changing Pete and Mo stood at the door. "She okay?" Mo asked.

Pete shrugged his shoulders as he sighed and shook his head. "I don't know. She's acting strange all of a sudden."

"All of a sudden?" Mo sarcastically asked, a small smile playing on his lips.

Pete briefly returned the smirk. "Okay, she's suddenly acting even stranger."

"Well, this will all be over soon and then McG will have her. He'll figure out what's going on."

"I hope so, but as of right now there's no way she's telling him anything," Pete said.

"Yeah, he definitely screwed up the other morning, but I have faith that he'll be able to fix it. He'll get through to her," Mo told him. "It won't be easy…"

"No, it won't," Pete interrupted, chuckling slightly.

"But he'll do it," Mo finished.

Suddenly the door flew open and a bundled up Maddie appeared, crutches under her arms.

"Wow, you put your brace on voluntarily?" Pete joked, trying to make Maddie smile. She crutched a few steps forward, the door closing behind her. "Must be really bothering you for you to do that Mads."

"It's fine," she lied, her voice no more than a whisper. "Just following Doc's orders. Anyway, let's get dinner." She began crutching down the hall in the direction of the large, multi purpose main room of the arena with Pete directly behind her.

* * *

><p>Around 9pm Maddie sat surrounded by Tina, Pete, Ryan, Claire, Sheila, Ally, Doc, Kendall, Ben, Ronnie, and many others at dinner. While everyone else chowed down, absolutely starving after rehearsing practically non-stop all day, Maddie picked at the plate of food Tina had set in front of her. Doc, Pete, Ryan, and Tina worriedly watched her stare at her food while maybe taking a total of two bites.<p>

"You want something else, Mads?" Tina asked, noticing she wasn't eating. "I'll go out and pick you up anything you want."

"Nah, I'm okay. Just not that hungry. But thanks T," Maddie whispered.

"You're voice sounds a little better tonight Mads," Doc told her, hoping it might cheer her up.

She gave him a small, sad smile before returning her gaze to her plate. She continued to push her food around with her fork as she thought about Steve. She'd already wanted him there so badly and now that she was sick she only wanted him there more. She wanted to snuggle into him, breath in his scent while his strong arms pulled her close to him. Of course thinking like this only reminded her why she wouldn't ask him to come. It reminded her what he'd done and just made her heart ache more, if that was even possible. He'd played her, broken her heart, and she just wasn't able to think about anything else. She wasn't getting over it, which only made her even more upset and frustrated. She'd never let a guy upset her like this. As she got lost in thoughts of Steve, Maddie placed her chin on the palm of her bandaged left hand while the same elbow rested on the table. Chin in hand, she continued to push her food around with her fork.

"How long is the dinner break?" Pete asked, watching Maddie. She looked exhausted and incredibly sad. He knew he'd debated not letting Steve anywhere near her until after the show, but now tomorrow couldn't come fast enough. He couldn't wait for Steve to come, so he could hopefully fix the damage he'd caused. Maddie was drowning and the one person she needed was Steve.

"An hour and a half," Ryan answered.

"Okay," he replied. Pushing his now empty plate away from himself, he stood up from the bench and walked around the table to Maddie. "Come on kiddo. You have some time to just hang out before you run the show again."

Maddie said nothing, didn't even bother fighting or arguing as she slowly stood. Pete picked her crutches up and held them up in front of him to make it easier for her. She set her armpits on them and grabbed the handles from him before slowly crutching out of the room, Pete at her side.

* * *

><p>As soon as they entered her dressing room, Maddie took her usual seat on the couch. However, instead of just sitting like she normally did, she laid down. She'd been doing a great job of fighting the tickle in her throat, but suddenly it increased and she lost the battle. Pete was filling the tank with ice water for her other knee brace when she began coughing. What made him turn his head was that it wasn't just one or two coughs, but a coughing spasm. "You okay?" he asked as he set the now full tank next to the couch.<p>

Maddie nodded as the coughing subsided. She looked up at him from her position on the couch.

With a furrowed brow he studied her face, especially her eyes. He suddenly realized she didn't just look exhausted and sad; she looked like she didn't feel good. He changed her knee brace and attached it to the tank before quickly covering her with a blanket. With his left hand Pete pulled his phone from his pocket while placing his right hand on Maddie's forehead. He immediately felt the warmth radiating from her skin. "Mads, why didn't you say anything? You're really warm."

"I'm okay Pete," she mumbled.

"Don't even try that," he countered while he texted Doc.

A few minutes later, the door opened to reveal Doc, Kendall, and Tina. While Kendall walked to the kitchen to grab some things, Doc sat on the coffee table across from Maddie. He reached his hand out and touched her skin. Feeling the warmth he said, "You're sick Mads. I'm sorry. I did my best to try and keep this from coming on fully until after the show, but unfortunately it didn't work."

"S'okay," she mumbled, slurring the two words together because her throat hurt so much when she spoke.

"I can tell your throat's bothering you," he said, hearing the way she was speaking. He could tell the littlest movement hurt it, so she was doing her best to talk while moving her mouth and tongue the smallest amount possible. Maddie wanted to tell him that she wasn't sick and that everything was fine, but it hurt too much to speak. "Can you sit up for a few minutes so I can check you out? See how bad this is."

"Here you go Dr. Warsten," Kendall said, her voice super chipper as she handed him a wooden tongue depressor among other things. In fact, she was suddenly so happy that Maddie swore it was because she was miserable. That Kendall was reveling in the fact she didn't feel good. _What kind of person does that?_ Maddie wondered. _An evil one_, she told herself.

With Maddie now in a sitting position Doc instructed, "Open up and say 'ah'." She did as he asked and with the tongue depressor pushing her tongue down, he used another tool with a light to look down her throat. "Wow, that got bad fast." He studied her throat for a minute. "It doesn't look like Strep, but it does look really bad. Your tonsils are huge!" He pulled the items from her mouth and handed them to Kendall. "Any congestion?"

"No," Maddie mumbled, avoiding eye contact.

"Yes!" Tina exclaimed from her spot in one of the big, stuffed armchairs. "I heard her sniffling during a couple costume changes."

"Maddie…" Doc said, drawing her name out slightly.

"Fine…Yes," she admitted begrudgingly.

"Coughing?" he asked.

Maddie shook her head.

"Maddie!" Tina cried. Turning to Doc, she tattled, "She was coughing too."

"Not to mention, she had a serious coughing attack right before you got here," Pete divulged.

"Maddie," Doc said, his tone reprimanding. "You have to tell me the truth. Stop hiding things." She said nothing as he placed his stethoscope in his ears and breathed on the chest piece, trying to warm it up before putting it on her bare skin. "It's a little warmer, but still might be a little cold," he warned as he reached under her shirt and placed the end of the stethoscope against her skin. She winced slightly as the cold metal made contact with her. "Take a deep breath," Doc instructed as he listened carefully.

Maddie continued to breath deeply while he moved the piece around, making sure to get a clear picture of what her lungs and heart sounded like. Satisfied, he took his hand out from under her shirt and pulled the tool from his ears. "You definitely have fluid in your lungs. It's not bronchitis yet, but it's on its way. If you could get some rest, it might not go there." He turned his head to his right and met Kendall's eyes. "Can you grab me the Advil?"

She immediately went into the kitchen and pulled the bottle from his bag before quickly returning with it. "Thanks," he said, taking them from her. "Water?"

"Sure thing." While she walked back to the kitchen to do as he asked he took off the top and shook two pills into his palm. Setting the bottle down he grabbed the water Kendall had just brought over and passed both the pills and glass to Maddie. While she swallowed them he said, "Again, it doesn't look like you have Strep Throat, but I'll keep an eye on it. You don't have bronchitis yet, but you have a lot of fluid in your lungs. Because of this you don't need antibiotics. They won't help. However, my gut tells me this is going to get worse before it gets better. So, I'm going to reach out to Malia and have her fill a prescription of antibiotics for you. I'll have her bring them tomorrow when she comes for the show. Until then, just drink a lot of fluids and try and get some rest. Right now, rest is the best thing you can do for yourself."

As soon as she'd finished taking the two Advil, Maddie set the glass of water on the coffee table and laid back down. "Before I go, since you were completely drenched at the end of the run through, I'm gonna change the bandage on your foot. That needs to be kept as clean and dry as possible." Maddie said nothing as Doc stood and took a seat on the couch near her feet. He carefully pulled the sock off her right foot to reveal the wet bandage and slowly began to unwrap it. "Oh man," he whispered, as he pulled the gauze from the infected cuts on the bottom of her foot revealing the injury. The cuts were now oozing even more and the red had spread slightly up the back of her heel and further towards her toes.

"What? How is it?" Tina asked as she approached Doc. She wanted to see what it looked like. "Oh my God!" she cried as she winced.

Maddie didn't make a move to see it. She already knew it had to be worse given the agonizing pain she'd been experiencing.

"It's even worse than earlier," Doc stated. Without having to be asked Kendall brought over everything he needed to clean and redress it. As gently as possible he used a special solution to clean the wounds. As he did so, they began to bleed. Before putting the antibiotic ointment on it, he dabbed and held some cotton to the lacerations, hoping to get them to stop bleeding. After a few minutes he lifted the cotton and took a peak. Satisfied that the cuts weren't bleeding as much, he gently covered them with antibiotic ointment and then placed gauze over them. "How do they feel?" he asked Maddie.

"Eh," she mumbled, shrugging her shoulders slightly as she laid on her back looking up at him. Saying anything more was too painful on her throat.

"Okay, I'm gonna take that as they hurt," Doc said as he began to wrap her foot. "Because her bandage was wet, her sock is too. Can I get a clean, dry pair to put on her?"

"I got it," Tina said as she immediately headed into the next room with the pullout bed where Maddie's bag was. She was barely gone before she returned with a brand new pair of thick, white socks. "Here ya go." She handed them to Doc.

"Thanks T," he said as he stretched the sock enough that he could put it on her without rubbing too much against the bandaged wounds on the bottom of her foot. "She needs to take the antibiotic I gave her for her foot in a little bit."

"Will it help her sickness?" Tina asked.

"Unfortunately, no," Doc said as he covered Maddie with the blanket he'd set on the back of the couch. Watching her snuggle into it he said, "Why don't you just try and get a little sleep before you have to run through the show some more." Doc stood and glanced at his watch. "It's late and it's been a long day, so Kendall and I are going to head back to our hotel and get some rest of our own. We'll be back here bright and early tomorrow. I'll check you before you head out for press. However, if you are starting to feel worse or need me for any reason before then, just call. Okay?"

"Mmm hmm," Maddie mumbled, her eyes beginning to close out of pure exhaustion.

"I'll check that burn on your arm and change the dressing in the morning too," Doc told her as he walked towards the door.

"Goodnight John," Pete said, using his first name. "Night Kendall."

"Good night!" She replied.

"Night," Doc said before the door shut behind them.

With only Tina, Pete, and Maddie alone in the room, Pete said, "Mads do you want to go lay on the bed or just stay where you are?"

"Stay," she muttered, her eyes closed.

"Okay," he replied as he dimmed the lights in the room. "T, why don't you go try to get some shut eye in the other room."

"What about you?" Tina asked, concerned. She could tell he was exhausted himself.

"I'll lay on the other couch here."

"Okay," she softly said as she watched him plop down on the big couch opposite Maddie before heading into the other room.

It didn't take long for the three to fall asleep.

* * *

><p>Everyone was so worried about Maddie that no one had been paying attention to Kendall. While she was in the kitchen cleaning up everything Doc had used on the singer, a large file caught her attention. Realizing that it was Maddie's medical chart she smirked.<p>

She'd spent a lot of time on the road over the last few months with Doc and Maddie. Lately Doc was being flown out for a couple days sometimes every week and because she was his nurse she accompanied him. Normally nurses were able to see patient's charts because they had to write in them too, but Doc was weird about Maddie's chart. Maybe it was just because she was a huge celebrity and was trying to give her as much privacy as possible, but Kendall had a feeling that wasn't the only reason.

Glancing around she made sure no one was looking. Seeing that everyone was focused on Maddie, Kendall smiled as she slipped the chart in her messenger bag. _I'll take a look at it tonight_, she thought.

An hour later she was alone in her hotel room, which was next door to Doc's. After taking a shower and getting into some pajamas she reached into her bag and pulled the large file from it. "He's been her doctor for a long time," she mumbled, taking in how thick it was. Sitting with her legs crossed in the middle of the bed, she slowly opened the front and began reading through it.

Nearly two hours later a smile broke out on her face. "So, that's why he keeps it so guarded," Kendall said. An idea in her head, she opened her laptop next to her and started looking for the specific contact information. Finding it, she chuckled as she grabbed her cell phone and dialed *69 before the number, effectively blocker her own phone number. After all, she didn't want this leading back to her.

* * *

><p>An hour and a half later Pete woke up to screams causing him to shoot up from the couch. Still in a sleepy haze, he instinctively grabbed the gun he'd pulled from his holster and set on the coffee table before he'd laid down. But as the sleep cleared he realized what was going on. That there was no need for his gun. Returning his weapon to the coffee table he rushed over to Maddie who was screaming and crying as she thrashed around in her sleep.<p>

"No! Don't! Let him go!" she screamed, tears running down her face. The crying was obviously exacerbating her cough as she began coughing.

"Mads, shhhh. It's okay. Wake up. It's just a nightmare," Pete softly said as he gently shook her.

"What's going on?" Tina sleepily asked as she appeared in the doorway of the adjoining makeshift bedroom.

"Nightmare," Pete mumbled as he continued to try to wake Maddie up.

It took a minute for her eyes to open, but eventually they did. Not quite awake she pushed Pete away not realizing exactly who he was. Finally the haze lifted and she became aware of what was going on. Immediately her cheeks pinked as she furiously began to wipe at her wet face as she coughed profusely, embarrassed she'd not only just had a nightmare, but that it had affected her in such a profound way.

"You okay?" Pete asked, concern in his voice.

"Yeah, sorry," she whispered, her throat agonizingly painful even when she only said a couple words. Maddie sat up. "What time is it?" she asked, refusing to make eye contact.

"Almost midnight," Pete replied.

"Really? We better get back to rehearsing." Maddie began unfastening the knee brace and pulling on some shoes.

"Why don't you try and get some more sleep? Go through the show one more time in a couple hours and then get some more rest before heading out to do press in the morning. I mean, you heard what Doc said. You NEED to get some rest. You don't want this to get worse, Mads," Pete tried to reason with her as she covered her mouth and coughed, all the while sniffling.

"I'm fine. I really don't feel that sick." She stood, making her more aware of just how awful she truly felt. "We really need to run the show a few more times." With that said, she walked towards the door.

Looking over at Tina sleepily standing in the doorway, Pete could see how exhausted she still was. "Go back to sleep T. I got this. I'll wake you in the morning."

"You sure?" she asked.

"Yeah. Get some rest," he told her as he heard the door shut behind Maddie. "Crap!" he mumbled before turning and rushing out after her. _If this is any sign of how she's going to be tomorrow__…__it's going to be a long day,_ he thought.

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><p>I hope you enjoyed it! Please, Please, PLEASE review and I'll post Chapter 30 today!<p>

xo


	30. Chapter 30

**DISCLAIMER: **I do not own "Hawaii Five-0" or any of it's characters. I do own Maddie, Pete, Tina, Ryan, Doc, Mo, etc.

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><p><strong><span>AUTHOR'S NOTE<span>: **Hi everyone! Thank you so much for reading my story! I hope you're enjoying it so far!

Anyway, here is the last part of what I had written so far. I am in the process of writing the next chapter, Chapter 31. It's going fast because the kind of chapter it is...:o). I can have it up tomorrow...but I need to hear from you guys first. After reading this chapter you'll know exactly what kind the next one is and who's in it! TOGETHER! haha! SO, I want to hear from each and every one of you!

I will be posting the diagram of the stage when I post the next chapter.

As always, thoughts are in _italics._ And the only thing in **bold** in this chapter are text messages.

Thank you so much to the people that have left a review or sent me a PM for the last couple chapters. I really appreciate it. I spend soo much time writing this story...time, to be honest, I don't really have. I stay up almost all night every night writing and trying to get these chapters to you guys, so I really appreciate the time you guys take to tell me what you think, either good or bad! Also, feel free to Private Message (PM) me at any time. I do respond! Anyway, I wanted to respond to some of your reviews! So...here ya go!

**karymcgarrett**: Thank you sooo much for your reviews! I love reading them! I can always count on you! Because you are so faithful with your reviews, I will answer your question about the stalker. No, Frank is not the stalker, but good guess. I'm glad it's fun trying to guess who it is! If that ever changes, PLEASE let me know, because then I'm not doing a good job! By the way, thank you for answering my question about the stage and whether or not I was being clear. I will post the diagram either next chapter or the one after that. I'm going to be going into MAJOR detail of the stage and that that's when I'll post it. :o)

**Lynnrxgal**: Yes, performers schedules can be like that. It all depends on what they're doing and what they're promoting at the time. It also depends on their management. They want to have a manager that actually cares about them as a person and their well being. They don't want someone that is just out for themselves. Which obviously George is, but luckily he's not Maddie's actual manager, the big kahuna if you will. He's her tour manager. Now you now why a lot of actors and singers are hospitalized for exhaustion.

**CentralMom**: Hi! I love a new reviewer! So good to hear from you! Don't worry the stalker will be pulling some shady and creepy moves in the next couple chapters. Once Maddie's show is over you'll see Five-0 make progress on the case, but it isn't necessarily the "right" progress. The stalker is insane and incredibly smart, so I've needed to do these last few chapters where Five-0 is kind of floundering to get that point across. I think it says a lot about the stalker and how good he is since that's never happened to Five-0 before. I really want to THANK YOU for your honest words! YOU ROCK! Please, please continue to let me know your thoughts! I really would appreciate it. Oh, and always feel free to send me a PM if you want! Thanks again for your review!

**H50Lady**: Can I just tell you how much I LOVE YOU! THANK YOU for your continued reviews! I can ALWAYS count on you! I don't know if you guys realize how important it is to get reviews. I literally sit at my desk HOURS and HOURS to write these chapters. It takes me a long time especially because they are very detailed. I am incredibly busy, so I sit here at night (pretty much all night) to update and continue this story. I do it because I LOVE it, but it's soooo nice to get reviews. It really does make me update faster. A LOT FASTER! So, THANK YOU! In fact, all the other readers should be thanking you as well! And...I know how excited you are for Maddie and Steve scenes (trust me, I'm right there with ya! lol), so I wanted to tell you that you'll be REALLY happy with the next chapter, Chapter 31. I'm working on it right now! It's only 1:30am where I am, so if I stay up late (5am) I should be able to get most of it, if not all of it, done. You'll have to tell me what you think once you read it! Anyway, thank you thank you thank you for your continued reviews! YOU ROCK!

**Duffster21**: Ha! I loved your review! I'm bummed I haven't heard from you again! I'm glad I could turn you into a "Hawaii Five-0" fan! Did you end up going and watching the first 2 seasons? If so, you'll have to tell me what you thought of them! You know, the 3rd season starts shortly. Less than 2 weeks! WOO HOO! I'm excited! And no, it's not weird you're in love with a fictional character. But, just letting you know...you're gonna have to fight me for him! haha lol. Anyway, I'd love to know what you've thought of the last couple chapters! Thanks again for your awesome review!

**Francis2**: Hey! Thanks for your regular reviews! YOU ROCK! Don't worry, even though Maddie will tell him she's fine, Steve will figure out how she really feels. So, the things she wrote to Tina...yeah, he'll figure it out. Keep the reviews coming! I'm anxious to hear what you thought of this chapter and I'm fairly positive you'll like the next one, Chapter 31.

**Niclabelle**: Hey girl! Thanks for your continued reviews! I really appreciate them! I know you know how much they mean to us when we're writing! (BTW...when are you going to write a sequel to your Five-0 story? I can't wait to find out what happens!) Anyway, don't worry, Steve will start trying to get through to Maddie. I promise! haha. I know, I'm torturing everyone! :o) I thought about having Steve run over to see Maddie and trying to apologize, but the more I thought about it...the more I decided against it. I guess because he is supposed to be freaked out and confused by his feelings for her and that he knows her so well. He knew that she needed to focus on the show and that he would only upset her further if he had shown up. But, I definitely did toy with the idea. The stalker...he's a crazy SOB lol. Haha...the team will eventually catch him, but it won't be a quick thing. It would ruin what I have in mind for the story. Plus, he is a smart guy...he's been planning this for awhile. I have to tell you...I love that you pick up on all the things I add that will come into play later. And I love how specific your reviews are...telling me specifically what you liked about the chapter! Seriously, THANK YOU for that! Can't wait to find out what you think about this chapter and what's coming! YAY!

**LuB1984**: Haha! Thank you for your reviews! I LOVE how much you love Maddie and Steve together! It's so sweet! Makes me feel like I'm doing my job correctly! I also really appreciate that you continue to review. I can't stress how important it is for the writers to hear from the readers! Seriously, it makes a HUGE difference! Btw...I am just as excited and anxious for Maddie and Steve as you! Are you a more recent reader of the story?! If so, I'm so glad you found it and read it! WOO HOO!

**Cathyfromohio**: Wow! I can't believe you read the entire story straight through! I know how long that is because I wrote it... It's about 580 Microsoft Word pages. It's so flattering that you like it that much! Thank you! I LOVE new readers and new reviewers! WOO HOO! And consistent reviewers! Thank you sooo soo much for your kind words! I'm anxious to hear how you like this chapter and the next one! Keep the reviews coming! YOU ROCK!

Anyway, I will stop rambling now so you can read the next chapter! I hope you enjoy it! I cannot even put into words how excited I am to post the next chapter! YAY!

Again, please let me know what you think!

ENJOY!

xo

Laura

P.S. I apologize ahead of time for the cliffhanger. SORRY!

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><p><strong>CHAPTER 30<strong>

They were able to run through the show another two times until it was time for her to begin getting ready for the day. So, at 5am they called it quits. Everyone, except Tina, her security team, and Maddie went back to their hotel to get some rest. A good chunk of them didn't need to be back until 3pm, giving them a good amount of time to sleep before the big show.

Maddie entered her dressing room limping, sniffling, and coughing with Pete next to her.

"How ya feeling?" Tina asked, sitting at the kitchen table eating a bowl of cereal. Her planner, laptop, and cell phone were in front of her. Almost every moment she was awake, she was working. There was so much that needed to be taken care of to make everything run smoothly and Tina was great at that.

"Fine," she whispered so softly it was barely audible. Her throat was killing her and she was sure her fever was significantly higher. She thought she felt terrible before, but she was mistaken. Her entire body ached as if she'd been severely beaten. The headache she'd consistently had since she fainted at Five-0 was stronger than ever. It was like nothing she'd ever experienced. Apparently getting sick and being congested on top of having a concussion was beyond painful. _Not a great combination_, she thought. Her cough was dry and hurt not only her severely sore throat, but her chest and back.

"Yeah, you look fine," Tina sarcastically retorted. She noticed how beyond pale and absolutely miserable Maddie looked.

"Yeah, she's not," Pete informed her as he helped Maddie into her knee brace.

"Don't hook her up to that just yet. Mads, if you're gonna take a shower you better do it now. Lorali and Nikki will be here in twenty to do your hair and makeup. Your day starts early. We're heading out at 7:30am."

Maddie's shoulders slumped forehead at Tina's words. Coughing and sniffling she stood and slowly limped to the bathroom, wincing at every step. "Your knee's pretty bad I take it?" Tina asked.

"Nothing I can't handle," she replied before shutting the door and disappearing into the bathroom.

"She's really sick," Pete said, feeling horrible for her. He knew she was feeling awful. "It's not like she already felt good either. Her knee and tailbone were already killing her and she was doing a decent job at trying to hide just how bad she felt. But now this? I feel so bad. I wish there was something I could do for her," Pete said, taking a seat at the small kitchen table across from Tina.

"Yeah, she definitely seems a lot sicker than when Doc left last night. She really needs to rest. Get some sleep." Tina was silent for a minute as she thought things over. Reaching to her left she pulled her large planner towards her and opened it to the current day. Pete watched her nibble on her bottom lip as she looked it over. "I'm gonna call Johnny. I'll see what I can do with the schedule," she finally said.

Pete glanced at his watch. "You better do it now. He's jumping on a flight in thirty minutes."

"Where's he going?" Tina questioned, pulling her cell out.

Pete looked towards the closed bathroom door, making sure he heard the water running before answering. "He's coming here," he whispered.

"Really? Does Maddie know?" Tina asked, surprised.

"No. He's coming to take care of some things. I called him. Told him how bad things were. How her schedule has been lately, especially the last couple months. How George has been with her."

"What'd he say?" she asked, her eyes wide with anticipation.

"He had no idea. Maddie's been keeping him in the dark. Telling him everything was fine," Pete told her. "And apparently George was too. He's pissed."

"Wow," Tina replied, her eyes wide with surprise. "This should be interesting." Going through her contact list she said, "Well then, I better call him now." She hit 'send' and put the phone to her ear. It only rang twice before he answered. "Hi Johnny!"

Pete couldn't hear what he was saying, but he could guess just by hearing her side of the conversation. He watched as Tina explained that Maddie was extremely sick and needed to get some rest before the show. She read what her schedule was supposed to be for the day and then was quiet for a few minutes as she listened to his response. "Okay….sure….oh yeah…..good call…Okay…I'll change it…..Yeah, I'll tell her…..Okay…Perfect! Thanks Johnny! Have a safe flight! ….Okay, bye!" With that said, Tina hung up and began to erase things in the planner.

"So?" Pete asked just as Maddie limped out of the bathroom dressed in leggings and a long sleeved thermal shirt. "Hey Shorty! Did the shower make you feel any better?"

Her only answer was coughing and sniffling. "Tissue?" she asked as she sat on the couch.

Pete brought a box over to her and she blew her nose. He began hooking her into her knee brace. "Wow Mads, it's a lot more swollen than it was yesterday," he said, noticing the difference in her knee. _No wonder she's limping_, he thought.

Her only response was a shrug of her shoulders as she coughed.

"So, Mads," Tina began, sitting next to her with her planner in hand. "Today's schedule's been changed a bit."

Maddie looked at her, her eyebrows raised in a questioning manner as her shoulders slumped forward.

"Don't worry, nothing's been added. It's actually a lot less busy," Tina assured her. Maddie visibly relaxed at the clarification. "So," Tina began, looking down at the revised schedule in her hands. "You'll still start with the large press conference at 8am. I know an hour is a long time for one of these, but what's great about having it so large and long is that you get it all done at once. You won't be doing any separate interviews with them afterwards." Maddie nodded in understanding before Tina continued. "Once that's over, you're doing an interview with Entertainment Tonight and NBC, which will air on tonight's news. Both are short and will be shot at the same location. You will be done with those by 10am and then head to Noelani Elementary School. During the car ride there, you will call into 102.7 KIIS FM for a quick interview with Ryan Seacrest before introducing the world premiere of your new single, 'Can't Be Tamed'. You'll talk about the music video, which will be released thirty minutes after the interview. You should arrive at Noelani by 10:30/10:45am. Now, originally you were supposed to be there for 2 hours, but it's been shortened to 30-45 minutes, which will get you back here around noon."

"Kakui?" Maddie asked, her voice so soft they could barely hear her. "Children's wing at the hospital?"

"Kakui's being rescheduled. Maybe for next week. Maybe two weeks from now. Or maybe a month. You're on vacation here, so you have time. You and Phil can talk about it in a few days and figure it out. It's nothing pressing…. Now, because you're sick we had to reschedule the visit to the children's wing. We can't risk getting any of the kids sick. But don't worry, you can do that whenever you're feeling better and aren't contagious. Okay?"

Maddie nodded, satisfied with the plan. As long as she eventually made it back to Kakui and got to visit the children's wing, she was fine.

"So, you'll be back here by noon and just get to chill until your sound check, which should be around 4pm. You'll get to rest until you walk the red carpet at 7pm. It won't be a long, drawn out process. Pretty short. The meet and greet has been moved to 7:30 and you'll be done by 8pm where you'll then relax and get ready for your 9pm show time. How's that sound?"

"Good," Maddie said, a small, genuine smile forming on her face. "Thanks T."

"You're welcome!" Tina grinned. "It's good to see a smile on your face!"

"What are we smiling about?" Nikki asked as she and Lorali entered her dressing room.

"A lightened schedule for the day!" Tina replied.

"Woo hoo! You need it girl!" Lorali exclaimed.

Tina glanced at the time. "It's almost 6am. We gotta be outta here at 7:30am. So get in the hair and makeup chair and I'll take a quick shower."

"Okay," Maddie mumbled as she tried to stand. However, the large knee brace was making it difficult.

"Here Shorty, I got ya," Pete said as he helped her up and to the other side of the room. As she sat in the chair at the hair and makeup station he grabbed the ice water tank and hooked her back up to it. When he was finished he said, "I'm gonna go make sure everyone has their assignments for the day. I don't want any incidents happening." Maddie nodded, coughing and sniffling as she waved to him.

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><p>Doc had just finished checking Maddie over. "Well, you're fever is definitely a lot higher. You're lungs sound worse, but you still don't have bronchitis. Which is good. Antibiotics still won't do you any good. Hopefully you'll just get better and it won't progress where you'll need the antibiotics. However, either way I spoke to Malia and she filled you a prescription for them just in case. Your voice was doing better yesterday, but now with the sore throat and cough it's back to being barely there. So, only talk when you have to. During the interviews keep your answers as short as possible and speak as quietly as you can. Now, you're knee is definitely worse today. I could give you an injection right now, but I'd rather give you a big one before the show tonight. That way it will really take a lot of the pain away and will definitely last through the entire two hours. Now, because we'll wait for tonight, you need to stay off it throughout the day, which means…you have to wear your brace and use your crutches during press."<p>

Maddie groaned, not happy about the situation.

"I know it's not ideal, but trust me, it's the best way to go. Now…you're still really stiff because of your tailbone, so when I look everything over before the show, we can decide if you're gonna need an injection there too. The burn on your arm is small and looks good. Does it hurt?"

She shook her head. "A little, but not that bad."

"Good! If you keep it clean and dry for the day, it'll be fine to un-bandage for tonight. You're lucky it's a minor burn." Doc paused. "Your foot is still bad. We'll just keep doing what we're doing. Your hand is okay. It's not any worse, but it's not a ton better either. So, just try and use it as little as possible. You don't want the cuts to break open."

Coming from the kitchen Kendall handed him a tiny cup of some sort of liquid medicine. "Thanks Kendall." Doc took the cup and handed it to Maddie. "Here ya go. Take this cough syrup and it should definitely help suppress your cough over the next few hours." She did as he instructed. As she swallowed the nasty tasting liquid she made a face. Tina immediately handed her a glass of water. She took it happily. However, she was only able to take a couple small sips because of the incredible pain in her throat when she swallowed.

Taking the glass from her Tina looked at her watch. "Sorry Doc. We gotta go. It's 7:30 and the press conference starts at 8. We're a good 15 minutes away, but factor in paparazzi… We need to leave."

"Of course," he replied, standing up and getting out of Maddie's way as Pete helped her to her feet. "Don't forget a jacket or sweater or something. Keep warm. We don't want you getting any sicker," Doc added.

"Okay great!" Tina said, as she made sure she not only had her own purse and jacket, but Maddie's as well.

Pete handed Maddie her crutches and she began slowly crutching away from the couch and out the door.

Pete, Mo, Carl, and Billy walked with Maddie and Tina down the hall. "Mads, I'm not gonna go with you," Pete informed her. Maddie's head whipped in his direction, her eyes wide with silent questions. He was shocked at what he saw. She was scared. Really scared. "I'm gonna stay here and make sure the stage is okay. I don't know how someone has gotten in and screwed with things, so I need to stay behind and keep looking everything over. I don't want anything to go wrong tonight, okay?"

Nervously biting her lip, Maddie hesitated. She was silent as she thought things over. To be honest she wanted him with her. She'd felt incredibly uneasy and nervous all morning, unsure of what to expect for the day. She knew the things that had gone wrong were all warnings from whoever was stalking and threatening her. Because he had continued to tell her how much he loved her since first contacting her four months earlier, she didn't think he'd seriously hurt her. However, he was obviously insane, so she couldn't really count on this. _Maddie, if you don't tell Pete it's fine he doesn't come then you're confirming that something is wrong. You always hate having him and the others tag along, so if you want them to think everything's fine tell him so_, she told herself. Taking a deep breath, she said, "No problem, Pete. We'll be good. You do your thing."

Pete eyed Maddie suspiciously, not really believing her. Although it had only been there for a second, he'd seen the fear in her eyes when he first said he wouldn't be accompanying her. "Okay!"

They walked the rest of the way in silence, except when Pete spoke into the tiny microphone coming out of the sleeve of his shirt, making sure the cars were ready.

Maddie, Tina, and the three men walked out the door off the arena's main room to find two, big, black SUV's waiting. Frank was driving one while Connor drove the other. Adam, Chris, and Tom were riding with Connor, all bodyguards that Maddie had hired a few months before.

Tina climbed in the back seat of the other SUV, joining Billy, while Carl got in the front passenger seat.

"Mads," Pete began, stopping her from getting in the car. Mo stood at the open rear passenger door.

"Yeah?" she whispered, turning to face him.

"Be good, okay?" Pete met her eyes. "I know things aren't great with you and Steve and I know how you usually deal with things like this."

"What is it Pete?" Maddie asked, getting impatient. She didn't want to talk about Steve anymore, especially at that moment. There was nothing to talk about. He didn't have feelings for her even though he led her to believe he did. So, he'd broken her heart, so what? There was nothing she could do about it except pretend everything was fine.

"Just, I know today is going to be a rough day…but can you promise me you'll be good?"

"I'm not a little kid!" she whispered harshly.

"I know, and I don't mean to treat you like one. I just…someone is obviously out for you and I don't want you getting hurt. So, just be good, okay? Don't take any chances," Pete tried to explain.

"Whatever, Pete. I'll see you later," Maddie mumbled as she turned and, with Mo's help, got in the backseat. Taking her crutches he walked around to the back of the car and put them in the trunk. Pete followed him.

"Mo, watch her. She's so upset about the whole Steve thing…and well…a lot of things…" Pete sighed, shaking his head. "Just watch her. Don't let her out of your sight."

"Don't worry. I won't," he smiled at his friend and boss before walking back to the open, rear, passenger door.

"Thanks!" Pete said as Mo got in the car next to Maddie. "Keep me posted!"

"Will do! See you later!" With that said Mo shut the door and the two SUV's pulled out.

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><p>Pete was sitting having a quick bite to eat in Maddie's dressing room. As he sat there eating, an image of Maddie's exhausted and sick face popped into his mind. <em>Every time she's fallen asleep since we've been here, she has a nightmare. She needs some sleep. Should I have Steve come early now that her day has freed up a bit? Maybe he can get her to get some sleep<em>, he thought. He took a sip of his orange juice. _But if he shows up alone, Maddie might freak. So, maybe I should just tell them all to come. That way maybe she'll feel a little more comfortable. It's not so much pressure on her when seeing Steve for the first time. _Normally he wouldn't over think a situation like this, but he knew that Maddie was barely holding on. He didn't want to push her over the edge.

Finally deciding what to do, Pete pulled his iPhone from his pocket. Going to his text messages he began typing to Steve.

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><p>Once again Maddie hadn't come home for the night, so Steve had barely slept, unable to think of anything besides her. He'd been playing their brief text message exchange over and over again. He wasn't sure how he was going to fix things with her, he just knew he <span>had<span> to do it. There was no other option.

He'd taken a couple boxes of fan mail to her house and had gone through more than half of it. He was packing it all up, careful not to mix up what he'd already read with what he hadn't. Just as he placed the boxes in his truck and climbed in the driver's seat his phone dinged. It was his generic text tone, so he knew it wasn't from Maddie. He hadn't heard from her again and she hadn't answered when he'd called her the night before. Although he wasn't surprised, he was still disappointed.

Steve couldn't wait to see her later that afternoon. The sooner he could clear up this mess, the better. Unfortunately, because he was so anxious he knew the day would go by incredibly slowly, just like the last few days had.

Fastening his seatbelt his phone dinged again. "Alright, alright," he mumbled, pulling his phone from his pocket. Seeing he'd received two text messages from Pete, he immediately tensed, his mind automatically going to a bad place. Terrified that something had happened he quickly read the texts. **Hey McG! Wanted to let you know that Maddie's schedule has been revised and she has a lot more downtime today. So, I thought maybe you guys would want to come earlier. She'll be back at the venue around noon. **

Finished reading the first text, Steve couldn't keep the smile from his face. Relief filled him knowing he'd be seeing her in only a few short hours. However, the relief was short-lived, instead replaced by uncertainty and worry. _Why was her schedule changed? Is she okay?_ he wondered. Realizing he hadn't read the second text Pete had sent, he scrolled down. **Oh, and can you bring her that smoothie she absolutely loves? Do you know the one I'm talking about?**

His brows furrowed in confusion as he mumbled, "That's a strange request." Steve typed back to him. **Yeah, I know what you're talking about. We'll definitely come at 12. Why the schedule change? Everything all right?**

Sitting in his truck in her driveway Steve anxiously waited for his friend to respond. Finally he heard the ding and quickly read the text. **Great! She's fine. Schedules get changed all the time. No big deal. Works in her favor this time. See you at 12. **

Steve placed his phone back on his belt before putting his truck in drive and heading towards headquarters. Although Pete said everything was fine, Steve had a weird feeling. Now more than ever he couldn't wait to see her, to see for himself that she was safe.

"Four hours, Steve," he told himself, glancing at the time. As he reached a stoplight he quickly texted the rest of the team letting them know the change in schedule in case they wanted to head over at noon too.

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><p>The morning had been difficult for Maddie. The questions the press asked had nothing to do with her show or her music, but instead were personal in nature. According to them, a source had come forward late the night before and released private details about Maddie under the guise that they were worried about her. In the quote one reporter read to her, the source, who had requested to remain anonymous, said that they were coming forward with this information hoping that it would force Maddie to deal with what was going on. She did her best to answer the questions as generally as possible, but give them enough so that they would hopefully back off. However, it wasn't working. To say she was feeling overwhelmed was an understatement. To be honest, she was completely freaked out. She knew that when Steve heard the rumors the press had been given, he would become even more protective of her. She knew she'd have a difficult time handling that. Maddie was doing her best to not think about what information the press had been given or what exactly it would mean for her. She knew that if she did, she would fall apart as this was the last thing she needed to happen right now.<p>

She sat in the back seat of the SUV, between Tina and Mo while Billy sat on Tina's other side. The lack of space wasn't helping her feel any less overwhelmed. As the two, black SUV's pulled away from Noelani Elementary School at 11:20am it all hit her. Everything from the last week. And the fact that she was minutes away from seeing Steve. The car suddenly felt incredibly hot and her body began sweating profusely. Her clothes felt tight, as did her brace, and she fought the urge to pull on them. She eyed the sides of the car feeling as if they were closing in on her. _Try and stay calm Maddie_, she told herself. _Just breathe_. She inhaled a deep breath before clearing her throat. "Can we stop and get a coffee or something?" she asked, doing her best to appear calm and collected.

Billy looked at Mo, who with Pete gone, was in charge. Mo mulled it over. He didn't really like the idea of stopping anywhere. The press and fans had been uncharacteristically rough all day and it'd been extremely difficult getting her in and out of the car with her on crutches as everyone fought to get to her. He knew the rumors the press were reporting as the truth had a lot to do with that. He just wanted to get her back to the arena where she was safe from the outside world. Trying to make a decision, Mo looked over at Maddie.

"Please, Mo? It'll only take a couple minutes. Plus, I have to use the restroom." Seeing that he was still hesitating she added, "Coffee's on me! It'll be my treat!"

The morning had been a rough one. She hadn't been expecting the questions they asked, and although she did her best to act unfazed, he knew she'd been completely caught off guard. Feeling bad, he cracked a smile and shook his head at her. He looked straight ahead and met Frank's eyes in the rearview mirror, giving him a slight nod. Frank turned his blinker on and changed lanes, confusing the rest of her security team that was following them in the other black SUV.

Mo brought his right hand to his mouth and activated the tiny microphone in his sleeve. "Change of plans. We're going to make a quick stop." He met Maddie's eyes, enunciating 'quick stop'.

"Okay," came a response back. Of course only members of her security team could hear it because it came through in the earpieces they were all wearing.

"Thanks Mo," Mads whispered, lightly elbowing him as she wrinkled her nose. Knowing they'd be stopping shortly made the anxiety she was feeling lessen slightly. However, she still couldn't wait to get out and get some much-needed personal space.

"Sure thing Shorty," he smiled.

* * *

><p>They arrived at a Starbucks minutes later and Maddie couldn't get out of the car fast enough. Stepping foot in the fresh air she took several deep breaths, hoping they'd help her calm down. Unfortunately, they did nothing. The overwhelmed feeling increased tenfold as a dozen paparazzi that had been following the SUV's jumped out of their cars and ran towards her.<p>

"I don't like this," Mo mumbled as he handed Maddie her crutches. Carl and Frank jumped from the SUV just in time to help Mo build a wall around her. While Mo stayed extremely close to her, his left arm around her shoulders, the other two each had a hand hovering near their holstered weapons.

"Are you thirsty?" one paparazzi asked Maddie as he clicked away on his camera while his buddy filmed her with a large video camera. "Is that why you're stopping at Starbucks?" Desperate to get away from everything and everyone she continued to crutch forward as fast as possible. The members of her security team from the other SUV quickly joined them, helping to keep the "vultures" away from Maddie.

"Back off!" Billy yelled to a particularly aggressive photographer as he helped shield Maddie and Mo. However, he didn't listen and grabbed at Maddie nearly knocking her down. Billy didn't miss a beat as he pushed him away. He was going to go further, but her voice stopped him.

"Billy, let it go." He met her eyes and she flashed him a small smile. "Let's just get inside, okay?" Suddenly she realized Tina wasn't with her. She stopped dead in her tracks and began to frantically look around.

"She's with Connor. Don't worry, she's fine," Mo whispered from his spot next to her. Relief filling her, she resumed crutching forward while her security team surrounded her.

Once inside Starbucks Tina appeared. "That was insane! They're so aggressive when they think they have something juicy." She paused. "Speaking of which, you okay? Do you wanna talk about what they were all asking about earlier? I imagine you have to be upset…I mean, I'm furious, so I can't even begin to guess how you feel!"

Maddie sighed heavily. Just the mention of what they were reporting heightened the anxiety and panic she was experiencing. "Just that it's not true," she said.

"I know! You don't have to tell me that! I'm with you all the time. If it was true, I'd know!" Tina rubbed her back briefly before saying, "You really didn't need this to happen. I mean it's literally the last thing you need to be dealing with or worrying about right now."

Maddie shrugged her shoulders and shook her head, agreeing, but not knowing what to actually say. Partly because she was feeling guilty. Guilty that she was lying to Tina. To everyone. She felt as if she was drowning and suddenly she was overcome with an intense and urgent need to get out of there. She needed some time to think, some time to process, some time to figure out what exactly she was going to do. What her plan was. She needed time away from all this chaos.

Her eyes darted around the coffee shop as she looked for a way out. There was no way she could leave out the front door. Even if she could distract her security team and sneak out, there was absolutely no way she could get by all the paparazzi standing outside taking pictures and video through the windows. Especially on her crutches. Thankfully one of the Starbucks employees had taken pity on her and locked the front door, so none of the press could come in and get in her face. Maddie had smiled and nodded at the young girl in appreciation.

Needing to find another way out, her eyes darted about until they landed on the small bathroom at the end of the hallway. _God, I hope there's a window inside or something_, Maddie thought. "I need to use the restroom. Would you mind ordering? Just use my credit card," she asked her best friend and assistant in between coughs.

"No problem," Tina smiled. She could tell Maddie needed a minute after the morning she'd had. Plus, she knew she felt terrible. She also imagine she was freaking out as every minute went by, knowing she was less than an hour away from seeing Steve. "Do you want your usual?"

"Yeah," Maddie nodded, before crutching towards the bathroom. Mo signaled to Billy to follow her. Although she'd been in the public eye for nearly 15 years she couldn't get use to the constant stares and whispering. She just didn't get it. She was a normal person just like everyone else; the only difference was she wasn't able to do anything normal. Her current situation was a perfect example of that. She couldn't even go to a local coffee shop without it being a complete and total circus.

"I'll wait here," Billy told her as he stood guard at the door.

"Thanks," she whispered before disappearing behind the door. The second it closed she locked it. "Thank God it's a one person bathroom," she whispered to herself. Maddie took a second as she leaned against the closed door. Her eyes were tightly shut as she breathed heavily. Although she swore to herself she wouldn't cry, she couldn't keep the few tears that fell from her eyes. "I gotta get out of here," she whispered, feeling desperate. Suddenly her hand shot up to her mouth as a coughing fit took hold of her. "Ow," she mumbled at the pain she felt in her throat and chest each time she coughed.

Maddie took a deep breath as the coughing subsided and looked around, studying the small bathroom. "How the hell do I get out of here?" she asked herself, wiping away some tears. However her question was quickly answered as her eyes stumbled upon a small window across from her. "It's small, but it'll do," she whispered, a few more tears falling down her gorgeous face.

Leaning her crutches against the wall next to her, she began climbing on top of the counter that housed the sink. An action that was not easy given, not only the large knee brace she was wearing, but the painful stiffness and limited range of movement her tailbone injury gave her. As she tried to get on the counter, she flipped the sink on, letting the water run so it would hopefully help cover any noises she made while fleeing. She didn't want Billy to know what she was up to. Now able to look out the small window, she grinned, seeing that no one was around outside. "Thank God!" she whispered. Carefully, and as quietly as possible, she opened the window. Once it was open she reached down and grabbed her crutches. One by one she dropped them out the window, hoping they wouldn't make too much noise and alert Billy. However, as they clattered to the ground outside, another coughing fit hit her.

Just as Maddie was about to start climbing out herself, Billy knocked on the door. "You okay?" he asked.

She took a deep breath hoping to calm the tears that were now freely falling down her face, which, she assumed, was the reason she suddenly had an intense, consistent tickle in the back of her throat making herself cough. "Yeah… (*cough*) I just need another minute or (*cough*) so. It's just sooo (*cough*) crazy out there. I just need a moment (*cough*) to myself."

"Understandable," he responded. "Do you want me to get you some water or something?"

"No thank you. I'll be out (*cough*) in a sec," Maddie replied. Because it was so loud in Starbucks he didn't hear the tears in her voice, something she was extremely grateful for.

_He really is such a sweetie. I feel bad doing this to him, but I have to get out of here_, she thought. She needed some time to herself to think everything through. So much had happened in the last week and it had all hit her, leaving her feeling trapped. The press conference had been the last straw, pushing her over the edge.

Biting her lip, Maddie whispered, "Well, here goes nothing," before climbing into the window so her legs were hanging out. She almost had to take her knee brace off because she had a difficult time getting her leg up there without bending it. However, she was grateful for the large pipe that ran along the ceiling right near the window because she was able to use it like a monkey bar. As she held onto it she swung her legs through the open window. _All those years of gymnastics growing up definitely come in handy at times_, she thought as she sat in the window with her legs dangling over. Without any hesitation whatsoever, she jumped down, doing her best to stifle a groan as her legs came in contact with the outside pavement below. The impact with the ground was absolutely excruciating to not only her knee and foot, but her tailbone as well, as the vibrations shot up her legs and body. Knowing she didn't have much time before her security team realized what she was up to, Maddie pushed the pain from her mind. She picked up her crutches before quickly taking off in the opposite direction of Starbucks.

Just knowing that she was alone and was going to have some time to herself made her feel a little better, although the tears continued to fall. Even though she was away from Starbucks, people were still recognizing and staring at her. Not nearly as many, but enough that she knew they'd easily lead Mo to her. She glanced around trying to think of a way to disguise herself, and quickly. Suddenly she spotted a small stand outside a local shop where they were selling an array of items. She knew it wouldn't be smart to buy just anything to hide her face. From past experiences she'd learned that if she bought something, in this case a hat, it needed to go with what she was wearing. That way she'd blend into the crowd more. Spotting a baseball hat that would work, she recalled a time she'd taken off and bought a crazy, colorful cowboy hat (it was all they had) to use as a disguise. However, it only brought more attention to her and because of that, Pete had found her quickly. She'd never forgotten the lesson she learned that day.

"I'll get this," Maddie quietly said to the older couple whose stand it was. She smiled at the older man as she handed him cash for the hat. It was obvious they both knew who she was, but neither said anything, something she really appreciated. "Thank you," she whispered, wiping tears from her face as she put the hat on.

"Are you okay dear?" the man's wife asked her.

"Yes," Maddie softly answered as she bowed her head trying her best to keep from crying. However, her attempts were futile and her bottom lip quivered as more tears made their way down her face.

The older woman came around and pulled her into a big hug. She said nothing as she soothingly rubbed Maddie's back. After a minute she pulled away. "Thank you, I'm sorry."

"That's okay dear. Never apologize for tears. Sometimes you just need to let them out," the older woman told her.

Maddie gave her a sad, but appreciative smile before saying, "Well thanks for the hat, but I better go." She glanced around, taking in her surroundings. _If only I knew where I was going_, she thought. "Uh…where's the nearest bus stop?"

"Where are you trying to go?" the older man asked.

Without thinking Maddie answered, "The National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific." Hearing her answer, some of what she was feeling made sense. _Of course,_ she thought. _I'd be spending the day with him right now. He would never miss a show here in Hawaii. _

"I was just going to head out and run a quick errand and the cemetery is on my way. I'll take you," the older woman offered.

"Oh, you don't have to do that," Maddie said, sniffling from not only her tears, but because she was sick.

"I won't have it any other way."

"Are you sure?" Maddie asked. She glanced around quickly, making sure Mo and her team hadn't found her.

"Of course!" The older woman smiled at her. "By the way, my name is Beatrice, but everyone calls me Bee."

"Hi Bee. It's wonderful to meet you. My name is Maddie." Maddie reached her hand out to the kind older woman.

"Nice to meet you! Now, I'll go grab the car and come pick you up that way you don't have to use your crutches so much." Bee set off across the parking lot towards her car before Maddie even had a chance to protest.

"But," she said, however realized it was pointless seeing as Bee was already out of earshot.

Hearing a man's chuckle, Maddie turned her head. "That's Bee for you," he smiled. "By the way, I'm Charlie."

"Nice to meet you! I'm Maddie," she introduced herself, shaking his hand.

Before the two had a chance to start a conversation, Bee pulled up, rolled the window down and called to her. "Nice to meet you Charlie," Maddie said before turning and crutching to the car. Opening the back door, she laid her crutches across the seat before climbing in the passenger seat. "Thanks so much for doing this Bee," Maddie whispered, her voice cutting in and out.

"My pleasure dear."

Maddie lightly groaned hearing her cell phone begin to ring. Quickly she pulled it from her pocket to see Mo's name on the screen. _Sorry Mo, _she thought as she turned the object off. She just wasn't ready to come in. Returning her phone to her pocket, she wiped fresh tears from her face. She was doing everything she could to not cry, but they just kept slipping out. It was as if she'd lost control of her emotions. Unfortunately, crying was only irritating her cough and making her more stuffed up. She covered her mouth as she had a short coughing spasm.

"That doesn't sound good honey," Bee said as they drove towards the cemetery.

"It's nothing," Maddie quietly answered.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, just a little cold. No big deal." Maddie looked out the window, taking in the beautiful day.

"I wasn't referring to your cold. However, I'd say you have more than a little cold," Bee stated.

Maddie couldn't help but smile at the older woman. "I'm okay. It's just one of those days."

"Wanna talk about it?" she asked.

"It's nothing, but thank you," Maddie told her.

As Bee came to a complete stop at a red light she turned and studied the beautiful young woman. "Your heart is broken, isn't it?"

Maddie had been keeping the sobs in for days, minus a couple slips here and there, like at the beach, and she suddenly found herself unable to hold them back. She bowed her head as her shoulders wracked with sobs. She was doing her best to stop, but it just wasn't working. Nothing was, which only upset her more. She wasn't one to cry in front of people, let alone a complete stranger. She wasn't just crying over Steve, but also over the entire stalker situation, the information the press now had and were hounding her about, etc. Plus, she was exhausted and whenever she was this overly tired she became incredibly emotional. What was pushing her over the edge was that everything happening in her life was making her feel so alone. She thought that was probably a big reason why she couldn't seem to get over what Steve had said. Maddie needed him, but because of his behavior and the things he'd said, she didn't feel emotionally safe with him. This made her feel she had no one. After all, he was her family. She knew this was a big part of the reason why in that moment she had told Bee she wanted to go to the cemetery. She was drowning and needed someone to hold her hand and keep her from sinking further to the bottom. Sadly, she didn't trust Steve to be that person right now. So, the only other family she had had been murdered four months earlier.

The harder Maddie cried, the harder and more she coughed. "Oh honey," Bee cooed, reaching out her right hand and taking hold of Maddie's left, slightly wrapped up, injured one. "Tell me about it."

Maddie was never one to share her innermost feelings with people, let alone strangers, but without even realizing it she found herself telling Bee the whole story of her and Steve. Of course she left out the stalker part.

"Sounds like he's got his head up his 'Elemu," Bee told her as she maneuvered the car into the left turn lane. Maddie couldn't help but laugh, shocked that Bee said what she did. The older woman turned to her and smiled brightly. "Now that's a beautiful sound!" At Maddie's confused look, she clarified, "Your laugh."

"Thank you," Maddie blushed.

As Bee pulled the car into the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific she said, "Look Maddie, everything happens for a reason. I know your heart hurts now, but it'll heal and you'll find someone. And you never know, it might just be Steve. But either way, don't close yourself off from love, okay?"

"I won't," Maddie told her as the car came to a stop inside the cemetery. She quickly wiped at her tear-streaked face. "Thank you again for the ride!"

Bee smiled at her while lightly squeezing her hand. "No problem!"

Maddie reached forward and gave the old woman a hug before opening the car door and stepping out. As she grabbed her crutches from the back seat Bee said, "You keep in touch! Stop by whenever you want!"

"I'll definitely do that!" Maddie told her, placing the crutches under her arms. "Thanks again!"

"No problem!" Bee smiled before slowly driving away. Maddie sadly watched her go. She'd enjoyed her company. Bee had been so maternal and loving and it made Maddie miss not only her own mother, but Steve's. After all Doris McGarrett was like a second mother to her. She found that her talk with Bee had helped some as she wasn't crying nearly as hard and although she still felt alone, it wasn't such an overwhelming feeling.

Knowing it wouldn't be long before she was found, Maddie began crutching into the cemetery, stopping when she came to John McGarrett's headstone. Looking directly next to it, she smile sadly at Doris' headstone. "At least they're together now," she whispered.

* * *

><p>At 11:30am Steve nervously pulled up to the gate outside the arena and flashed his VIP All Access pass to the security officer.<p>

"Go on in," the officer instructed.

"Thank you," Steve replied, giving him a quick nod and a tight smile.

He was nervous as he followed the signs to the "Crewmember Only" parking area. Excited too, but definitely a bit nervous. He just didn't know what to expect from Maddie. She claimed she wasn't upset, that she had no idea why he would think she would be. But then she wouldn't answer or return any of his calls. Plus, in the few texts she had sent she'd been incredibly distant. Not to mention, Tina had told him that she was definitely upset. Because of the different and contradicting information he was receiving, he really had no idea to what to expect.

Pulling his keys from the ignition, Steve opened the driver's door and stepped out. _Hopefully this will be a good ice breaker_, he thought as he reached inside and grabbed Maddie's favorite smoothie from the cup holder. The one Pete had specifically asked him to pick up.

Walking towards the nearest entrance he flashed his pass to a security member he'd never seen before. _Probably one of the ones she herself hired_, he thought as he studied him, reminding himself that he should be sure to do an extensive background check on each and every one of the new hires.

As he entered the building he found himself in an extremely large room. Besides a lot of open space, there was a long table with all different kinds of food laid out on it. _Craft Services_, he thought. Near it were many tables with benches. Some people ate as they sat at them, while others chatted or worked on various things. It seemed to be a room where people could hang out or take a break.

Hearing a familiar voice Steve looked around until his eyes finally fell on some friendly faces.

"What took you so long?" Danny called out from his spot at a table. The rest of the team was with him. "We left headquarters at the same time. Were you just sitting in your car, nervous to see Maddie?" he mocked as Steve approached the table.

The day was only beginning and Danny was already up to his usual tricks. Steve fought the urge to inflict bodily harm on him. Instead, his jaw clenched as he held his tongue, suppressing his comeback. "I picked this up." Steve set the smoothie on the table before taking a seat next to his partner.

"Thanks for grabbing that," Pete said from his spot across from him. It was obvious he was irritated and upset with Steve, by not only his tone, but the look on his face.

"No problem," Steve replied, surveying the room.

"She's not here," Pete said, knowing he was looking for Maddie.

Steve's brow furrowed as he looked at his old friend with utter confusion. "What do you mean?"

"She had a bunch of press to do this morning. She's not back yet. Soon, but not yet."

"Why the hell aren't you with her?" Steve asked, his voice slightly rising.

It took everything Pete had not to lose it and start yelling at Steve for everything he'd put Maddie through lately. Instead, he paused briefly, thinking before speaking, wanting to be sure not to let anything slip about any of the incidents. Maddie had promised she'd tell him after the show, so he'd sworn he wouldn't say anything. As much as he felt Steve should immediately be made aware of what was going on, he had to honor his promise to her. After all, he needed her to know she could trust him, hoping she'd tell him what was going on. "She's perfectly safe. Mo and seven other guys are with her. I stayed behind to make sure everything was good here. I've been looking over the stage all morning."

Steve eyed him suspiciously. "Why? What's wrong with the stage?"

"Nothing," Pete told him. "I always look over the stage before a show. Just covering my bases, no big deal." Not wanting Steve to realize he was lying he grabbed the smoothie and walked the short distance to the craft services table. They had a small refrigerator and he quickly put the drink in it, not wanting it to melt.

"When will she be here?" Kono asked, changing the subject on purpose. The tension between the two men was uncomfortable. They were already both covered in cuts and bruises; no one wanted them to go at it again. She felt if someone didn't intercede, that's exactly what would happen.

Walking back to the table, Pete glanced at his watch. Seeing the time he furrowed his eyebrows as he once again sat across from Steve. _She should've already been here_, he thought. "Any minute now. I'll call and see where they are." He pulled his phone from his pocket and just as he was about to call Mo he heard his voice. Putting the object away he turned to see his second in command jogging towards him, an irritated and panicked look on his face. He didn't need him to say anything, he already knew what was going on. "Damn it," Pete seethed as he stood.

"I'm sorry P," Mo told him.

Steve glanced between the two before his eyes fell on the group of men that had entered behind Mo. His eyes fell on Tina, but he didn't see Maddie.

"What happened?" Pete asked, pulling his phone out again.

"Pete, I'm sorry. I should've known something was wrong," Tina told him, stepping forward and away from the group.

"Where's Maddie?" Steve asked, hoping to hear a different answer than he thought he would.

Pete sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. "She took off."

"What do you mean she took off?" Steve exclaimed as his heart began to pound and panic rose in his chest.

"Just chill for a second. Let me think," Pete snapped. He was doing his absolute best to stay calm, when in reality he was freaking out. After everything that happened the last couple days, he did not want her out there alone. Someone was after her and he didn't know if they'd hurt or take her. The thoughts scared the hell out of him and unfortunately he couldn't let Steve know how panicked he was without telling him why. Pete quickly dialed her cell number, however it went straight to voicemail. "Damn it Madeline!" he cursed before returning his attention to Mo. "How the hell did she get away? She's in a huge knee brace and on crutches!" Pete cried, raising his voice.

"She begged us to stop at Starbucks. When we went inside she said she needed to use the restroom. Billy walked her to the door and stood outside waiting for her. However, she never came out. She went out the window," Mo explained. He felt terrible. Pete had specifically told him not to let her out of his sight and he'd completely let him down.

"Which Starbucks?" Steve asked, standing up.

Pete turned to him. "I know what you're thinking, but just stay here. We'll find her."

"We can cover more ground if we both go," Steve argued.

"Stay here, McGarrett!" Pete ordered. He knew that Maddie would not go with Steve if he found her. In fact, he was worried she'd just run from him.

The two were beginning to get in each other's faces when Chin interrupted. "I know where she is."

All heads whipped towards him. "Where?" Steve asked. "I'll go get her."

"No, Steve. Chin, where is she?" Pete questioned. "I'll get her and bring her back."

Steve stepped towards Pete, anger coursing through his veins. Before anything could happen Chin stood and intervened. "Steve, stay here. Pete and I will go get her." Steve looked at his co-worker with a look of betrayal. "Trust me Steve. This is what's best." Chin also knew she wouldn't go with Steve. Their best bet of getting her was making sure he didn't go with them.

Steve hesitated, but eventually conceded. "Fine, but if you haven't found her in thirty minutes, I'm going to look for her. So, keep me posted," he mumbled angrily as he sat back down.

"Don't worry, we will," Chin replied, quickly patting his friend on the shoulder as he walked by.

"Mo, I need you to stay here and take care of a couple things. Make sure everyone in here has a pass. That no one is here that isn't allowed or supposed to be. Also, the canine unit has been sniffing the arena for the last 15 minutes. Just make sure they go over every square inch of this place," Pete instructed.

"Will do," Mo told him.

"Okay, Frank, drive Chin and me in one car. Carl, Connor and Billy take the other one and follow us." Pete turned to the table where Steve, Kono, Danny, and Lori sat. "We'll be right back. Make yourself comfortable."

"Do you want me to go?" Tina asked Pete.

"Nah, stay here. We'll go get her." Pete smiled at her. "Anything happen this morning that I should know about?"

"The press was killer. They were hardcore. They got to her. A lot of rumors about her personal life. Upsetting ones that they just wouldn't let go," Tina answered.

"Great." He shook his head.

"I'm sorry, I should've known she was going to take off. Looking back, she had all the classic signs. I just was so busy calling and dealing with her schedule changes and just…well everything that I didn't see it. That is until it was too late."

"It's fine. We'll find her," Pete said, hoping to ease her guilt. After all, Maddie was a grown up. She was going to do what she was going to do. "Alright, we'll be back." With that said, Chin and Pete jogged quickly out to the SUV's with Carl, Frank, Billy, and Connor right behind them.

Danny looked to his partner and noticed how upset he was. Steve always had the posture of a soldier, but somehow he seemed to be sitting even more straight and rigid as he clenched his jaw. He was staring at the door Pete and Chin had disappeared through only seconds before. His eyes bore into it hoping to see Maddie walk in, completely safe and unharmed. "She'll be fine," Danny told Steve, hoping to calm him down.

"I cannot believe she did this," Steve growled as he shook his head. For how upset and worried he was he was doing an excellent job of hiding it.

Taking advantage of the situation, Lori stood and walked over, taking a seat on the bench next to Steve. Of course she sat so close to him that their thighs were touching. "You're such a good friend to worry about her like this," she told him as she briefly and lightly rubbed his left forearm. "But don't worry, Danny's right. They'll find her and she'll be fine."

He immediately tensed, thankful Maddie wasn't there to see Lori's advances. "Thanks Lori," Steve mumbled.

* * *

><p>Frank was driving while Chin directed him from the front seat. Pete was in the back, fuming at Maddie. "What the hell was she thinking? After everything that's happened!"<p>

"Did anything else happen besides someone tampering with her roller skates, harness, and the device under the stage?" Chin asked, turning around in his seat to meet Pete's eyes.

"Yeah, part of her costume in 'Firework'. It was messed with, so that when sparks started coming out of it, they sputtered, flying every which way. Some landed on her arm and burnt her."

"What?!" Chin cried. "Is she okay?"

"Yeah, it's a mild burn…Thank God!" Pete reassured him. "By the way, I bagged the costume for you. She has doubles of most of her costumes, so she's just using the other one."

"Okay, great!" Chin paused, turning his head back to face forward as he thought about everything that was going on. "Steve is going to completely lose it," he exclaimed.

"Oh yeah," Pete agreed.

"When is she going to tell him?"

"Maddie promised she'd do it after the show tonight. If she actually does it, my guess is she'll wait till we're back at the house." Pete glanced around at their surroundings. "By the way, where is she? Where are we going?"

"The National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific. I bet she went to see John McGarrett."

"Of course," Pete whispered. He shook his head as he bit his lip, mad at himself for not figuring it out. _Of course that's where she is! Duh, Pete! _he told himself. "She's having a hard time and with everything going on between her and Steve…So, it makes sense she went to John looking for comfort. That and she just misses him. He was really the only father she knew. Of course it's bothering her even more today since he always came to the shows here in Hawaii."

"He'd take the whole day off and spend it with her," Chin added. He knew that because that's how he met Maddie. John had taken him with him the first show she'd played in Hawaii since they'd come partners. "Plus, she just found out he was killed. To be honest I don't think it's really even hit her yet."

"Then throw in the Steve stuff," Pete added, understanding why Maddie ran. Now that he knew where she was he was having a hard time being upset with her for taking off. However, he wished she had just said something. He would have taken her to the cemetery himself.

As the two SUV's pulled into the large, beautiful cemetery, they glanced around, looking for her. "John and Doris are buried over there," Chin stated, pointing to the right. Frank turned the car in that direction and the three men scanned the area.

"There she is!" Pete exclaimed, spotting her sitting on the grass among the headstones.

Frank brought the car to a complete stop and Pete and Chin got out. As they made their way towards her they could tell she was crying. Reaching her, Chin sat on one side while Pete sat on the other. "What took you guys so long? I've been waiting for you," Maddie whispered through her tears.

"You have?" Pete asked, surprised.

"Yeah," she sniffled, wiping some tears away. "Let me guess, it was Chin who knew where to find me?" The two smirked, giving her the answer she needed.

"Nice disguise," Pete smiled as he tapped the bill of her new baseball hat.

She tried to laugh, but instead sobs came out. Pete reached over and placed his hand on her forehead. "How ya feeling Shorty?"

"Fine," she lied. In reality she felt even worse than she had earlier and last night.

"Don't give me that. You're burning up," Pete said, concern on his face.

"You sick, Mads?" Chin asked, copying Pete's actions and checking her temperature. "Oh my God! You're on fire!"

She said nothing as she sniffled and wiped some fresh tears away. Exhausted, her eyes briefly closed before she forced them open. Seeing this Chin said, "Let's head back to the venue."

Both stood and helped Maddie to her feet. However, instead of walking forward, she stayed rooted in place, chewing her lower lip in nervousness.

"What is it Mads?" Pete asked, noticing her hesitation.

She coughed a couple times and wiped again at her wet face. "Is Steve there?"

Pete didn't want to lie to her. He didn't see the point or how that would be helpful. "Yeah, he is."

"And he's beyond worried about you. He gave us thirty minutes to find you before he's gonna send out the entire Navy and all of HPD to find you," Chin added, hoping it would make her smile.

Maddie sighed, not ready to see him yet, something Pete detected. "Mads, you'll be fine. Just talk to him. Be honest with him."

Standing, Maddie leaned on her crutches. "Do we have to go back right this second?"

"Yes," Pete told her. "You'll be fine."

Noticing that she was leaning completely on her crutches as her eyes drifted shut every few seconds, he gently placed his hand on her back. "Chin, can you take her crutches?"

"Sure thing," he said as he grabbed them. As soon as Chin had her crutches, Pete scooped Maddie up in his arms and the two began walking towards the car. She was so exhausted and felt so awful that she didn't even bother to fight him. In fact, she leaned her head on his shoulder as she fought to keep her eyes open.

Once they reached the car, Chin climbed in the front seat after helping Pete get Maddie in the back.

As Frank drove away, leaving the cemetery behind, Pete pulled his cell out and called Mo. "We got her. She's okay and we're on our way back. See you in fifteen."

While the other SUV followed them back to the arena, an exhausted Maddie sat in the back seat completely panicking and worrying about seeing Steve in a few minutes.

* * *

><p>"Alright, got it," Mo said before hanging and reattaching his cell to his belt. Speaking in to the microphone at the cuff of his shirt he said, "Do another once over of everything. Especially the main room and her dressing room. ETA 15 minutes." He heard a confirmation through the earpiece in his left ear before returning his attention to the Five-0 team. "They have her, she's fine."<p>

Steve breathed a sigh of relief. "Where was she?"

"They didn't say, but it must've been where Chin thought because they found her quickly."

"What'd she do now?" Ryan questioned, approaching the table and plopping down.

"Hey! Where'd you come from?" Mo asked, surprised to see him. "I thought you weren't coming in till 3pm?"

"I need to talk to Mads about some things. Plus, I didn't want to miss out on any of the fun with her today," he said sarcastically while slightly chuckling.

"How'd you know?" Mo asked.

Ryan smirked as he placed his elbow on the table, resting his chin in his hand. "I saw it coming around 3am… during that last run through we did. She was starting to push her luck a bit." Ryan explained. "Plus, I could just see it in her eyes."

Steve sighed at his response. _They were still rehearsing at three this morning?_ _Damn it! _he thought. He was quiet as he looked Ryan over, taking in his appearance. It was more than obvious he was tired and he found himself wondering how tired Maddie was. Apparently Ryan had gone back to his hotel, to sleep he assumed, while Maddie left to do press all morning. So, he imagined she was in worse shape than him. The question was, how much worse?

"So, what'd she do?" Ryan asked again.

"Took off."

Ryan couldn't help himself; he started laughing. At Mo and Steve's irritated looks he did his best to stop. "Sorry, I know…it's not funny. But look at it this way, she's acting more like herself if she's taking off. Isn't that what you all wanted?"

"I knew she was fine," Lori commented from her spot next to Steve. Ryan immediately met his eyes, his happy demeanor changing to an irritated one as he thought about how upset and heartbroken Maddie was. He was angry and he wanted Steve to know it. Ryan stared him down, hoping he'd get the message. He could tell he did as Steve looked away, breaking eye contact with him.

"How was press this morning?" Ryan asked.

"It was bad," Tina answered.

His forehead wrinkled in confusion, not expecting that answer. He looked over at her and asked, "How so?"

Tina suddenly looked uncomfortable as her eyes flitted between Steve and Ryan. "Just…uh…asking her a lot of personal stuff. You know how they get when they think they have something juicy."

Picking up on her hesitation, Ryan didn't ask any more questions, however Steve did. "What kind of personal questions?"

Tina faltered. "Um…just the usual. She just wasn't in the mood."

"Really T? Come on," Steve said to her. It was obvious she was lying to him, he just didn't know why. "You know I could easily just watch the news or go online, so why lie?"

Before she could say anything Mo turned his head listening to a voice in his earpiece before responding into the small mic at his sleeve. "Yeah, we're on our way." Standing up quickly he continued talking into his wrist. "Jared, Josh, Bobby, and Dominic, get to the back gate NOW! They're stuck. They can't get through the gate." Turning his attention to everyone at the table, he said, "Excuse me, I'll be right back."

"Do you need any help?" Danny asked.

"Nah, we got it. But, thanks!" He smiled before he took off, running out the door into the parking lot and towards the nearest gate.

Steve felt a tingling in his stomach, anxious to see her. It was a feeling he rarely had. It irritated him, making him feel like less of a man or Navy Seal. _Why am I so nervous to see her?_ he wondered. _It's just Maddie_. He didn't know why Maddie got to him so much. Why he worried about her all the time, but he did. He watched as three HPD K-9 Unit officers entered the room, each with a large dog. They let the dogs lead them as they sniffed every last inch of the room before disappearing down a hallway. The sight made him happy, knowing Pete was taking care of Maddie, making sure she was safe. Well, except for letting her disappear.

"I'm so excited to see Mads show tonight! I bet it's off the hook!" Kono suddenly said.

"Me too," Lori added. She was definitely going to follow through with her plan to be friends with Maddie. _Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer_, she thought.

Ryan glanced at Lori, surprised by her statement. He watched her as she found any little excuse to touch Steve. Yes, it was subtle to anyone who didn't know what was going on, but he did. Seeing her right against Steve was the last thing Maddie needed right now. He couldn't believe Steve wasn't doing anything to stop it. _Maybe he doesn't care about her in the way we all thought_, Ryan wondered. _Maybe Maddie's right and we're all wrong._ However his attention was pulled away as he heard noise at the entrance to the large room.

* * *

><p>The entire fifteen-minute drive Maddie sat stiff as a board in the back seat. As they got closer and closer to the arena Pete noticed her become more and more tense. Eventually she took to nibbling on her bottom lip and her fingernails. "When did you start biting your nails?" he asked. It was his way of letting her know he was aware she was panicking.<p>

She shrugged her shoulders as she sniffled.

"How ya feeling?"

"Fine," she lied. She coughed a couple times and winced at the pain in her throat and chest. "Can we not let Steve know I'm slightly sick?"

"Maddie, there's no slightly about. You're sick. Really, really sick." He felt her forehead again. "I mean, I bet you're fever is at least 103 degrees right now." She looked at him, meeting his eyes. "If you tell me the truth about how you feel, then I won't say anything about it to Steve," he proposed. Chin eyed him incredulously before realizing what he was doing. He knew there was no way Steve wouldn't notice Maddie was really sick. He knew her too well. Plus, the sniffling and coughing would give it away.

She debated lying to him, telling him she really didn't feel that bad, but what was the point? Plus, she didn't want him telling Steve. "Awful," she admitted.

"Now, was that so hard?" Pete smirked before continuing. "Well, we'll get some food into you and then you can take some Advil. Maybe that'll help a little. But you definitely need to get some rest when we get back."

"Can you make sure Doc doesn't say anything to Steve either? Really, make sure no one does."

"No problem Shorty," he said, seeing her eyes flutter closed for a quick second before flying back open.

As the SUV approached the back gate to the arena Frank was forced to almost a complete stop as fans and paparazzi swarmed the car. Suddenly something hit the window to her left causing her to jump towards Pete. She curled into him and he pulled her closer.

"You're fine. It was just a fan or paparazzi," he told her.

The gate opened and Frank did his best to pull in without running anyone over. Unfortunately, when they were halfway through so many people were around the car that he could no longer go anywhere. He was forced to stop. The crowd shook the car and Maddie felt herself begin to panic. She scooted closer to Pete and he immediately wrapped his arm around her, pulling her to him. As the car shook more and the fans pounded on the windows while screaming, she gripped harder at him, hiding her face in his shirt.

Seeing Maddie so afraid got to Pete and he became angry quickly. He'd never seen her this rattled before. _No matter what she says, those incidents have gotten to her,_ he told himself_. _He looked out the severely tinted windows. Faces were smashed against them as they tried to get a glimpse of her, screaming and crying as they held posters and signs for her. "Frank, get us out of here," he ordered.

"I can't. I can't move the car. We're stuck," Frank replied.

Chin looked back at Maddie terrified in the backseat and felt so helpless. Unfortunately, his badge and gun were of no help to them right now.

Bringing his right arm to his mouth Pete contacted Mo for help. Although it felt like forever, help arrived a minute later. Mo, Jared, Josh, Bobby, and Dominic pushed through the crowd and to the SUV. Mo tapped on the window letting Frank know he could start pulling forward. The five men walked with the car, pushing people away when they tried to get past them.

Once the SUV was through, they pushed everyone outside of the arena parking lot and closed the gate. "It's never this crazy here! What is going on?" Mo exclaimed as he watched the screaming fans and paparazzi.

"I know! This is out of control!" Jared replied as they made their way to where Frank had just parked the car. Just as they got there, Pete opened the back door. Maddie was still scared as she clung to him, so he just carried her from the car. "Are they all still in the main room?" Pete asked.

"Yeah," Mo answered.

"Okay. I'm gonna take her back to her dressing room. Let her get her bearings for a second and then we'll be out."

"I don't want to see him yet. Not like this," Maddie mumbled into his shoulder.

"Okay, Mads," Pete whispered to her and then looked to the others standing around him. "Just surround me. I don't want to freak anybody out because I'm carrying her." They all understood what he was saying. He didn't want to freak Steve out. He knew that if he saw her in his arms hiding he would think something had happened to her.

Pete also understood that Maddie just needed a minute to collect herself before having to face him. "Ready?" he asked. The group of 8 men nodded and surrounded Pete as he walked towards the entrance.

"I'll tell them she'll be right out," Chin said as they entered the main room of the arena, before breaking off and walking to the table where his co-workers were seated.

"Thanks," Pete mumbled, picking up the pace. He wanted to get her back to her dressing room as soon as possible.

Mo held the dressing room door open so Pete could walk inside with Maddie. "We're good now, everyone go back to your posts. Keep an eye on everything," Mo instructed as he placed her crutches inside the door before pulling it closed, Maddie and Pete disappearing behind it. "We are on high alert today."

The group of men each headed off in different directions leaving Mo standing guard at the door.

* * *

><p>"You okay?" Pete asked as he set her on the couch.<p>

Maddie coughed, squeezing her eyes shut at the pain she felt in her throat and chest. "Yeah," she mumbled, her voice no more than a squeak. She cleared it hoping it would help. "I just need a couple minutes."

"Okay, well I'm gonna step outside. I'll be back for you in five minutes." Seeing the hesitant look that appeared on her face he sighed. "Seriously, I'll be back in five minutes. The sooner you get this over with the better you'll feel. It's just Steve. You gotta see him."

"I know," Maddie mumbled, staring at the ground.

"You'll be fine. I promise." He walked towards the door. "Do you need me to get you anything before I go?" She shook her head. She was too nervous to even really be sure what he was asking her. "I'm serious, Madeline. I'll be back in five minutes." He watched her stare off into space, her eyes wide with fear and worry, before pulling the door open and exiting.

"I'll be right back. I'm just giving her a minute to get her bearings and then we'll join them," he told Mo.

"Sounds good," he replied, leaning against the wall next to the door.

Knowing she was safe in the room, Pete walked down the hall to join the team before returning for Maddie.

* * *

><p>Steve's heart picked up as he saw the huge cluster of men enter the room. He couldn't see Maddie, but he was able to catch quick glimpses of Pete. <em>Is he carrying her?<em> he wondered. _Is she okay?_

Just as he was beginning to stand to go to her, Chin approached the table. "She'll be right out. She's a little rattled. The car was completely surrounded with people banging on the windows and shaking us back and forth. It just freaked her out a little bit," Chin explained.

"Really?" Steve asked, surprised. _She's never scared in those situations,_ he thought. It was just another example of how she wasn't like herself nowadays. And it wasn't that she was acting a little bit off, but that she was the complete opposite of how she really was. This made him worry even more about her. He knew for something to so significantly change her, it had to be something huge. Which just verified what he and the team were suspecting.

"To be honest, I was scared. It was completely out of control. I've never seen it that bad here. I just don't think she was expecting that," Chin said as he took a seat at the table. "It really took her by surprise."

"I still can't believe she was able to get away from 8 security guards in a knee brace and on crutches," Tina stated, a small smile on her face.

"Plus, a lot of them are Navy Seals," Kono laughed.

"Well, it's obvious she's hung out a lot with Steve," Danny joked.

Although he was furious she'd taken off on her own, Steve couldn't help but also be a bit proud of her. _Tina has a good point, it's not easy to do what she did, _he thought, trying to keep from smirking.

"I bet you guys have some stories from when you were kids," Kono guessed. "I've heard a couple, but not many."

"Yeah, we have a few," he chuckled.

The smile on his face and the way he was biting his bottom lip as he thought about her made Lori angry, jealousy filling her. "I bet you were a handful as a kid!" she laughed, briefly touching his upper arm from her spot on his left. "I'd love to hear some of those stories some time."

Steve tensed at the feel of her hand on him. However, Lori had accomplished her goal. He was now also thinking about her instead of just Maddie.

"What stories?" Pete asked, joining the group. He reached across the table and set the smoothie Steve had gotten for Maddie in front of him. "Here, it would've melted." At Steve's questioning look he said, "She'll be out in a couple minutes."

"She okay?" he asked, trying to mask his intense concern for her.

"Yeah, she's good," Pete answered.

"Did she fight coming back?" Tina asked.

Chin and Pete laughed, shaking their heads and rolling their eyes.

"What?" Ryan asked, smiling.

"No, she definitely didn't fight us," Chin answered, grinning.

"What's with the looks?" Tina questioned.

"When we saw her she nonchalantly asked us what took us so long. That she'd been waiting for us," Pete explained.

They all started laughing, including Steve. _That's the Maddie I know,_ he thought as he shook his head smiling.

"Now that is just one of the reasons I love her," Kono stated, a huge grin on her face.

Pete glanced at his watch. Seeing that it'd been a little more than five minutes he stood. "I'll be right back. I'm gonna go get her." Before turning around he quickly glanced at Steve, noticing how anxious he was to see Maddie. _God I hope he can fix things_, he thought as he walked in the direction of her dressing room.

* * *

><p>Maddie jumped at the knock on her door. So much so, that she didn't respond because she was too busy trying to lower her heart rate.<p>

"Ready Shorty?" Pete asked as he poked his head in the door.

Her hand flew to her mouth as she coughed. "Do I have to?"

"Yes." He walked in, grabbing her crutches. As he approached her he could see how sleepy she was. "Let's go out there for a bit. Have some lunch and then they can all come back in here. Maybe they can watch a movie or something and you can take a nap."

"I'm fine. I'm not tired," Maddie lied as she stood and took her crutches from him. Once she was steady Pete walked to the freezer and pulled out some nice cold ice packs for her knee brace.

He returned to her side. "Whatever you say, Mads," he smirked as he watched her eyes flutter closed before they immediately flew open. She nervously scanned the room, as if she was looking for something or someone. "You okay?"

"Mmm hmm."

Although he knew she was lying there wasn't much he could do except stay close to her and keep an eye on things. He could tell she was on edge and afraid, but of who he didn't know. Only that he assumed it was the same person who had tampered with the various items over the last couple days. Of course, the incident in the car had only made her more anxious and on edge. "Alright, let's go," he said, lightly touching her upper back.

Maddie groaned, not ready to see Steve. She wasn't sure she could act like everything was fine.

"You'll be okay. You're not alone with him," he told her as they exited the dressing room. "I really think you should talk to him though."

Her forehead wrinkled. "I will. I'm not just going to ignore him. That would be rude," she whispered.

Pete gave her a pointed look as they walked side by side down the hall. "You know what I mean. I think you should talk to him about what he said on Sunday. I'm te-"

"Pete, I know you mean well, but he and I are just friends. Telling me he has feelings for me is mean when we both know he doesn't. We are friends and that's it. Okay?" she said, interrupting him, her tone forceful. He could tell she was trying to get her 'game face' on before having to face Steve.

"You sound more like you're trying to convince yourself rather than me," he said. Maddie's eyes fluttered closed at his statement, her stomach falling.

The closer they got to the end of the hall and the entrance to the main room, the harder and faster her heart began to pound, nervous to see Steve. Right before stepping into the main room she all of a sudden abruptly stopped. "Wait."

"Maddie?" Pete turned towards her. He immediately noticed her breathing was quickening. "Everything's fine. Take a breath. It's okay."

She looked up at him, her forehead wrinkled and a frown on her face. "This is bad…I can't do this." She moved to turn back.

He immediately stopped her. "No. Maddie. You're fine. Ryan's out there. Tina too. I'll be there. You'll be fine."

"I'm so embarrassed," she whispered, bringing her hands to her face as she leaned her weight on the armpit pads of the crutches.

"What? Why?" Pete asked, confused.

She shook her head bringing her hands down and returning them to the cushioned hand grips. His heart broke at the look on her face. The look in her glassy eyes. "Mads…" he whispered. "He really didn't mean it. He lov-"

"Don't! Don't say it!" she exclaimed, not letting him finish. His eyes grew wide at the sudden volume of her voice. _God, she's so upset_, he thought, wishing he could somehow take her pain away.

Her sudden outburst caused a sharp pain in her throat as that was significantly louder than her voice wanted or could currently go. A coughing spasm began. Her right hand flew to her mouth not wanting to cough on Pete. No longer holding on to it, her crutch fell to the floor. As she coughed she glanced down at the fallen crutch. Seeing where it landed, in the opening to the main room, she looked at him with wide, moist, eyes.

"It's okay," Pete whispered, leaning down and picking up the item. As he did so he glanced up seeing the table of people staring at him. He flashed them a small smile before popping back up with the crutch. Carefully he placed it under her right arm, letting go only when he was sure it was secure. "Take a breath, Mads. You're okay," he softly told her as she continued to cough, her pale face now bright red.

It took a few seconds for the coughs to die down. When they did, her eyes were watering a bit, solely from coughing. Maddie wiped at her face as she cringed, the spasm making her already incredibly sore throat hurt more. She forced herself to swallow, mumbling "ow" at the pain she felt.

Pete waited a minute, nervously glancing through the open door to the main room a couple times. Finally he cleared his throat. "Mads, they saw me when I bent down for the crutch. They know we're standing here. Let's go in." His heart broke at her panicked expression.

"You'll be fine. Everything's okay." He rubbed her shoulder and smiled at her before turning to face forward. "Come on," he whispered as he put his arm around her back, giving her a slight nudge forward.

Maddie felt her heart rate increase as they stepped into the main room. How it could go any faster she wasn't sure, but it definitely was._ Oh my God, how the hell am I going to pull this off?_ she asked herself as she continued crutching, looking down at the floor.

Pete leaned his head to the right, getting as close to her ear as possible. "I'm right here," he whispered. With his right hand still on her back he briefly supplied a little more pressure, reiterating his statement.

His words and contact gave her the confidence she needed to look up. She plastered a tired smile on her face as she saw the happy faces of her friends.

* * *

><p>It felt like it'd been forever since Pete had left to grab Maddie while they waited. The group had continued to talk and laugh amongst themselves. Although Steve was pretending to listen, he really wasn't. Of course he laughed or smiled whenever the group did, but he had no idea what he was laughing about. As he sat there fiddling with the cold shake his mind was on one thing and one thing only. Maddie. He wanted to see her. Wanted to see she was okay. That she was safe. Plus, he wanted to fix the damage he'd caused. How? He wasn't sure, but he had to. He was going to make sure he did. <em>I'll just have to show her what I said wasn't true. I mean, there's no way she's going to believe me if I just tell her I didn't mean it<em>, he thought. _Not after everything else I said. _He glanced at his watch, wondering what was taking them so long. Seeing that Pete had left almost ten minutes before Steve became nervous, his mind immediately going to a bad place. _Maybe she's hurt? Maybe she's in pain? What if she fainted again? _His thoughts ran wild. _What if s-_ His latest 'what if' was interrupted by the feel of Danny quickly touching his bouncing leg. He didn't need to say anything as he pulled his hand away. Steve had gotten the message.

Steve took a deep breath, doing what his partner wanted. Relaxing. Or at least trying to. _Everything's fine. She'll be out in a second_, he told himself. No sooner had he said that, than a loud crash echoed throughout the big room. His hand instinctively flew to his sidearm, hovering above. In fact, he wasn't the only one. Danny, Chin, Kono, and Lori all did the same thing. Steve scanned the room, looking for the culprit behind the crash. His eyes fell upon a crutch that had fallen into the main room from the doorway. However, there was no one with the crutch. "What the hell?" he murmured. He didn't have to wait long before seeing Pete appear at the door bending down to grab the fallen crutch. He looked over at them, smiling, before standing up, disappearing as he did so.

"Well, we know Maddie's here," Kono joked, laughing at her friend's clumsiness.

Steve's heart quickened, knowing she was so close and would be coming in at any second. _It's Maddie, why the hell is my heart racing? What is going on?_ he wondered, freaked out by his feelings. _Calm down__…__just go with the flow. Don't freak out and screw things up between you guys even more,_ he told himself. After all, that's how he'd gotten himself in this mess. Freaking out.

"What are they doing?" Kono asked, wondering why they hadn't come in the room yet.

"Are they just standing right outside the doorway?" Lori asked. _Maybe she doesn't want to see Steve. I mean they were fighting at the barbeque. Maybe I don't have anything to worry about_, she thought. However, deep down she knew she did.

Ryan and Chin exchanged looks, knowing exactly what was keeping Maddie. Ryan decided that if she wasn't in there in one minute he'd stand up and go help Pete.

"Is everything okay?" Danny asked.

"Yeah," Tina answered. She briefly looked over at Steve, however she was surprised when she met his eyes. She offered him an uncomfortable smile before looking away.

His stomach dropped. _Does she not want to see me_? he wondered. His heart ached at the idea. However, he couldn't think long on the subject as both Pete and Maddie entered the room.

* * *

><p>Thank you sooooo much for taking the time to read my story! I hope you enjoy it! Please, please leave a review or PM me with your thoughts!<p>

xoxo


	31. Chapter 31

**DISCLAIMER****:** I do not own the TV show "Hawaii Five-0" or any of its characters. However, I do own Maddie, Pete, Tina, Ryan, Doc, Kendall, Billy, Mo, Frank, etc... :o)

* * *

><p><strong>AUTHOR'S<strong>** NOTE****: **I suck, I know. Not only did I leave you with a cliffhanger, but then it took far toooo long to post this chapter. I'm so sorry! I do not blame any of you for being upset. I went on a family vacation for over a month to Australia and New Zealand. I was soooo excited because I thought I'd have a TON of time to write and update, however due to family drama (my brother being an ass), that did not happen. I had no time to myself and instead became my mom's buddy. But hey, my mom having a good time even though my brother's a dick was more important than getting time to write and update this story...sorry. :o( Anyway, once I got back I was super sick and then was off to New York for work. I am now back and have a lot of down time over the next month! YAY! I plan on writing and updating my little heart out. I gotta make up for the long periods of time in between the last few chapters. And I will, I PROMISE!

Anyway, this chapter ended up being a little bit more of a segue, filler chapter than I initially thought. However, there's a lot of information that gets thrown at you guys, both subtly and not so subtly. I know it's a long chapter for what it is, but hey, you guys have read my story thus far, so you know my style of writing is incredibly detailed. I like to paint a picture of people, their emotions/feelings, and what's going on in the chapter. Some people like this, others don't. I can't please everyone.

I know it seems like a lot of time has gone by in this story, but because of my detailed style of writing, only a week has gone by. Maddie has only been in Hawaii a week and the last four days she has worked herself into the ground. She's exhausted, as is her entire team, including Pete, Tina, and Ryan, and that's putting it mildly. Of course Steve is going to be worried, everyone is. After she performs the show and gets rested, you'll start to see the real Maddie. I know there's a few of you that seem to think Maddie is like this all the time, but that couldn't be further from the truth. That's why Steve is so worried about her. That's why everyone is. In the past Steve would worry about her, but nothing like this. He didn't have his eye on her every second and he wasn't so overprotective. Sure he was definitely overprotective of her, but NOTHING like this. You'll see that in some flashbacks to the past in the next few chapters. You'll also see that once Maddie gets sleep and starts to settle into "normal life", where she isn't on the road and touring the world, where she isn't surrounded by people protecting her and wanting things from her, she starts to be more like herself! YAY!

Chapter 32 will be Steve and Maddie BIG TIME! I'll start writing it when I wake up as I stayed up till 7am making sure I finished editing this 50pg Microsoft Word chapter and posting it. Anyway, HAPPY HOLIDAYS! My hopes are to have the next chapter up this year, so I'll wait before wishing you all a happy new year!

Like always, thoughts are in _italics_. Because Maddie is losing her voice, she writes down her responses a lot in this chapter. I've put those in **bold**. Also, I mention the name in this chapter. As a reminder, he is the new head of Maddie's record label. The guy that has it out for her! That will all start to make sense in this chapter!

Also, I appreciate your reviews, so please, please, please keep them coming and let me know what you think. Or feel free to send me a private message (PM) too. I'll answer back. It really does make such a difference in when I update. To be honest I got a couple weird hate mails for the last chapter. People that didn't even fully read the story, yet commented on it like they knew the plot. And not in a nice way. They were mad on the route that I went with the story, when the route they were saying was completely incorrect. I mean, completely! I'm all for people speaking their minds and I do understand everyone is entitled to their opinion. However, I do ask that you be respectful! I spend A LOT of time writing this story. Time I don't always have, so I stay up all night and work on it. Not everyone has to like it, but please be nice if you don't. It's as simple as that! I will admit that these 2 mean and disrespectful messages pissed me off and to be honest it made me not update right away. If they had been respectful about their feelings, then it wouldn't have ticked me off. I really do welcome your thoughts, whether it's that you like the story or not, I just want you to be courteous about it!

I am so sorry I let them influence when I updated next because all of you wonderful people that leave me such amazing and supportive reviews didn't deserve that. So, I am really sorry and I won't let that happen again!

Anyway, I'll stop rambling and let you get to reading the next chapter! Thanks again for your patience and I am so sorry it took me this long to post!

xo

Laura

SHOUT-OUTS to my reviewers!

**karymcgarrett** - You are too sweet! Thank you so much for telling everyone to leave a review! It's true, it only takes a couple seconds! And it really does make such a difference! I wanted to tell you how much I love that you are trying to figure out who the stalker is. He does something super f**ked up in Chapter 32 that will really show the readers, at least I hope it does, how scary and creepy he is. That's why Steve has been so worried. He knows how diabolical and insane this guy is, not to mention smart. Steve is scared, which he should be. Anyway, thanks again for your continued reviews! I really really appreciate it! By the way, I LOVE "Time Changes Everything"! You are an AWESOME writer! I cannot wait for you to update! I have your story on alert and can't get enough of it! Keep it up! WOO HOO! (Oh and I will post the diagram of the stage in the next chapter when I describe it more thoroughly! Thanks for letting me know you think it's a good idea to post it! I really appreciate it!)

**kiwikaren**- Wow! I can't believe you read the entire thing in one sitting!? I bet it made for a late night! Dayumn! Do you know how many typed Microsoft Word pages the first 30 chapters are? 574 PAGES! I can't believe you enjoy my story so much that you read that many pages in one sitting! Thank you so much! I am really flattered! I hope you enjoy this chapter as much! Can't wait to hear what you think!

**lynnrxgal** - Haha! Your review cracked me up! I completely agree, SOMEONE LOCK LORI IN A CLOSET! However, I think it'd be way more fun and entertaining if someone locked Maddie and Steve in a closet. Don't you? ;o) lol Thanks for your reviews! I really appreciate it!

**Duffster21** - That sucks about your laptop! Did you find it?! I really hope so! I don't blame you for freaking out about it. I know I would react the exact same way if my laptop suddenly vanished! Anyway, thank you so much for your review! I know how anxious I am for Maddie and Steve moments, so I can't imagine how anxious you guys are! Don't worry, there are going to be a ton of their cute moments from now on. Some cute, and some hot! heheh! Thanks again for your review! Can't wait to hear what you think of this chapter!

**SCRIBBLE** – Thank you so much for letting me know what you think of my story. I really appreciate it! However, you couldn't have been more wrong about the plot of my story. And if you hadn't skipped so many chapters you would have realized that. Maddie's ex being in the story is just an added thing. It has nothing to do with her stalker. In fact, from everything I've written so far, it doesn't even make sense that it would be him. You're right, Steve is a Navy Seal. He is sent all over the world on classified missions, so a lot of the time he isn't allowed to tell people where he is. So it makes complete sense that Maddie didn't know exactly where he was. But that doesn't mean her stalker didn't know where he was. You really needed to read the entire story before making such huge, incorrect assumptions and then leaving me a negative comment about them. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE when my readers try and figure out what's going on and who the stalker is, but they never assume they know the answer and then go after me based on those assumptions. Seriously, you have the ENTIRE plot wrong! Read chapter 27 and things might become a bit clearer. Also, I've never seen Twilight, nor do I have any inclination to. So, I can't respond to your comments about that movie. But, I do appreciate your opinion and thank you for taking the time to review! :o)

**HeavenSpent** - Thanks so much for your continued support! It really means a lot! I'm loving your story by the way! You are such a fantastic writer, so it really means a lot that you enjoy my story!

**MeNoAccount** - Thanks so much for the review! I get so excited when I hear from new reviewers! Don't worry, Steve will be having that talk with Lori soon, because I completely agree!

**FicWriterr **- Wow! Another reader that read all 30 chapters in one night?! Holy crap! The first 30 chapters are 574 typed Microsoft Word pages! That's a lot of reading in one night! How many hours did it take you? You must be a fast reader! I am so flattered that you enjoy my story so much that you sat and read it all in one sitting! What a compliment! And thank you for letting me know! I can't wait to hear what you think of this chapter and the rest of the story!

**Niclabelle** - Hey girlie! Thanks so much for your continued support! I am always so anxious to get your reviews! I love how detailed and specific they are! It's nice to know what specific parts people enjoy. So, thank you! Can't wait to hear what you think of this chapter! By the way, are you going to write another story anytime soon?! Hopefully a sequel to "The Thread Between Us"! You are such a fantastic writer and I really LOVE that story! I'm dying to know what happens next!

**Cathyfromohio** - I am sooo sorry I ended with such a mean cliffhanger, especially because it took me so long to post this chapter. If I had known it would take this long, I wouldn't have ended the last chapter with a cliffhanger. SORRY! I hope you don't hate me! lol. Anyway, here is the next one! I hope you enjoy!

**LuB1984 **- You cracked me up! You must really hate Lori to know how many episodes she was in! Too funny! I have to admit that I wasn't a fan of her either, however by the time she left she had grown on me A BIT. But I still didn't like her. I thought she was a bad fit for Steve. Anyway, thank you so much for your review! I'm glad you're enjoying the story so far! Don't worry, Steve is realizing how badly he's hurt Maddie and is going to do everything he can to fix it. :o) I hope you enjoy this chapter! Looking forward to hearing your thoughts!

**Dutchess of Lantern Waste** - Thank you so much for your continued reviews. I really really appreciate them! I don't think you readers really understand how much the reviews mean to us! So, seriously thank you for taking the time to let me know! I also am so glad you told me that you liked how Maddie went to go see John. I thought it was a nice touch and showed how close she was and how far back she goes with the McGarrett family. The story I told about Maddie and John in this new chapter will eventually come up again in a later chapter. So, I hope you like it! Anyway, thanks again for your reviews! And I am so sorry for the cliffhanger last time!

**H50Lady** - You rock! Your reviews brighten my day considerably! Thank you for always posting one after each chapter. I mean, seriously! It means so much! I am so sorry for the cliffhanger. I would have never written the ending like that had I known it was going to take me so long to post the next chapter! I am so sorry! I hope you aren't too mad! lol! Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter. Can't wait to hear what you think!

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><p><span>CHAPTER 31<span>

_Enough is enough, Madeline_, she told herself as she crutched further into the room, Pete's hand still on her back providing silent support. No longer looking at the ground, but instead at the smiling faces of her friends she continued to move forward. With every step her heart beat harder and louder, echoing in her ears. In fact, it was becoming so loud she wondered if everyone could hear it too. _This weak, pathetic, crybaby version of yourself has to go. You can do this… You are strong. Just act like everything is completely fine. They all want the old, real Maddie back…so, give her to them. Everyone will stop worrying and fussing. Sure, it will be an act and you'll be lying, but your intentions are pure. Isn't that all that matters? _

With a new resolve Maddie met the eyes of her friends instead of just looking at their faces. Deciding to work her way closer to where she'd be sitting, she started with the person on her left as she continued towards their table. Due to her exhaustion and how awful she felt, not to mention the incredible pain she was in, she was crutching slowly. Plus, using crutches was tiring on its own without these other issues factored in.

Maddie was thankful that Chin's were the first eyes she met. The warm encouragement he sent through simply one look was just what she needed to continue on. "Hey kid," Chin smiled.

"Don't even think about talking," Doc said walking up to Maddie just as she was about to open her mouth and say hi. Her shoulders slumped and she rolled her eyes at his statement. She turned towards Doc as he took a seat at the other side of the table, near Chin, and glared at him, her nose wrinkled.

Steve smiled slightly at her cute expression as he watched her carefully, studying her, a warm feeling brewing in his belly. The second he saw her enter the room his heart had begun to pound and a sense of relief washed over him seeing that she was safe. She wore medium wash, skinny jeans and a loose fitting, white, racerback tank top. A silver metal band, resembling a bracelet, was around her small, but toned, left bicep. Her long, reddish-brown hair was down. Loose, beachy waves framed her face while very natural make-up made her skin appear almost dewy, making her already stunning and captivating crystal blue eyes pop more than normal. Steve's eyes followed her tiny body down towards her legs. He took in the hardcore knee brace, and as a result, the crutches she was using to keep weight off her injured knee. However, the crutches and brace did nothing to diminish her beauty. He sighed inwardly. _God, she's beautiful_, he thought.

Turning back to Chin, Maddie mouthed 'hi', reluctantly following Doc's orders. Even though she was doing her best to act completely normal, she knew the longer she had to do it the harder it would become. Not being able to talk gave her an excuse to be quiet, to not interact with everyone as much. And of course, it was an excuse not totalk to was afraid that when she spoke to him her voice would give her real feelings away. That he'd instantly know she was upset. That he'd hurt her, breaking her heart. All things she most definitely did not want him to know…ever. He wanted to be friends, so that's what they were. That's all they'd ever be.

Another benefit of not being allowed to talk was that she wouldn't have to answer a million questions. Many of which, she was sure, would be about her recent "escape" from her security team. Not to mention how the rehearsals had gone, how much sleep she'd gotten, how her knee was, how she was feeling, and so on and so forth.

When she was only a few steps away from the table a loud, sharp boom filled the room. Unfortunately, she involuntarily jumped at the noise as her entire body tensed. Steve's eyebrows furrowed in concern. He'd never seen her react like that to anything before. _God, she's terrified_, he thought. Suddenly his concern was replaced by anger. Anger at whomever had her so on edge. As soon as he figured out what was going on and who was messing with her he'd make them regret the day they were ever born.

As he tried breathing through the rage coursing through his veins he studied Maddie, taking in her demeanor. He noticed the way her hands were gripping the handles of her crutches, so hard in fact that her skin was nearly white. His eyes caught the quick release of her slightly bandaged left hand on the grip. Steve's eyes flew to her face as he saw her try and hide the wince. She'd obviously gripped too hard causing pain to the lacerations on her left hand.

_Ow_, Maddie thought, trying her best to keep the sharp pain in her left hand from her face.

"You okay?" Pete quietly asked her, closing the small space between them. She nodded quickly as she exhaled a shaky breath. In fact her whole body was shaking. She glanced around the room as she nervously chewed on her bottom lip, looking for what had made the loud sound.

Pete leaned in slightly, bringing his mouth close to her left ear. As he whispered, "You're okay. You're safe," he inconspicuously rubbed her upper back. "Look-" He nodded his head towards the other end of the huge main room. She looked where he directed her and recognized members of Derek's team. _They must be working on the special effects for "Love With A Lie"_, she thought as they picked up the item they'd dropped.

"Sorry," one of them called out to no one in particular as they continued carrying everything through the room. She assumed they were heading to the stage to work on the fire concept she'd requested for the song.

Continuing to slightly chew on her bottom lip Maddie nodded, more to herself than to Pete, as she tried to steady her pounding heart and irregular breathing. _It was nothing, no big deal. Everything's fine_, she told herself. Feeling a bit calmer, she looked straight ahead. Her stomach plummeted realizing that she'd just reacted like that in front of Five-0, especially Steve. _Way to keep your cool_, she chastised herself, annoyed with her reaction to the noise. She had never reacted like that before, ever, so she knew it wasn't going to convince everyone that she was fine. Especially Steve. _Damn it Madeline_, she thought.

Although angry with herself, she plastered on a smile, pretending as if the last minute hadn't happened, and got ready to finish crutching towards the table.

To say they were shocked at how she'd reacted to the noise was an understatement. Kono had never seen Maddie on edge like that. _What the hell is going on? _she wondered, sharing a confused look with Chin. She could tell he was thinking the same thing. Curious, she stole a quick glance at their boss. She forced herself not to smile at the concern and worry she saw breaking through Steve's tough exterior. It was barely there. In fact, most people wouldn't have seen it, but she knew him well enough to know that Maddie's reaction to the noise had him worried, that he was doing his best to internalize it. Knowing how he was when it came to Maddie, she knew it was must be taking everything he had to hold his protective nature back and not be at her side. _God, I hope they figure things out_.

Kono looked back at Maddie as she resumed her "walk" to them. Because they were best friends she could tell she was embarrassed, and Kono figured most likely berating herself for her out of character reaction. "You look hot," Kono stated, hoping to help ease the awkward moment.

_I can always count on Kono_, Maddie thought laughing. _Crap_, she thought, feeling the familiar tickle in her incredibly raw and painful throat brought on by the laughing. Maddie stopped and hunched forward slightly, holding her crutches with her armpits so they wouldn't fall. She turned her head a bit to the left, towards Pete, as her left hand flew to her mouth. She coughed twice, her delicate hand covering her mouth.

Steve watched her, his eyes focused on the scene in front of him. To be honest, he didn't think much of the coughing since it was only twice. However, he did find Pete's reaction a bit interesting. _Hmmm_, he thought as he noticed the way his friend briefly glanced out of the bottom right corner of his eyes towards Maddie. Concern quickly flashed across his face before it was gone and he was looking forward again. It wasn't just Pete keeping an eye on Maddie that had Steve's "spidey" senses tingling. IT was the concern he saw quickly flash across his face and the circumstances of when he did it. In a crowd of people, okay, it wouldn't seem out of place. But in this moment it did. And sure it was quick. So quick in fact that he was probably the only one who picked up on it and that was solely because he was watching so closely. Well, investigating really. Investigating Maddie's every move hoping to figure out exactly where her mind was at and what she was thinking. After trying to keep everything to herself hoping not to worry him, Steve couldn't trust that she would tell him the truth about things. Such as, how she was feeling, whether she had gotten any sleep, etc. So, he was also watching her every move to find these answers out for himself. Of course her extremely out of character reaction just moments before only validated his reasoning for scrutinizing her every move. Steve continued to observe her as she brought her hand back to the handle of her crutch.

Clearing her painful throat, Maddie crutched forward. 'Thanks', she mouthed to Kono. _That was close_, she told herself. _But it doesn't seem like anyone really picked up on it. At least I'm so stuffed up that I'm unable to breath through my nose. So, no sniffles, which would surely, on top of the cough, give away that I'm sick._

"I'm stoked to see the show tonight," Kono told her, a mischievous look in her brown eyes as if she knew exactly what Maddie had planned for the evening. Although she had a tired smile plastered to her face, Maddie had to look away to keep from all out grinning at her friend. She knew if she did, Pete would only grow more suspicious of why exactly he hadn't been allowed to see parts of the show or hear the new songs.

Steve caught the look between the two friends and wondered what it was about._ Man, I hope Maddie doesn't have something crazy planned for tonight_, he thought.

Wanting to keep from laughing, she quickly looked away from Kono and towards the person sitting to her left. Maddie met Danny's kind, blue eyes. Although she'd met him less than a week before, she knew they would become fast friends. Just by his eyes she could tell he was a wonderful man. A loyal, trusting friend. Someone who would go above and beyond for the people he cared about. To be honest, knowing Danny was Steve's partner made her worry a little less about him. She was still petrified that her stalker would go after him, just like he'd been threatening to do for months, but she at least knew Danny, and of course Chin and Kono, and she supposed Lori too, would have his back. 'Hi Danny,' she mouthed to him as she crutched the last couple steps to the table, stopping right in front of the bench.

"Here Shorty," Pete softly said as he took her crutches and set them underneath the bench she was about to sit on. As he did this Tina slid over to the right, making a space for Maddie between herself and Ryan. Grateful, Maddie reached out her right, uninjured hand and lightly squeezed Tina's shoulder, silently thanking her.

Before sitting, Maddie braced herself for the pain she knew she'd feel. _Don't let it show Mads_, she told herself. Taking a deep breath she slowly and carefully lowered herself onto the bench. Feeling the intense pain radiating down her legs from her tailbone, she subconsciously held her breath as she froze.

Steve had had a difficult time forgetting the video Gracie had taken of Maddie a couple days before. The one where she needed help standing, obviously in an incredible amount of pain. From the video he could tell the pain wasn't coming from her knee, so he knew something else was wrong. However, he knew there was no way Maddie was going to tell him, so he watched her carefully as she sat down, looking for any sign of what he'd seen in the short video. Worry filled his stomach as he watched her entire body tense and although it was only for a split second, he saw her jaw clench and her eyes widen. _What the hell happened? _Steve wondered, worry brewing in his stomach. He wanted nothing more than to be alone with her. To be able to talk to her and not feel like everyone was watching their every move. To be able to really make sure she was okay. However, the fact that Steve noticed that, although it wasn't obvious, Pete always had at least one hand inconspicuously nearby, ready to help Maddie if need be, made him relax. It helped to know she was in safe hands when he wasn't around.

Because she had her leg in a brace Maddie couldn't bend her knee. With the kind of table it was – similar to a picnic table – she couldn't just step over the bench and then sit down, so she sat with her back against the table, basically sitting backwards on the bench. Tina scooted further down to her right, giving Maddie more room to get situated. Continuing to do her best to hide the pain from showing she turned her body slightly left before bringing her left leg over the bench and onto the other side – the proper side. Then she lifted and placed her brace clad right leg up onto the bench.

"Wait." Pete stopped her from setting it on the floor under the table. She looked up at him, confusion in her eyes. "Before you get situated, let me change the ice packs," he said squatting down next to her.

Maddie's shoulders dropped slightly and her eyebrows drew down as a frown appeared on her face. She opened her mouth to say something, but Doc stopped her with a loud clearing of his throat. Steve watched her eyes briefly shut in frustration as she took a deep breath trying to remain calm. He fought the smirk that wanted to appear knowing how hard this was for her. How frustrated he knew she had to be.

Before Maddie knew it Tina thrust the small dry erase board and marker in her hands. _She's always prepared. Always ready_, Maddie thought, flashing her best friend a small, appreciative smile. She quickly scribbled on the board before holding it up to Pete. **They're still cold**, it read.

Pete's eyebrows rose, giving her a pointed look, as a smirk played at his lips. "Not even close, but nice try Shorty."

She pouted, reaching forward and stretching both arms in front of her and on top of her leg and knee, trying to shield it from Pete. She didn't know how she kept from wincing at the sharp pains this movement caused to shoot through her tailbone, but she did. And in that moment, that's all she cared about.

Pete gave her a sympathetic look, understanding her reservations . "I know, but it's gotta be done."

Defeated, she dropped her arms from her knee and let Pete pull the old, warm ice packs from the brace. It wasn't just that the new, cold ones made her extremely cold, but that changing them shook her leg around, causing a lot of pain. Maddie didn't blame him. She knew he was doing everything he could to cause her the least amount of pain possible. She effectively kept the discomfort she was feeling from showing as Pete tugged and jiggled her brace, pulling out the warm ice packs. He set them on the table exchanging them for the new, cold ones. Forgetting for a minute about the people who were sitting at the table, mainly Steve, and that she was supposed to be putting on an act, her back rounded as she hunched forward slightly, giving into how awful she felt. She inwardly sighed at the intense achiness she was experiencing in every inch of her body. Her eyes fluttered closed quickly as she lightly coughed once.

Steve's eyes had been glued to Maddie and Pete and he found himself experiencing conflicting emotions as he watched them interact. As happy as he was that Pete was taking such good care of her, he also felt both jealousy and anger that it wasn't him. Not anger at Pete or Maddie, but at himself. He knew that the only reason he was in this current situation with her was because of him. Because of his stupid mouth. Steve's stomach sunk remembering the look in her eyes after he'd laughed at the idea of them together. However, he was pulled from his thoughts as he watched Maddie close her eyes and hunch forward. His jaw clenched as he struggled to act like he wasn't worried about her, like every instinct he had wasn't telling him to rush to her. _She's so tired_, he thought. _Just wait a little bit before forcing her to get some rest_, he told himself as he fought the urge to pick her up and take her somewhere where he could curl up with her and make sure she got some sleep.

"I remember that stupid knee brace! I HATED it! I feel your pain, Mads," Kono groaned as Pete finished changing the ice packs. At the sound of her voice, Maddie's eyes flew open, realizing that she'd momentarily dropped her 'act'. She was so tired and felt so horrible she had unintentionally given into it briefly. _Damn it!_ she inwardly cursed as she avoided eye contact with everyone. _Maybe no one noticed. I mean, it was only for a split second. _

"There ya go," Pete said, grabbing the warm packs off the table. He helped her slide her right leg down onto the floor before standing.

Now facing forward at the table, Maddie looked across and to her left at Kono, rolling her eyes and shaking her head, letting her know that yes, she too hated the brace.

Although the cold ice packs had only been in her brace for a minute, she was already feeling the effects. It didn't matter that her brace was attached over her jeans, it still made her leg cold, which in turn made her cold all over. _Of course I left my jacket in the dressing room_, she thought, annoyed at herself for not thinking ahead. _Just suck it up Maddie_, she told herself as she tried to keep from shivering. She fought the urge to rub her hands up and down her bare arms.

Before continuing with her "hello's" Maddie glanced around the room still feeling on edge from not only the loud noise, but from the incident outside in the car. She was rattled and that was putting it mildly. If she was being honest it wasn't just that that had her freaked out. It was all the things that had gone wrong over the last few days. All the sabotages aimed at her. She just hoped that either nothing else went wrong or that her stalker continued to focus on messing with her and not Steve. Sure, the incidents had her rattles, but she could handle it. What she couldn't handle was something happening to Steve, especially because of her.

Everyone noticed Maddie eyeing the room nervously. It was killing Steve to see her so scared. He wished more than anything he could take her fear away, but she wouldn't tell him what was going on. Until she would or until he figured it out, he'd just have to stay close to her, to not only keep her safe, but more importantly help her feel safe.

After glancing around for a second she returned her attention back to the people in front of her. She brought her gaze to Danny, who was sitting on the opposite side of Kono. "Hey Maddie!" he smiled. She returned the smile with a small, quick wave.

"Gracie had the best time the other day. Thank you so much for asking her to perform with you! She couldn't be more excited!"

'No problem', she mouthed, smiling brightly as she remembered how much fun she'd had with Gracie. It had been the only highlight over the last four days of rehearsals. 'I had fun too,' she mouthed slowly so Danny would know what she said.

"Well thank you! It's been a tough month and she really needed something like this!" Danny honestly revealed.

Seeing the look on his face as he spoke about his daughter, Maddie could tell he was an amazing father. Sure, she'd witnessed it first hand Saturday at the barbeque, but the way his face lit up when he spoke of her…it warmed her heart and she'd never admit it to anyone, but it made her a little emotional. She found herself wishing she'd been lucky enough to have a father like Danny, or even one a quarter as good. However, the second her mind touched that subject, she forced it out. She learned a long time ago there was no use in dwelling on her relationship, or lack thereof, with her father. Thinking of him only brought back awful memories and with everything she had going on, her father was the last person she wanted, or needed, on her mind.

However, thinking of him must have made her even more on edge as she subconsciously began to look around the room again, nervously chewing her bottom lip and fidgeting with her fingers as she did so. Of course, everyone noticed. How could they not? It was a behavior so unlike her that it drastically stood out.

"Danny, she is the coolest kid ever!" Kono said. Her voice brought Maddie's attention back to them, which in turn made her remember she hadn't finished greeting everyone.

Maddie paused, her stomach in knots over whom was next. The person on Danny's other side. It was the same person directly across from her. _You can do this. Everything's completely normal. You're okay. You're not upset. It's just Steve. No big deal_, she tried to tell herself as her heart began to pound even harder now that the moment she'd been dreading for four days was finally upon her. Suddenly she found herself having difficulties breathing, feeling as if someone was sitting on her chest. _Calm down. You can do this. Stop being so pathetic. After all, that's how he sees you…don't give him the satisfaction of being right._

Sitting on her left side Ryan must have picked up on her increase in nervousness and uneasiness because she felt him take her hand under the table. He squeezed it lightly, silently sending her encouragement. With a deep breath, she plastered a big, fake, but believable, smile on her face and looked to Danny's right, bringing her face to face with Steve.

Maddie wasn't the only one nervous. Steve was too. It was a different kind of nervousness than hers though. He didn't know what to expect. He knew he'd screwed up and hurt her even though she claimed she was fine. He just didn't know if what he said and did was fixable.

As their blue eyes met, he instantly felt a warmness begin in his belly and spread throughout his body. He also felt a significant amount of relief now that he could see her. See how she was doing and what was going on. Although Steve knew she'd continue to hide and keep things to herself, effectively keeping him in the dark, he also knew that he'd eventually find out what was going on. Not only was he trained to read people, but he knew Maddie better than anyone else. Sure, as he'd gotten better at reading people she'd gotten better at hiding things, but he always figured them out one way or another. Now that he was able to see her, his worry over not having any idea what was going on or happening with her diminished considerably. He felt much more calm knowing he was with her now and able to watch her every move.

As the long time best friends made eye contact it felt as if everyone not only quieted, but disappeared, leaving only the two of them. Everyone at the table watched the two as they stared at one another. Although Pete, Ryan, and Tina were surprised at how "normal" Maddie was acting, more like her old self than she'd been in months, it also broke their hearts. They would have preferred that she'd gotten upset at Steve because at least that would mean they'd talk it over and work past it. But if Maddie wouldn't admit something was wrong things would only continue to get worse between them, making sure there was no way they'd end up together.

Having only ever heard of Steve and never before meeting him, Doc watched the two carefully. All he'd ever heard were stories and opinions about them, however he wanted to come to his own conclusions. _Everyone's right_, he thought happily, unable to keep the smile from his face as he took in the way they looked at one another. The way everyone else in the room seemed to disappear as their eyes met. _They are hopelessly in love with one another._

_She looks exhausted…but God, she's beautiful_, Steve thought. Now that he was able to see her up close, he studied her face. He knew her so well that although she was all done up, her hair and makeup perfect, he could tell she was incredibly tired and that was putting it mildly. It was little things. Things no one else probably noticed, but because he knew her inside and out they screamed out to him.

The first thing he observed was the way her body gradually and subtly seemed to be folding in on itself, almost as if it was too tired to hold itself up. It was the way her eyes drooped ever so slightly. Her usual sparkling, crystal blue eyes appeared dull and almost murky. Although she was smiling at him, he could tell it was forced, that there was nothing but exhaustion behind it. _Well, that and anger_, he guessed. These were just a few of the little things he immediately noticed. Steve did his best not to squint at her as he studied her further. There was something else off about her, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. She was doing a damn good job of trying to hide her real thoughts and feelings from him, especially given how absolutely exhausted she was. However, he wasn't worried because he knew he'd figure it out. With how tired she was he knew she'd unintentionally drop her façade, giving him a glimpse at exactly what she didn't want him to see.

"Hey Mads," Steve said, finally breaking their silence as they continued to stare at one another.

He smiled at her. The kind of smile that would have made her go weak in the knees if she had been standing. _Good thing I'm sitting_, she thought, her stomach flip-flopping. _Stop! Don't let him get to you Maddie! Resist! _She told herself, hating the fact that he could have such an affect on her with simply a smile. 'Hey' she mouthed, smiling back.

Movement from his left caught Maddie's eye, effectively pulling her attention from him. _Lori_, Maddie thought, her eyes falling on the female Five-0 team member just as she subtly rubbed her arm against Steve's. Maddie suddenly became aware of just how close they were sitting. The picture she'd been texted, the one of Steve and Lori making out as Lori straddled Steve, flashed into Maddie's brain. It took everything she had not to close her eyes as she breathed through the nausea the image created. Instead, she ignored her now churning stomach and, like she promised herself, didn't let on that her heart was literally aching. She brought her eyes up to meet Lori's. 'Hey Lori' Maddie mouthed, giving her the biggest, most sincere smile she could muster. However, she should have toned it down a bit because Steve noticed. He wouldn't have had he not found out the other night that the whole Lori thing was upsetting Maddie. He couldn't help the sense of relief and happiness he felt seeing that Lori's presence was still bothering her. _Maybe I can fix things between us after all_, he thought as he continued to watch his best friend carefully.

"Hi!" Lori cheerfully greeted. "Thanks so much for including me! I'm really looking forward to seeing the show."

With the smile still present on her face, Maddie looked down at the dry erase board in front of her. Quickly she erased the previous message and scribbled a new one. She held it up to Lori. **No worries!** **I'm so glad you came! I hope you enjoy the show!**

Steve read it while Lori did too. "I'm sure I will," she replied, a huge, fake grin on her face. She moved around on the bench, "getting comfortable". However, it was her way of subtly positioning herself even closer to Steve.

Continuing to act normal, as if everything was fine, Maddie convincingly pretended not to pick up on it even though it caused a twinge in her chest. She placed the dry erase board on the table in front of herself and erased the previous message before writing a new one. She held it up, slowly rotating it so the entire Five-0 team could read it. She started with Chin and ended with Steve and Lori. **I'm really glad you guys came. I know this is a workday and you probably have a million things to do. Just know it really means a lot!** She'd drawn a little smiley face at the end of the message, hoping to get her happiness across.

They all nodded enthusiastically, providing her with versions of "no problem", "I'm excited", and "can't wait". Steve met Maddie's eyes after reading the message. "Wouldn't have missed it for the world, Mads," he said, remembering what Tina had told him in his office. That Maddie would have been really upset if he hadn't come. The look in his eyes and on his face, and the tone of his voice held a deeper meaning. One she picked up on, although she pretended otherwise. _Don't fall for it Maddie. It's not what you think. He just doesn't want you to be upset with him, which, as far as he's concerned, you're not... Just ignore it. Don't let him get to you_, she told herself as she tried to strengthen the invisible walls she'd put up around her heart. Walls she was hoping would help protect her from Steve. That they would not only keep him out, but also keep her from becoming even more hurt by him or anything having to do with him. Example, Lori flirting with him. She couldn't and wouldn't let herself believe anything he said, or didn't say, or insinuated, only to be let down once more. She wouldn't be able to take it if it happened again.

"I wanted to tell you, you're boots are to die for!" Lori said, grinning happily at Maddie. She had also read between the lines, picking up on his more intimate and meaningful message to the singer. She refused to even think about what it meant. Lori just knew she needed to interrupt their moment. Desperate, she did the first thing she could think of: compliment her. She had hoped it would lead to a conversation and keep Maddie and Steve from interacting.

'Thank you', Maddie mouthed, a small humble smile on her face. _You know where I'd like to stick that boot of mine?_ she thought as she placed a hand on her chest to further drive home her "appreciation" of Lori's compliment.

It was as if Ryan could read Maddie's mind as he grasped her hand under the table and squeezed it, doing his best to keep from laughing. However, he wasn't completely successful and a snort escaped, forcing Maddie to elbow him softly. He immediately cleared his throat, trying to cover up the slip.

Steve caught the subtle interaction between the two and ignored the slight twinge it caused in his chest. _That's how things used to be between us_, he thought, missing the old days.

"You have great taste. Maybe we could go shopping next week or something!" Lori suggested.

Maddie quickly wrote on the dry erase board and held it up to Lori. **I would love that! I can't tell you the last time I got to go shopping with girlfriends… Why wait until next week?**

"Not gonna happen," Steve said, his tone matter of fact as he looked directly at Maddie trying to catch her eye. Although she didn't want to, she met his pointed stare with slight annoyance on her face.

_He doesn't get to tell me what to do_, she thought. _Not after what he did and definitely not when he's dating someone else._ Annoyed by Steve's comment, Maddie quickly added something to the dry erase board and held it up for Lori, knowing it would piss Steve off. **Tomorrow?**

After reading it, Steve glanced up at Maddie. Seeing the look on her face, a look letting him know she was purposely going to go shopping with Lori this week solely because he had said no, caused his face to twitch both in anger and frustration. _Why won't she just tell me she's upset? _he wondered. _That way I can explain and we can clear this up and move on._ "Madeline," he said forcefully, doing his best to keep the irritation from his voice.

At the warning tone Maddie looked up, meeting his irritated blue eyes. Her eyebrows rose in an innocent "what'd I do?" manner. He licked his bottom lip briefly as he stared into her eyes, lightly shaking his head. Everyone watched as the best friends had a silent conversation. A slight smirk appeared on Maddie's face along with a mischievous glint in her eyes just as she broke eye contact with Steve. This only frustrated him more, however he bit his tongue knowing that if he said anything further on the subject right then that she'd definitely do it, or worse. _God, she's so stubborn_, he thought.

Doc couldn't hold back a smile at how overprotective Steve was of her._ Everyone's been telling the truth. No exaggerations on how overprotective he gets with her. They haven't even been in the same room for five minutes, _Doc thought._ He definitely loves her. _To be honest, seeing this made him worry less about leaving Maddie in the state she was in. He hadn't even officially met Steve and he knew she was more than safe with him. And it wasn't her physical safety he'd been concerned about lately, especially over the last four days. It was her emotional safety…her health. He knew Steve would keep an eye on everything and make sure she started taking better care of herself. However, he had a feeling that just by being with Steve Maddie would start to get better. Be more like her old self.

As irritated as she was, Maddie felt too terrible to continue arguing with Steve right then. So, she looked away, dropping the subject completely although she was fuming. _He can't act like a worried boyfriend after everything he's said and done, _she thought. _It's just not fair! _Seeing Lori reach up and lightly rub Steve's shoulder as she said, "It's just shopping Steve. Don't worry so much!" only annoyed Maddie further._ He definitely can't act like this with me when the girl he's really dating is hanging on his arm_.

Knowing nothing good would come if the two continued to argue, Kono jumped in. "Well, I wanna go shopping too. But I can't go this week. What about next week?"

Maddie knew what her friend was doing. Although she was upset with Steve and wanted to go just because he'd told her she couldn't, she was also relieved that Kono had said what she had. Deep down she knew there was no way she'd feel up to going anywhere this week. She just didn't want to give Steve the satisfaction.

And Maddie wasn't the only one relieved. Steve quickly met Kono's eyes, thanking her with a simple look. She smiled in response glad she could help.

"Okay, next week it is!" Lori smiled. "I am so excited to get to hang out with you Maddie!" Looking over at Kono, she added, "You too Kono! … It'll be fun! Maybe we can go out afterwards. Dinner and maybe a bar or club or something."

"Sounds good!" Kono replied.

_I can't think of anything I'd rather do less_, Maddie thought as she nodded in agreement to the plan, a fake, girly smile on her face.

The whole exchange between the three was making Steve nervous, not to mention uncomfortable. The idea of Maddie and Lori hanging out was weird, but he didn't want to think about why. Sure, he figured Maddie would feel uncomfortable with it, but why should he?

Refusing to think about it, but wanting their conversation to be finished, he interrupted. "Hey Mads," he said, pulling her attention to him. Hesitantly she looked at him, her eyebrows arched in a questioning manner as she tried to keep her hurt and irritation from showing. "I got this for you." Steve flashed her the sexy, half smile he was so good at as he pushed the smoothie towards her. He knew he'd upset her by telling her she couldn't do something, especially with how things currently were between them, and he hoped this would help a bit.

The smoothie took Maddie by surprise. So much so that it distracted her from putting forward her "act" for a second. Sure it was brief, but it was long enough that Steve saw the doubt and hesitation on her face. It wasn't your normal doubt or hesitation either, but more of a sad and scared version of the emotions. It was as if she was afraid to take the drink. In that moment he realized that he hadn't just hurt her feelings by what he'd said and done. It was deeper than that. Steve's chest constricted as his stomach suddenly felt like an empty, bottomless pit. He had to admit that when Tina told him how Maddie had asked for him a number of times only to change her mind, he didn't really understand. If she wanted him there and asked, why had she changed her mind? However, it was beginning to make a little more sense seeing the look on her face. He was still confused and not only wanted, but needed to know what was going on in her head, but he was understanding more and more just how much damage he'd unintentionally caused.

Realizing that she'd been so surprised she'd frozen for a split second, dropping her façade, a smile immediately broke out on her face. _It's just a smoothie! It's a nice friendly gesture_, she told herself. She reached forward taking the To-Go Cup from his extended hand. Reading the label on it, she realized that it wasn't just a simple smoothie._ He got me my favorite smoothie?_ she wondered, surprised. Her heart began to flutter. However, she quickly told herself it was no big deal, worried that he'd "reel her back in" only to hurt her once again.

Maddie brought the straw to her lips and took a sip. _Ahh_, she thought as the cold liquid ran down her excruciatingly sore throat, soothing it. With the straw in her mouth she sipped the smoothie while using her other hand to write a new note. When she finished she held it up to him, all the while still drinking the cold drink. **Yummy! Thanks Steve! You're the best! ** Another smiley face sat at the end of the message, grinning happily at him.

Steve grinned at the note, especially the little smiley face she'd drawn at the end. _Thank you Pete_, he thought, happy his friend had asked him to grab her the smoothie. He was happy at her reaction, but also concerned given everything going on between them recently. In fact, Maddie's behavior and entire demeanor was making him feel pretty unsettled and rattled. _I know she's upset and hurt_, he thought. _But she's acting fine. Indifferent even._ _I was expecting her to be more standoffish. More like how she was at the barbeque_, he thought. He was worried that she was going to pretend everything was fine between them and refuse to talk or acknowledge what had happened. "You're welcome, Mads," Steve replied, continuing to watch her every move. Until he could find a good time to talk to her about everything, all he could do was go with the flow. So for the time being, he'd just sit back and let her lead. Well, until her show was over.

As she sipped her smoothie Maddie didn't realize that she was nervously looking around again. The whole time her delicate, long fingers picked at the outside of the thick Styrofoam cup.

From the spot he'd taken on the other side of Tina, Pete had quietly been keeping an eye on her, watching her behavior. As he watched her eyes nervously slit around the room, he thought back to the last few days. He noticed that as each day went by se was doing it more and more, seeming more nervous and scared. Especially during the ride back to the arena. However, it seemed that ever since she'd sat down with everyone, she'd calmed some, not looking nervously around as much. He had a feeling it was because Steve was there. That without realizing it, she felt safer with him there.

"So," Kono began pulling Maddie from her nervous behavior. Maddie looked over at her. "Can I just say…nice job with the escape!" Kono stood and leaned forward extending her closed fist to her friend. Still drinking her smoothie Maddie stood slightly, something that was difficult due to her knee brace and the kind of table they were at. Chuckling softly she fist bumped Kono. Steve could tell it was hard for her to stand, especially when she slipped slightly. Her body jerked and she almost tipped backward. His brows furrowed at the quick grimace that appeared. Steve knew something new had to be wrong. Whatever it was, it was causing her a lot of pain. He felt his body tense and the jealousy bubble within him as he watched Ryan's hands fly up to steady her.

"Uh oh, Steve looks constipated," Danny cracked. Everyone turned to look at him. Maddie couldn't help but smirk as she took Steve's expression in. _He's right, _she thought. _Great description of it._

"Shut up Danno," Steve countered, annoyed at his partner. He then turned his head to the right. "Really Kono? Why are you egging her on?"

Kono immediately quieted feeling like she was back in high school and had gotten in trouble for causing trouble in class. Just like back then she found herself trying to hide the smirk she just couldn't seem to keep from her face.

While this was going on Maddie had written a note on the small dry erase board and, still standing, was holding it in front of herself. As Steve returned to looking straight ahead he caught sight of her message. **To be honest I'm surprised I haven't received a lecture on the topic.**

After reading it he looked up meeting her eyes. She stared at him with a smart-ass look, her mouth turned up in a slight smile, while mischief danced in her blue eyes.

Steve said nothing, only stared at her as he lightly shook his head. However, he didn't have to say a word, she knew exactly what he was telling her. He was upset by her stunt and was letting her know there'd most definitely be a conversation about it later.

"Where'd you go anyway?" Kono asked. She wasn't the only one wondering where Chin and Pete had found her.

At Kono's question, the previous mischievous smile fell from Maddie's face. Her eyes immediately dropped to the table, suddenly unable to look at anyone as a slight rosy, pink tint appeared on her cheeks.

They all watched the immediate change in her, wondering where she could have gone to elicit such a response. Steve's mind was running a million miles a minute as he wracked his brain, trying to think of places she could have gone that were in the vicinity to the Starbuck's she'd been at. However, nothing came to mind. He watched anxiously as Maddie finally wrote a short message on the small dry erase board. **A girl's gotta have some secrets.**

Steve's eyebrows furrowed at her response, finding it extremely odd she wouldn't tell them where she'd gone. In fact, he wasn't the only one. They all thought it was weird. The fact that she wouldn't tell only made him more curious. He knew her well enough to know that her response, or lack thereof, meant she hadn't gone just anywhere. That she hadn't just taken off for no reason. _I'll ask Chin and Pete about it later_, he decided.

"So, how'd rehearsals go?" Kono asked.

"Yeah. Were they as bad as you all thought they'd be?" Danny added. He was aware of some of the things that had happened, of course Maddie didn't know that and he hoped that by bringing the last few days up, she, or someone, might let something slip leading Steve to discover what had been going on. He truly felt that his partner needed to be made aware of how bad and dangerous things were as soon as possible.

**Piece of cake**, Maddie wrote.

Tina and Ryan snickered, shock and disbelief on their faces. "Were we at the same rehearsals?" Ryan asked.

"Seriously," Tina added.

Not wanting Steve to find anything out, Maddie's chest tightened as panic began to build. Quickly, and very messily, Steve noted, she wrote, **You guys are a bunch of babies. Guess you're just not as badass as me!** She looked at Ryan, meeting his eyes, a smart-ass smile on her face.

He paused and licked his bottom lip as he smirked. "Really?" he asked, his eyes mischievously narrowing at her. "You really wanna continue this conversation?"

She froze….shocked at what he'd just said. She could feel everyone's eyes on her. However, it wasn't how many people were looking at her, it was the one pair she could feel boring into her. She dared a look in their owner's direction. As she met Steve's eyes she could see the worry and concern there. But there was something more. Something too painful to look at as it only served as a reminder that he had played her and the she couldn't fall for it again. He saw her as nothing more than a friend or sister he felt he had to take care of. Her heart aching, Maddie turned away.

Steve's eyes narrowed as he saw the look on her face. He wasn't sure where her mind had gone as she looked at him, but he knew it wasn't to a good place. His stomach sunk as hurt appeared in her gorgeous blue eyes before she looked away from him. _God, I wish we were alone so I can fix this, _he thought. He hated himself for being the one to her so deeply. He was the one that was supposed to protect her. The one that would never let her down. But somehow he'd done the complete opposite. Knowing this path of thinking wasn't helpful or a good idea at the moment, he pushed it from his mind and brought his focus back to Maddie.

Because of the large brace and the way the table and bench was Maddie was standing very awkwardly. Her legs were getting tired and before she knew it her left foot slid forward a little causing her to nearly fall. Steve couldn't help it. He jerked. His hand started to reach across the table for her, but seeing that he was right next to her, Ryan got to her first.

"Sit Inspector, you're making me nervous," Ryan said. Easing herself back onto the bench, Maddie turned and sent him a mock glare over the nickname, sticking her tongue out at him as she wrinkled her nose. "I kind of enjoy when you can't talk," Ryan disclosed smugly, his eyes sparkling with suppressed laughter at her frustration. He could tell that the mood needed to be lightened, so he took it upon himself. "I can give ya shit and pick on ya and for once you can't come back with some smartass response."

Maddie's eyes widened with indignation, however there was quite a bit of amusement in them as well. Everyone burst out laughing.

"You better be careful Ryan," Steve began, a smirk on his face. "She'll pay you back tenfold when she can talk. You better be completely sure it's worth it."

With her eyebrows arched and a mischievous look on her face, Maddie raised her left index finger in front of her as she nodded, wordlessly saying that Steve had a point. A very correct and accurate one.

"Better watch yourself, Ry," Pete warned as he stood up from the table. He'd sat and stayed for a while, making sure Maddie was okay. She'd been on edge all day, but even more so after the incident in the SUV. However, since sitting down she'd calmed significantly and he knew it was because Steve was there. Just like she had an incredible affect on him, he had one on her as well.

Having a few things he needed to take care of Pete had been planning on getting up and leaving without saying anything, but the second he stood Maddie's eyes were on him. She suddenly looked nervous as if she was scared for him to go.

Standing behind her Pete leaned down and said, his voice not too loud, but not too quiet either, "Shorty, I gotta go take care of a few things. You okay here?" She hesitated, staring up at him with uncertainty in her eyes. He watched as she turned to look at Steve. "Yeah, he'll still be here," Pete assured her, knowing what she was thinking.

"I'm not going anywhere Mads," Steve smiled at her, as he nodded once. Her stomach flip-flopped at the underlying message his words, tone, and look told her.

Chewing the fingernails on her slightly bandaged left hand, she turned back to Pete and nodded slowly at him.

"Okay, I'll be back soon." Once Maddie turned back around, Pete met Steve's eyes. They had a brief, silent conversation with a simple look before he turned and disappeared down the hallway and through the doorway.

As Pete left, the group didn't miss a beat as their conversation continued. "Do you know how many stories I can tell and she can't do a damn thing?!" Ryan laughed. He hoped joking around would help ease some of the tension he knew Maddie was feeling. _Although she's doing a great job of acting like everything's fine, I know this is killing her_, he thought, hating that she was hurting so much. But more than anything he hated the fact that she felt she had to hide her feelings instead of just talking to Steve. This wasn't the Maddie he knew. _The real Maddie would never be like this. Not when it comes to this kind of stuff._ "In fact…" He turned to her and smiled, a devilish, playful smile. "I have a story… let's see, almost four months ago."

Maddie's jaw dropped as her eyes widened. _Is he seriously going to tell what happened with Jesse?! _she wondered, beginning to panic. _I __really__ don't need this right now_. Although she wasn't supposed to talk, desperate times called for desperate measures. Just as she was about to speak, Doc stopped her, having been watching her from his spot next to Chin. "I'm serious Madeline. DO … NOT … SAY … A … WORD!" In pure irritation she dropped her head back, fighting the urge to scream.

Steve studied Maddie, curious over her reaction to Ryan. To be honest, his stomach was churning. Just like it had the night at the barbeque and the first day he saw Maddie. The day she fainted. He didn't know exactly what had happened four months ago that she didn't want him to know about, but he felt it was probably something he should know. He assumed that it had to do with the comment Ryan had made at dinner the other night. And if Ryan was telling the truth and not exaggerating, then Steve felt he definitely needed to know what the hell had happened. Who had tried to "kill her". As he thought about the possibility of someone laying a hand on her, anger bubbled up inside of him.

Ryan didn't understand Maddie's strong reaction, why she looked so panicked. _Why doesn't she want me to tell about that girl, well guy, that came up to her in Kentucky four months ago? It was __hilarious_, he thought, completely confused as to what was going on.

Tina understood why Maddie was upset. She didn't know what Ryan's problem was. Talking about what Jesse had done was incredibly inappropriate and absolutely the worst idea right now. Especially with how worried Steve already was about her. This was not the time; Steve would lose it and Maddie would get upset. Knowing she had to change topics, and fast, she looked to Doc, who was sitting on the opposite bench further down the table. "You haven't met everyone yet, have you?"

"No, I haven't," Doc smiled.

"I'm sorry," Tina apologized. "That's Kono. Kono, this is Doc." She immediately laughed. "Or John, I guess, but we always call him Doc."

Kono smiled, extending her hand to the doctor. "Nice to meet you bra."

"You too."

While Tina continued to introduce Doc to everyone, Ryan turned towards Maddie, leaning into her. "What was that about? You okay?" he whispered.

Maddie looked at him, irritation in her eyes. Suddenly he realized what was going on. "I was going to tell them about the Kentucky Tranny," he whispered. Seeing her shoulders slightly slump forward as she relaxed, exhaling a HUGE sigh of relief he added, still whispering, "I can't believe you thought I was going to tell everyone what Jesse did! How could you think I'd do that?"

Maddie met his eyes. Her face fell seeing she'd hurt him. She didn't know what to say. He was right, how could she think he'd do that to her? After all, he knew secrets of hers that no one else did. Including Steve and Tina. Secrets that probably shouldn't remain secrets, but yet he still kept them. He'd never said a word to anyone if she asked him not to, so how could she think he'd start now?

As Ryan whispered to Maddie, Tina continued introducing Doc to Five-0. "Next to Kono is her cousin and a member of Five-0, Chin Ho Kelly."

Without thinking Chin said, "Hey John! Nice to see you again!"

Hearing Chin's response, Maddie's attention was pulled from Ryan as her stomach dropped. _Oh crap_, she thought, realizing what Chin's little slip could mean. However she was hoping no one else caught on, especially since Chin himself had no idea what'd he'd just unintentionally revealed. She tried to cover up her shock and nervousness before anyone noticed, especially Steve. However, it was too late. He noticed. His eyes slightly narrowed as he watched Maddie carefully. _What was that about? And…wait? Did Chin just say 'again'? 'Nice to see you again?'_ Steve wondered, turning to his right as he questioningly looked at Chin.

Tina realized what had happened and before Steve had the chance to ask any questions, she continued down the line. "This is Danny."

Hoping that Tina had distracted Steve from asking any questions, Maddie turned to her left bringing her attention back to Ryan. Knowing she'd screwed up, she grabbed his arm. He turned to her, a frown on his face. She immediately wrapped her arms around him and pulled him into a hug. He reciprocated, holding her tight against himself. She laid her head on his right shoulder as she whispered, "I'm so sorry. I know you'd never say anything. I'm just not myself today. I'm so sorry Ry."

He smiled. "I know," he whispered back before turning his head slightly to the right and kissing the side of her head.

_Wonder what that's all about?_ Steve thought as he watched Ryan and Maddie hug causing a small twinge in his chest. He turned to his partner, hearing him excuse himself. It couldn't have been better timing as he missed the kiss Ryan placed on Maddie's head. Although it didn't mean anything more than friendship, it would have rattled him.

Danny extended his hand to Doc, but laughed slightly when he realized he was too far down the table to reach him. Doc joined in. Instead the two men nodded their heads towards one another in greeting. His focus was pulled as his phone rang in his pocket. Pulling the ringing object out he glanced quickly at the screen. "Excuse me, I have to take this," Danny apologized. "Nice meeting you." Still standing he carefully stepped over the bench, one leg at a time, until he was completely clear. Steve looked to him wondering who it was, however his question was answered as his partner answered the call. "Rach?" Danny glanced at Steve, motioning his head towards outside. Understanding, he nodded before his attention was pulled as he heard Tina say his name.

"This is Steve," Tina smiled. She knew how anxious Doc had been to meet Steve. After hearing about him for years, ever since he started as Maddie's doctor, and how the two were head over heels for each other, but completely clueless about it, he'd been eager to meet him and see for himself.

Steve stood, as did Doc, and both leaned and maneuvered in such a way that they were able to shake hands. If he hadn't already known Steve was in the military, he would have from his handshake. It was powerful and authoritative. Incredibly strong, confident, and to the point.

"I've been hearing about you for years. It's good to finally meet you. Put a face to the name," Doc stated, his tone friendly.

"Yeah, likewise." Steve paused before a slight smirk appeared on his face. "Don't believe everything she told you. I'm really not that bad. I promise." The two laughed.

"Actually, I've heard only good things. It's extremely obvious how important you are to her by the way she talks about you. You're a big part of her life."

Steve snuck a glance at Maddie and tried to fight a smile at the way she was blushing. The jealousy over Ryan and Maddie was completely gone as he really realized that there was absolutely nothing for him to be jealous of. Even with things screwed up between them, nothing could rival the friendship and bond they'd shared for more than twenty years.

_Stupid Doc,_ Maddie thought. _He's doing this on purpose. Why won't people just butt out of it? There's nothing between us besides friendship!_ She was embarrassed and annoyed, but mostly embarrassed.

Steve returned his attention back to the doctor in front of him before saying, "Thank you for taking such good care of her."

A huge smile appeared on Doc's face. One he tried, but couldn't hold back. To anyone else Steve's statement would have come across as no big deal. A customary and polite statement. However, there was so much communicated by his tone and his eyes. Steve was conveying just how much he appreciated that he'd been taking care of Maddie when he couldn't be there himself. _How does he not realize he's head over heels for her?_ Doc wondered incredulously. _And more importantly, how does she not see how he feels about her? _"No problem!" he smiled.

Just as the two men sat down Kendall walked in. "Hi Dr. Warsten," she cheerfully greeted, a huge smile on her tanned face.

Hearing her voice, Maddie's mind began running a million miles a minute. _Kendall… hmmm…_ _Well, I know it wasn't Ryan…and it most certainly wasn't Doc… And Doc keeps my file under lock and key…and this would be a perfect reason why. _She rolled her eyes slightly as she thought things through. _I mean I know she hates me, but would she do that? Take it that far? _Maddie narrowed her eyes debating the question as she sipped from the smoothie Steve had brought her.

Steve watched her stare off into space, wondering what she was thinking about. It was very apparent that whatever it was was consuming her every thought. He also couldn't help but notice she looked a bit more tired than she had when she first joined them. Although she was doing a good job of acting like everything was back to normal with her, he could see through it. He knew what she was up to. However, he did notice she didn't seem as nervous and scared as she had been. That wasn't an act. She wasn't looking around nearly as much and she just seemed to have calmed down from whatever had her so spooked. But, he did notice that with that calm she slowly was appearing more rundown and tired.

As he proceeded to watch her, Maddie's thoughts continued. _That would be so messed up if she did… _Hearing Kendall still talking to Doc, she glanced over at her. _She seems extra cheerful today_, she surmised, her eyes narrowing as she took in the humongous smile on the nurse's face.

It was as if Kendall could read her mind as she suddenly looked up and over at Maddie. As their eyes met she flashed the singer a knowing, cocky smile. _Son of a bitch_, Maddie thought, anger consuming her. No, not just anger. Fury. That's right. She was furious. _She did do it! What a bitch!_ Maddie fumed. If there hadn't been countless witnesses she would have gotten up and kicked her ass right there and then. However, Maddie knew only bad things would come from it. Plus, not only did she feel too terrible too do it, but she had no energy to do it either. _I'll kick her ass later_,she thought, unable to stifle a yawn. _Once I get some sleep_.

Ryan caught the look on Maddie's face as she stared Kendall down. Confused he glanced over at the green-eyed, blonde-haired beauty and caught the telling look she was giving Maddie. The pieces suddenly fell into place. "Oh hell no," he whispered. Maddie's head jerked in his direction. She flashed him a warning look as she shook her head slightly, hoping to be inconspicuous. Ryan understood what she was saying, but he was too mad. He couldn't believe it had been Kendall that had gone to the press. She'd caused Maddie a lot of grief. Grief she just didn't need to be dealing with at the moment. Not with everything else that was going on.

Steve watched the brief interaction between the two and for the millionth time in only a few days he felt like a bystander in her life. He felt like there was so much he didn't know about her. Things she was purposely hiding. He would have felt better if she was hiding them from everyone, but from the numerous interactions between her and Ryan, similar to the one he'd just witnessed, it was apparent she was letting Ryan in. He couldn't help the jealousy he was feeling. He'd always been the one she'd confided in. Well, except when she was trying to protect him and even then, it didn't happen very often. Steve was pulled from his thoughts at the sound of a girly southern drawl close to him.

Turning to his right he came face to face with an attractive, tanned, green-eyed, blonde-haired woman. He'd be lying if he didn't notice how beautiful she was. "Excuse me?" he asked, having not heard what she'd said.

"Is it alright if I sit here?" Kendall smiled sweetly at him as she indicated to the empty space on his right. The space Danny had occupied until only moments before.

Maddie, Ryan, and Tina watched the interaction carefully, all having a bad feeling about it. Knowing Kendall, they knew she was up to something and whatever it was, it wasn't good.

"Oh um," Steve hesitated unsure of what to say since it was technically Danny's seat. But then again, he wasn't sure if he was coming right back. He thought he'd heard him say something earlier about picking Rachael and Grace up once Grace was out of school. But, to be honest, he wasn't completely sure. He'd been so preoccupied and distracted over Maddie that he was sure he'd missed a lot over the last few days. "Yeah, go ahead," Steve finally said.

"Thank you so much!" Kendall smiled at him. And not your everyday appreciative smile, but something different. There was more behind it than her just being friendly.

Once comfortably seated she turned her head to the left to face him. "Hi, I'm Kendall."

"Steve." He extended his hand. "Nice to meet you," he said as the two shook hands.

"If you only knew how nice," she flirted, slightly batting her long eyelashes at him.

Maddie's stomach sunk. Although she hadn't told Kendall how she felt about Steve, she knew she'd overheard Tina and her talking about it. Not to mention she'd been around a lot of the times people had tried to convince her he had feelings for her. _It wasn't enough that she stole my medical chart and called the press? Now she's going to openly flirt with Steve right in front of my face knowing full well how I feel about him? _she thought. _Un- fucking- believable!_

Not at all liking this new woman sitting on Steve's other side, Lori introduced herself. "Hi, I'm Lori."

"Kendall," she answered, a small, disdainful smile on her face. She didn't appreciate this woman's interruption.

"Are you part of the tour?" Lori asked, wanting to figure out exactly who she was.

Kendall laughed at the thought. "No, definitely not." She paused, shaking her head at the absurd idea that she would work for Maddie. "No, I'm here with Dr. Warsten. I'm his nurse."

Lori's eyebrows furrowed in confusion not recognizing the name Dr. Warsten. Seeing this Tina clarified. "Doc. Sorry…his name's Dr. Jonathon Warsten, but we all pretty much just call him Doc."

"Oh, right. Of course," Lori nodded, forcing a smile. Feeling threatened she reached forward and picked an imaginary piece of lint off Steve's shoulder as she flashed Kendall a look. It was her way of telling Kendall to back off.

Maddie sat quietly across the table watching both Kendall and Lori flirt with Steve. She subconsciously began playing with the straw in her nearly finished smoothie as she fought to remain calm and unfazed by the whole scene. Although she was dying inside she was doing an excellent job of acting how she used to with Steve. As his best friend.

The fact she seemed to not even notice that the two women were flirting with him bothered Steve. It's not that he wanted her to be upset, it's just that it made him worry he really had blown it for good this time. That she'd given up. As each minute passed he looked for any sign that she was upset about Lori and Kendall or even that she noticed, but he didn't see one.

* * *

><p>Fifteen minutes had gone by. It had mostly been filled with Kendall fawning over Steve while Lori sat by and angrily watched. Of course she tried to get his attention here and there, but she also didn't want to be obvious about it. She'd tried the more upfront approach at the barbeque, and it hadn't worked. So, she'd decided to try a different strategy. She was hoping that Kendall's upfront and pathetic flirting would turn him off. She also knew that if she fought for his attention, it would turn him off from her and only embarrass him. So, she went with the strategy of letting Kendall sabotage herself, leaving her with Steve in the end. After all, Lori didn't want to come across as a needy woman.<p>

To say Steve was uncomfortable by all the attention was putting it mildly, especially because Maddie was sitting in front of him. Needless to say, he welcomed the interruption when Danny reappeared.

"Hey. I gotta run."

"Everything okay?" Steve asked his partner.

"Yeah. Rachel just needs a ride to a doctor's appointment. Apparently, Stan-" Danny couldn't help but roll his eyes as he said the man's name. "-is out of town and Rachel's car broke down. I've gotta pick her up from the dealership and then get her to her appointment."

Steve's heart broke for Danny. He could see how hard this was for him. To be honest, he couldn't believe he was going to do this for Rachel. If it were him instead, he didn't think he'd be able to handle it. "Well, let me know if you need anything. Or if you need me to pick Grace up from school."

"Thanks." Danny gave him a brief small, sad smile before letting his eyes fall on Kendall and then Lori. He smirked, shaking his head. "But I think you have your hands full as it is." Steve only glared at him. "Be careful Stephen!" he sang before walking away and out of the building.

"Who was that?" Kendall cooed, bringing Steve's focus back to her.

As he turned back around he threw a quick glance in Maddie's direction. Worry filled him seeing how tired she'd become. She was sitting there sipping her smoothie listening to a story Lori was telling her. Her elbow sat on the table while her chin rested in her hand. He watched as her eyes fluttered closed for a quick second before they opened again. She was fighting sleep. Before he could suggest she go get some sleep, Kendall called his name. Reluctantly he turned to her. "He's my partner," Steve answered simply.

"Ooo…two handsome partners! I bet you guys-" However he didn't hear her finish as he heard Maddie gasp. His hand automatically shot to his right hip, hovering over his sidearm. His eyes flew to her, only to see Pete standing behind her his hands on her shoulders.

Finished with a few things, Pete headed in to check on Maddie. He walked up behind her and placed his hands on her bare upper arms. However, he obviously wasn't thinking and she jumped, letting out a loud gasp.

"Sorry Shorty. It's just me," Pete apologized, feeling terrible for scaring her. He should have known better. She'd been jumpy for weeks, but significantly more so all day.

Maddie forced a smile as she tried to get her heart rate back to normal. She exhaled deeply, her eyes briefly closing before she tipped her head back and looked up at Pete.

Pete worriedly chewed on his bottom lip seeing how pale she'd gotten since he'd been gone. He moved his hands from her shoulders to her biceps, trying to inconspicuously feel how high her fever was. He wished Steve would just realize she was sick so that he didn't have to hide his concern anymore. More importantly he knew Steve would insist she lay down, which was exactly what she needed at the moment.

With his hands still on her upper arms he leaned forward, whispering quietly in her ear. "You're burning up Mads. How do you feel? The truth."

Maddie set her now empty smoothie on the table. Steve watched the two closely, wondering what his friend was saying to her. He hated how in the dark he felt. He watched Maddie focus on her hands as she lightly shook her head. What exactly that meant, he didn't know. However, he did notice that besides looking more tired she looked a lot more … something. He couldn't quite put his finger on it. _Maybe it's her knee_? he thought. _Maybe she's just in a lot of pain._

Still leaning forward, Pete whispered, "I have some Advil for you. What time did you take it last?"

She shrugged her shoulders, still looking at her hands splayed on the tabletop in front of her. Pete glanced down the table to his left and met Doc's eyes. He quickly flashed the bottle of Advil he was holding close to his thigh and keeping it out of view from everyone, especially Steve.

Understanding what he was asking Doc glanced at his watch before shaking his head. "Not yet."

"What?" Steve asked, watching the two men share a look. His problem was he didn't know what it was about, he just knew something wasn't right. His gut was never wrong and it was currently telling him he was missing something. Something important. Something he needed to know.

Knowing she didn't want Steve to know she was sick, Ryan turned to Maddie and poked the silver band around her left bicep. "Shorty, you do know that is a bracelet. It's supposed to fit around your wrist."

Pete couldn't decide if he was thankful or annoyed that Ryan had changed the topic. He knew Maddie didn't want Steve to know she was sick and he understood why, well sort of. But, he also wanted Steve to know because he knew he could get Maddie to get some rest before the show, something she was in desperate need of. As the topic was successfully changed, Pete walked to his right and took a seat on Tina's other side.

"I was gonna ask where you got that. It's really cute!" Lori added. "Is that really a regular bracelet? How the hell did you get that to fit up there?"

Maddie remained quiet. _I could kill Ryan right now_, she thought, annoyed that of all the things he could have brought up to change the subject, it was this. Sighing, she pushed the achiness she was feeling from her mind, or at least tried to, and sat up a little straighter, hoping to appear a little perkier.

Steve watched her, studying her reaction and body language. It was obvious the topic had hit a nerve, he just didn't know why. However he couldn't shake the feeling that it was important he find out.

Maddie shrugged her shoulders, flashing a small, tired smile. Daring a look at Steve she could see the concern he was trying to mask. Knowing she had to diffuse the situation before anything possibly telling could be brought up, she grabbed the small, dry erase board. **It's a much bigger bracelet. That's why it fits.**

"Are you sure Maddie?" Kendall asked, a fake, concerned look on her face. Maddie clenched her jaw as she continued speaking. "I mean, with what the press is saying…"

_What the hell is going on?_ Steve wondered, noticing that although she was trying to hide it, Maddie was becoming angry.

Maddie's fists opened and closed as she tried to contain her anger at Kendall. _What a bitch_, she thought. "It's a big bracelet," she said shortly, taking everyone by surprise.

_Oh crap, _Steve thought, hearing that her voice was significantly worse than it had been when he'd seen her Sunday. To say he was worried was an understatement. _How the hell is she going to sing tonight?_

"Maddie…" Doc warned.

It wasn't just the sound of her voice that concerned Steve, and everyone else. It was how curt she was with Kendall. _Wait, with what the press is saying? What the hell is going on?_ Steve was getting frustrated, tired of not having any idea what was going on. Tired of being in the dark. _What happened this morning?_ Deciding he needed to figure this out he pulled his iPhone from his pocket and quickly opened Safari.

Maddie could see the wheels turning in Steve's head and knew it was only a matter of minutes before he found out what was being said about her. _Son of a bitch! If he wasn't already worried about me…_ she thought_. _Her stomach dropped as he pulled his phone from his pocket.

Steve typed 'Madeline Lily' in the Google search bar. The top news items about her popped up. **Popstar taking time off for health reasons**, read the first one. _I mean that's sort of true, but how did the press find out about what happened the other day?_ he wondered. _That was the whole reason I didn't have her taken to the hospital and instead had her cared for at home. _

He read the next title. **Madeline Lily reschedules tour to undergo treatment? **_What treatment? _His stomach was suddenly churning. Tina had mentioned the press had been brutal all morning and that it had upset her. Upset her enough to run. _This must be what they were hounding her about_. Hesitantly he clicked the title. He wanted to read more, but at the same time didn't, worried about what it said. As the article popped up on the screen he took a deep breath, hoping it wasn't anything bad. **"…withdrawn in recent months."**, **"…weight loss…"**,** "…not eating…"** were all phrases that caught his eyes as he skimmed the article. His stomach sunk as his eyes fell on two words, **"eating disorder"**. His heart jumped into his throat as he froze, unable to look anywhere but the words on the screen until they began to blur. Steve blinked his eyes, snapping out of the trance. He raised his head to look at her, but the second he met her eyes she looked away. He knew that she realized that he had figured out what the press was saying. He felt himself begin to get worked up, begin to panic. He wanted nothing more than to ask her about it, find out if it was true. _But, wouldn't I know if it was true?_ he asked himself. _Maybe not. She's been secretive lately. _

Steve licked his lips as his mind ran a million miles an hour. He tried to think back to see if there'd been any signs that she was suffering form an eating disorder. Sure, she hadn't eaten much during the few days he'd been with her, but she'd had a terrible concussion making her nauseous. He didn't have enough to go on. _She's thin, but she's always been thin. Always been tiny. Ever since we were kids_, he thought as he carefully eyed every part of her body that he could see.

Steve wanted nothing more than to ask her about it, needing answers immediately. However, he'd never put her on the spot like that especially about something so personal. It was a conversation they'd have, that was for sure. However, he was just going to have to wait until they were alone. _I'll also ask Pete and Tina about it. Ryan too. And maybe even Doc_, he decided. Until then he knew he'd be obsessing and worrying about it, not to mention he'd watch her even more closely. He was thankful when Kono's voice pulled him out of his head before his thoughts made him go crazy.

"Woah…you're voice Mads. How are you going to sing tonight?" Kono asked, concerned for her friend.

Maddie cleared her voice, hoping it would help the quality of it. "I'll be fine." Maddie looked over at Doc. "Right, Doc?" She smiled at him.

He gave her an exasperated look. "Yes, you'll be fine for the show." Seeing her smile in victory he added, "However, if you had just listened to me from the beginning and not used your voice at all, it would have made my job a whole hell of a lot easier."

Maddie shrugged and smirked as she brought both arms closer to her body hoping to rub them without anyone noticing. She was already cold before Pete changed the ice packs in her brace, but now she was freezing. She wished she hadn't forgotten her jacket in her dressing room. "But when have I ever done things the easy way?" she smiled. "You should know that by now."

Everyone laughed, including Doc as he said, "True, very true. I'm not going to lie, I wasn't surprised you didn't listen."

Maddie could feel Steve's eyes on hers. He hadn't stopped staring at her since he'd read the article on his phone. _Damn it! This is the last thing I needed right now, and Steve. Now he's going to have even more on his mind and be more distracted when he's working_, she worried._Plus he's going to be even more overprotective, thinking that it's true! Damn press!_

Steve caught her eye, giving her a tentative and concerned look. Not knowing what else to do she flashed him a reassuring smile. Whether it helped she couldn't tell. He just gave her the teeniest bit of a distracted smile. It looked like he had the weight of the world on his shoulders. As hurt and upset as Maddie was, she didn't want to be the cause of that. She placed her right elbow on the table and laid her cheek against her palm. Steve worrying over every little thing about her only acted as a constant reminder that he cared for her like a sister. She looked down at the table as she felt the aching in her heart worsen. _I just want this show and day to be over with so I can bury myself in bed and never come _out, she thought. _Well, at least until I'm over Steve._

"I'm hungry. Can we eat some of that?" Lori asked, pointing across the room to a massive set up of food.

Maddie looked towards her. "Yeah! Oh my God, go crazy! There's sooo much food there and I really don't like it to go to waste," she told her, her voice not much more than a squeak.

"Great! Thanks!" Lori stood, making sure to use Steve's shoulder to help keep her balance as she stepped over the bench.

"You know what? I'm gonna join you," Kono announced, rising to her feet.

Standing where she'd been sitting, but on the other side of the bench, Lori asked, "Do you want anything Maddie?"

Maddie's stomach dropped knowing that Steve was watching closely, waiting to hear her answer. She dared a glance in Kendall's direction. She could have sworn she saw her stifle a giggle. _I could ring her neck! _she thought. Looking back at Lori, Maddie answered, "Nah, I'm not really hungry right now. I'll eat in a little while." It was true, she wasn't hungry. She felt like shit. Not only was her entire body aching and her head pounding, but she could barely swallow spit let alone food. "Plus, I just had that yummy smoothie."

Steve didn't like her answer. It only worried him more, wondering if the rumor was true. "Mads, a smoothie is not a meal," he told her.

She sighed, meeting his eyes. "I know. I'm just not ready for lunch right now. I'll have it in a little while. Promise."

"What about you Steve?" Lori asked standing behind him and slightly to the left. With her hands on his shoulders she leaned over, her hair brushing his left shoulder. "Want me to bring you back something?"

Steve tensed at the contact. "Nah. I'm gonna wait and eat with Maddie."

Maddie looked at him, getting ready to speak, but the look he sent her told her there'd be no arguing or discussion on the matter. She knew what he was doing. He was worried the press was telling the truth, so he wanted to make sure he physically saw her eat. _Great_, she thought. _Stupid Kendall and stupid press._

"Okay! Be back in a sec!" Lori smiled, walking away with Kono.

As each minute passed Maddie felt more and more tired and more and more achy. It was taking so much energy to try and keep from shivering. Taking her head out of her hand and sitting up straight she turned her head to the right and stared at Pete. She waited until he felt her eyes on him. Finally feeling them, he turned and looked at her questioningly. She quickly mouthed "Cold" to him. He nodded, understanding. "I'll be right back," he said as he stood and headed out of the room again.

Steve met Maddie's eyes sending her a questioning look, silently asking what that was about. She just smiled and shrugged, wordlessly telling him not to worry. Before he could ask anything more she felt Ryan's hand on her upper arm, trying to get her attention. Annoyed with him for bringing up the bracelet thing, which then opened the door for Steve to find out what the press was saying, Maddie turned her head to the left. "Yeah?"

"Sorry," he mumbled, apologizing for bringing up the bracelet thing. He had just been trying to help and for some reason it was the only thing he could think of in that moment. However, as soon as it was out of his mouth he knew the damage it could cause, but there was no taking it back at that point.

Maddie was quiet for a minute as she just stared at him. Shaking her head and sighing she turned back to look straight ahead. "Why are you here anyway? Your call time isn't until, what? 3pm?" Her question surprised everyone, including Lori and Kono who were just returning to their seats each with a plate of food.

Ryan winced at her tone. "I have to tell you something."

"What?" she asked, continuing to look straight ahead. He leaned in, getting as close to her left ear as possible. "I know why Kern is out for you…" he whispered. She waited for him to continue before saying anything. She didn't know if he actually knew the real reason, so she chose to wait in case he didn't before telling him she already knew what Kern's problem with her was.

Seeing he had her attention, Ryan continued, being sure to whisper soft enough so no one could hear him. Not that they would have if he had been loud, since they had all gone back to talking amongst themselves. "It turns out that Jesse is Kern's little brother. Well, half brother. The two are really close. That has to be why he's been riding you so hard the last few months. You're being punished for breaking up with Jesse."

"I know," she said, sighing as she shook her head, her eyes closing briefly at the mention of Jesse's name.

"What? When? How long?" Ryan cried, his eyes wide. He couldn't believe she knew and hadn't told him.

At Ryan's sudden outburst everyone's attention was now on them as they abandoned their individual conversations.

"I figured it out yesterday," she answered simply.

Ryan shot her a hurt look. "And you didn't tell me? What the hell Madeline?"

Hearing the use of her full first name told her Ryan was definitely hurt. He rarely called her that. "Sorry. It just wasn't the first thing at the top of my list. It still isn't. I was planning on telling you, though. Promise." Maddie tried to explain. However, she hadn't been planning on telling anyone that she'd discovered Jesse was Larry Kern's little brother. Well, half brother.

Knowing she had a lot on her mind and on her plate at the moment, Ryan let the issue go. At least for now. "Well you know that's why he's riding you so hard. That's why you're doing this show. You're being punished," Ryan told her.

Everyone looked on, confusion written on their faces.

_What the hell is going on? Who's punishing her?_ Steve wondered, feeling anger bubble within him.

"Does Pete know?" Ryan asked.

Maddie's head whipped to the left to meet his eyes, an "are you kidding me?" look on her face.

"You gonna tell him?" he questioned.

"No, and neither will you!" The look on her face left no room for argument even though he wanted to.

Steve didn't like what they were saying. He didn't like that they were plotting to keep something from Pete. What if Pete not knowing put her safety at risk? He didn't understand why she was keeping so much to herself these days.

"But, Mads," Ryan began. However, she interrupted him.

"No. It'll really upset him. He'll feel so guilty, Ry. There's no point. At least not right now." She looked at him, meeting his hazel eyes. "Okay?"

Ryan didn't like it. He worried that because Jesse was Larry Kern's little brother, that he could easily get to Maddie. Pete needed to know. Hell, he truly believed Steve needed to know, especially because he would be her only protection over the next few weeks. But telling Steve would mean he'd have to find out what Jesse had done and Maddie was right, Steve might very well try to kill him. He glanced uneasily at Maddie and then at Steve.

Steve didn't like how unsure Ryan seemed about agreeing to keep whatever they were talking about from Pete. The two men had a brief conversation with a simple look, one Steve understood completely. Ryan was silently telling him this was something he needed to know about. He needed to press her about it. Steve blinked his eyes slowly as he barely nodded his head once in understanding. However, he decided to wait until they were alone to bring it up. Probably when he got her back home, when the show was behind her and she could finally relax and get some rest.

"You look like you're in the military," Kendall said, trying to get Steve's attention. Reluctantly he took his eyes off Maddie and turned his head to the right.

"Yeah, the Navy," he answered, trying to glance at Maddie out of the corner of his eye whenever he could. Well, without seeming rude to Kendall or too obvious.

While Kendall flirted with Steve, playing the whole, "wow, you're a Navy Seal? You are so strong!" game, Maddie fought to keep her cool. With her right elbow back on the table and her head resting in her uninjured hand, she got lost in thought. _She knows he's a Navy Seal. She's heard us talk about him_, she thought, completely annoyed. _She's just doing this to get under my skin. First calling the press, and now this. What a bi-_

"Mads? Hello? You okay?" Tina asked touching her arm slightly.

"Huh? What?" She responded, leaving her thoughts behind and turning to her assistant and best friend. As she did she noticed Steve staring at her, trying to keep the worry from his face as Kendall continued talking, oblivious that he was no longer paying attention to her. She was struggling to keep her feelings hidden, so she refused to meet his eyes before giving her full attention to Tina.

"You okay?" Tina questioned, her forehead wrinkled in concern.

"Yeah, wh-" Maddie's voice cut out. She quickly cleared it, coughing once. However the cough was painful and although she tried she couldn't keep from wincing the slightest bit. "Why?" She tried again. This time the word came out, barely, but it did.

"Madeline. Enough talking. You're killing me here," Doc finally interjected. She scowled at him, frustrated. He only smirked back, knowing how hard this was for her.

Tina pushed the dry erase board into the hands of an irritated Maddie. Begrudgingly, she wrote what she'd just said. **Yeah. Why?**

Tina read it. "I've been trying to get your attention."

Maddie looked at her and paused, her slightly pale face turning a light shade of pink before mouthing, "oh". She didn't know what else to say. She'd been caught staring off into space obsessing over Steve and stupid Kendall.

"Okay, well," Tina hesitated, taking in her exhausted appearance. "You need to take care of these. You want to do that now?"

While Maddie had been inwardly cursing Kendall someone from her crew had come up and quickly whispered something to Tina, who then took a small stack of papers from them. Steve had caught the entire exchange out of the corner of his eye as Kendall chatted with him. He then saw Tina lean towards Maddie trying to get her attention. Seeing Maddie not respond to her numerous attempts Steve eyed her curiously, completely tuning Kendall out. It was then that he noticed how much more drained she was suddenly looking as she stared off into space, hunched over with her head in her hand. It's not that she already hadn't looked beyond tired, because she had. _I wonder what she's thinking about? What's got her so distracted? _he wondered.

Steve watched as Tina showed Maddie the stack she'd just received. Maddie sighed before nodding and taking it from her. Tina handed her a black Sharpie and Maddie immediately signed the top paper. Once finished she slid it to the right, signing the one underneath. It was then that Steve could see what she was signing. There were probably 15-20 photos of her. The photo that was used as the cover of her most recent record. Once she finished signing each one she handed them back to Tina, who stood and walked away with the stack. Steve watched worriedly as her eyes fluttered closed briefly before they opened again. As they did she looked up and met Steve's eyes. His eyebrows rose slightly as he looked into her tired, blue eyes. She knew what he was wordlessly saying. He was right; she needed to get some sleep, but she'd never tell him that. Instead, she gave him her best smile and sat up straight hoping to ease his concern. However, it did the opposite. What she didn't realize was that besides her smile looking tired, there was also a certain amount of sadness in it. Enough so that he felt his chest tighten. _I wish I could get her alone. Tell her I'm sorry. That it came out wrong. That that couldn't be further from how I feel. That everything is going to be okay_, he thought. He'd been patient over the last hour they'd been at the table with everyone, but he was growing more and more anxious to be alone with her. To find out how she really was. To hopefully get her to get some sleep. He wasn't planning on trying to talk about what he'd said on Sunday until he got her back home after the show. He had kept his mouth shut and just watched her, not wanting to do anything to upset her more. That's why he hadn't argued or voiced his concern over things. He didn't want to add any more distraction into her world before the show tonight.

Steve hoped to convey his concern for her by saying nothing as they continued to stare at one another. However, Kendall and Lori were not going to let that happen and they pulled his attention from Maddie.

Danny had just walked back into the room and had seen the entire thing. He watched as Maddie tried to hide the hurt and disappointment she felt when Steve looked away and began talking to Lori and Kendall. It was barely there, but because Danny was looking and aware of everything that was going on, he saw it. He shook his head as he watched the two women vie for Steve's attention in front of Maddie. _This is not going to help him convince her that what he said wasn't the truth_, he thought, annoyed with his partner.

Wanting to help in any way he could he stepped forward to where he had been sitting earlier. "Hi, I don't think we met before," he started. "I'm Danny."

"Kendall," she said, an annoyed look on her face. _Why is he interrupting my conversation with Steve? _shewondered_._

"Nice to meet you." Danny smiled at her. "But, um…I don't mean to be rude, but you're actually in my seat."

Maddie had to place her hand over her mouth to keep from laughing at the shocked look on Kendall's face.

"Um, well," Kendall said, shocked at what this stranger had just said to her. She looked to Steve for help, but he too was trying to keep from smirking. He knew exactly what Danny was doing, and he couldn't have been more grateful.

Kendall looked at him with a hurt look on her face, hoping he'd feel bad and back down, but there was no way Danny was going to do that. He just stood there waiting for her to move.

Realizing he wasn't going to let up, Kendall sighed and said, "Okay then. I'll just sit over there." She pointed to Lori's other side. She stood up and as she stepped over the bench she purposely stumbled. On instinct Steve reached for her.

"Woah. You alright?" he asked, his arms around her waist.

Kendall smiled at him, her face mere inches from him. "My hero," she cooed as she ran her fingers through his hair. Steve became flustered and ended up holding onto her longer than he should have. Not because he liked her or anything like that, but because he couldn't believe this was really happening to him. Carefully and respectfully Steve pushed her to her feet and away from him. Once he was sure she was steady, he removed his hands.

"Careful," he mumbled.

"Silly me, I'm such a klutz," Kendall smiled at him, shrugging her shoulders as she walked the few steps to the opposite side of Lori and took a seat.

Maddie watched the whole thing. _This is too much_, she thought. _I was wrong, I don't think I can do this. I think I should either go into lockdown or go rehearse. But I definitely need to get away from this. I can't watch this be thrown in my face anymore. _She was beginning to panic and found herself struggling to act normal, like she wasn't heartbroken watching these women flirt with the man she loved, throwing it in her face that he didn't feel the same. She coughed a couple times, wincing at the pain it caused in her throat.

"No, that's not klutzy. Now Maddie… She's a klutz," Danny said, taking his seat. He purposely was bringing the attention back on Maddie.

Steve swallowed hard, understanding what his partner was doing. His eyes went to Maddie's pale face as she coughed. His forehead wrinkled in concern as he watched her wince.

Kendall laughed. "No, Maddie's not a klutz. She's a spazz. She can't go five minutes without falling, dropping, or running into something."

Doing her best to act unfazed by it all Maddie smiled and nodded, giving a light shrug. Sure Kendall acted like she was just joking, but she wasn't. It was a dig at her and she didn't know why, but she had hoped Steve would have stood up for her. But of course he didn't, which hurt. _I don't know why I'm surprised, I mean, it's true after all. I am a spazz_, Maddie thought. Her heart ached and she knew that acting like everything was fine was not something she could do anymore at the moment. She'd been at it for an hour and had been doing a great job until now. She was too tired and felt too awful to act like she wasn't heartbroken. She needed a break before she could continue the charade.

Knowing she needed to get out of there she glanced around nervously, looking for a way out as she felt her aching heart begin to pound.

Steve felt ill at the hurt he could see she was trying to hide. He knew it wasn't really from what had just happened. It was from what he'd said on Sunday. She was so hurt by it that what just happened was too much for her. _She looks panicked_, he noticed, as he watched her glance around. _I put that pain there. I caused that._ He tried catching her eye, hoping to convey to her that he was sorry, that he had screwed up, but not only was she so busy glancing around that she didn't see him wanting to get her attention, but how could he tell her all that with solely one look.

Maddie placed her hands on the table, about to push up and get herself into a standing position. Steve didn't want her running. Not from him. Not anymore. So, he did the only thing he could think of without bringing it up in front of everyone, which he knew would only make things worse. He stretched his long legs out and placed one on each side of hers. She immediately froze, her heart aching at his touch, even if it was only at her ankles. Slowly she glanced up, meeting his eyes. Seeing that caring, concerned look only made things worse for her. It was already too much for her to handle without the look, but with it? Knowing that he didn't see her as anything more than just friends? That he had played her when he'd kissed her, letting her believe that he had feelings for her? It just made it all unbearable.

Maddie's first instinct was to pull away the second his legs came in contact with hers, but that would have just told him that she was upset and that she was bothered by Kendall and Lori flirting with him. And that was not the impression she wanted to give him. So, she left her legs sandwiched in between his even though it was killing her. However, she looked away from him. The legs she could handle for a few minutes, but the legs and the look? No way.

Maddie felt Tina grab her right hand from under the table. She quickly looked in her direction wondering when she'd come back? Seconds later she felt Ryan carefully grab her lightly bandaged left hand. She smiled inwardly at her friends. _I'm so lucky to have them,_ she thought, giving each of their hands a grateful little squeeze.

"Hey Mads," Danny started, trying to help ease the sudden tension. "I just saw Rachel and I think she might be more excited than Gracie about the show tonight. And let me tell you, that is really saying something."

Maddie laughed, grateful for Danny. _Uh oh_, she thought, feeling the familiar throat tickle that laughing caused her. She quickly let go of Tina's hand as she covered her mouth and coughed a few times. She did her best to try and stifle them as much as possible, but she could still feel numerous worried sets of eyes on her. Dropping her hand, she cleared her throat.

She nearly started coughing again when she felt Steve's legs rub against hers before they tightened their hold on them. She knew it was his way of seeing if she was okay, letting her know that he was there if she needed him, but it only made her sadder. Knowing she needed to just ignore it and push through her broken heart, she met Danny's eyes and said, "Wow. I hope I don't disappoint."

"Are you kidding me kiddo? You're shows are always off the hook!" Chin spoke up. She'd almost forgotten he was there he'd been so quiet. However, she knew it was just because he and Doc had been chatting most of the time.

"Seriously!" Kono added laughing. She turned her head and looked at her cousin. "Did you just say 'off the hook'?"

Chin's face turned a bit pink as everyone started laughing, which of course caused Maddie to cough a couple more times. Trying to help her out, Ryan coughed, hoping to pull attention off Maddie.

Once the laughter died down Kono said, "I'm so excited! Plus this one is being taped for HBO, right?"

"Yeah," Maddie nodded, clearing her throat. She could feel Steve's eyes on her, watching her. She knew it was only a matter of time before he figured out she was sick. To be honest she was surprised he hadn't. _Maybe I am doing a good job at pretending everything's okay_, she thought. _However, if I don't get another dose of cough medicine, he'll definitely figure it out, and soon. _She knew that was why she had suddenly started to cough more. Before she could figure out a way to inconspicuously get more, she heard a voice from behind her.

"Hey Mads."

She turned around. Seeing Derek and Lyle she smiled.

"You got some time to come rehearse the new song?" Derek asked her.

"Yeah!" She couldn't have been more relieved. She really needed to get out of there. She turned back around, facing everyone. As she prepared to stand up she pulled her feet away from Steve. She wished she could've said she didn't miss the contact with him, but she did. It almost hurt more than when he was touching her. Knowing this wasn't the time to dwell on the subject she placed her hands on the table and used them to push herself up. Once standing she realized that she wasn't going to be able to get out in this position by herself. She should have stayed sitting and brought both legs on to the bench and then back down. Like she had done when she sat down. _Crap_, she thought. _How am I gonna do this without looking like a spazz?_

"Where are you going Maddie?" Pete asked, walking up.

She couldn't have been happier to hear his voice, knowing he'd help her without being asked. She was right as he immediately reached out to help her. Putting his hands on her waist, he lifted her up and over the bench.

Once her feet were on the ground Maddie tucked her right arm through Pete's left and leaned into him a bit. She was trying to hide the fact she was using him to help her stand, since the pain was too much without the assistance.

"You're going to need to change into the costume's shoes. Get a feel for them," Derek told her, handing her a pair of laceless, slip-on sneakers. She knew given the fact she'd be surrounded by fire during the song that they were custom shoes.

Holding on to Pete Maddie slowly and incredibly stiffly sat down on the bench, her back to the table, as well as the Five-0 team. She quietly hissed at the pain that coursed down her legs from her tailbone. Once seated, she froze, holding her breath as she waited for the pain to subside. Once it did, she carefully began unstrapping her knee brace. With her injured leg free she carefully toed her boots off. Maddie bent her left, uninjured knee and brought it towards her so she could slip the first shoe on. Once on she set it back down on the floor. Chewing on her bottom lip she debated how she was going to put her right shoe on by causing the least amount of pain and discomfort for herself. She knew that no matter how she did it it was going to be painful. Knowing that she told herself she absolutely had to hide the pain. _Internalize it Maddie_, she told herself.

Deciding what to do she slowly bent her injured right knee the littlest bit, but she froze at the pain. It was excruciating, to put it mildly.

"Here let me help you Mads," Tina offered from her spot next to her. Although she was trying to hide the pain Maddie didn't realize that her breathing had quickened. It was a subconscious way her body was trying to deal with the pain.

"Nah, I got it," Maddie mumbled. "Thanks though."

Steve shook his head from his spot at the table behind her. _God, she is so damn stubborn_, he thought, frustrated.

After much effort, and much suffering, Maddie finally got the shoe on. Carefully placing it down on the ground, she exhaled a sigh a relief. _Man, I didn't really realize how much those injections Doc's been giving me have helped. I thought I was in agony then_, she thought.

"Kay, I'm re-" Maddie's voice cut out. She cleared her throat hoping it would help. "Ready," she finished, her voice no more than a raspy squeak.

"Can she walk without crutches right now?" Lyle asked Doc.

Doc sighed. "Yeah. But it's incredibly painful for her and she'll walk really slowly. I don't want her really doing that, but if she has to, then just for a short time. And I mean, no more than a few minutes…if she can even last that long," Doc answered.

Maddie couldn't believe he'd said that in front of Steve. "Nah, I'm fine. Doc's completely overreacting."

Because her back was to him, she didn't see Steve roll his eyes and sigh at how stubborn she was. He knew she was mostly saying it for his benefit. _Wow, she really hates it when I worry about her_, he thought. _I gotta figure out why it bothers her so much. Hopefully we can sort it out…that way maybe she'll stop hiding things from me so much. _

Lyle looked to Derek, seeing what he wanted to do. How he wanted to handle this. Derek put his hand to his mouth as he thought it through. Finally he said, "Let's put her in a harness."

With a look of confusion on her face, Maddie unintentionally whispered, her voice unable to be any louder than that, "But I'm not harnessed during the song," Maddie whispered, unintentionally, confusion on her face.

"I know, it's just for the first run through. You'll see why when we get out there," Derek told her.

Pete studied Derek's face. He didn't like how unsure he looked. _What is she up to?_ he wondered. Finally he asked, "What exactly is this for? Why are you rehearsing a new song hours before the show?"

"Just some last minute tweaks that Derek's been working on all morning to a new number. Nothing big. But as you know, any changes tha-" Maddie's hand flew to her mouth as she coughed a couple times. _Stupid cough_, she thought before continuing. "-any changes that get made, no matter how small, have to be rehearsed." Taking advantage of the fact she had her back to Steve and the Five-0 team, Maddie paused, closing her eyes for a second as she took inventory of how awful she felt. Every part of her body hurt. Even her skin. Her fingers. Her eyelids. Literally every part of her body. Plus, it was exhausting having to act like her old self when her current self was incredibly tired and extremely sick.

Derek, Lyle, and Pete all glanced at one another, sharing a concerned look. One that Steve noticed, only worrying him further. _I wish I could see her face right now_, he thought. He could tell by her posture that she was tired. But there was something else there too. Once again, there was something he just couldn't put his finger on. Hopefully he'd figure it out soon.

Pete bent down and pulled her crutches out from under the bench. "Here Mads," he said.

Hearing her name she opened her eyes and lifted her head. She met Pete's eyes. Slowly she used her hands, her right more than her left injured one, to push herself into a standing position. Pete grabbed her arm, helping. Once standing, he handed her her crutches.

"Alrighty," Maddie whispered. "Let's go!"

Steve noticed how exhausted her voice sounded. _I gotta get her to rest as soon as she comes back_, he thought.

Maddie crutched forward a couple steps and noticed Pete began to walk with her. She stopped and turned to him. "Staying here."

"No," he told her, his tone short.

"It's a new song," she replied, her eyes closed briefly before opening again.

"I don't care," he argued.

Maddie sighed. "Pete, I'll be fine. I won't be gone very long. I promise. Just please, stay here." She paused, looking down at the floor for a second before meeting his eyes once again. "This song….it's…I just really don't want it heard until the show. Okay?"

As much as he didn't like it, Pete could tell there was something about the song. He figured she either wasn't ready for them to hear it, or she only wanted them to hear it when she performed it. The fact that she had seemed kind of sad when she mentioned it, either that or unsure, made him wonder if it was about something she couldn't talk about. Maybe whatever she was hiding from them. So, as uncomfortable as he was with the idea that he wouldn't be there when she was obviously beyond exhausted and not feeling well, he had to respect her wishes. Reluctantly he nodded and backed off.

Maddie flashed him a small, appreciative, but tired smile before turning to the table and saying, "See you gu-" Her voice cut out. She quickly cleared it, hoping it would help before she squeaked out, "guys in a few." With her back to them she crutched out of the room and down the hallway with Lyle on one side of her and Derek on the other.

"Madeline Lily! Stop talking!" Doc called after her as he shook his head. "And no singing!" he added.

Kono chuckled. "She driving you crazy Doc?"

Doc rolled his eyes. "You have no idea. Why she has to push the limits, I don't know. It's like she feels she has to prove she can do…the…I don't know…that she is tough."

At Kono's confused look, Doc clarified. "For example, you tell her she really needs to rest her knee and get some sleep, that the body can only go so long without rest. It's almost like she feels she has to prove that she can do it. That she can keep going without sleeping or getting tired or without it bothering her knee. Like she's gotta prove that maybe no one else can keep going, but she can. Like she's Super Woman or something. I don't know."

"Wow, that doesn't sound like anyone else I know," Danny joked, giving his partner a look.

Everyone laughed while Steve only glared at him, shaking his head.

"No wonder you guys are best friends," he muttered.

As Pete returned to his seat next to Tina he pulled his right wrist up to his mouth. "Shorty is coming down the main hallway off Craft Services with Lyle and Derek. Keep your eyes open." He dropped his arm back to his side and listened carefully. After thirty seconds he heard Connor's voice in his earpiece. "Got her. She just passed through." A minute later Dominic said, "Here she is. All is good." Shortly after that Jared's voice came through saying, "They just walked through the door and are heading to the stage."

"How did she seem?" Pete asked, once more speaking into the mic at his wrist. He didn't have to wait long for Jared's response. "She seems like she feels awful. And she looks like she could fall asleep standing up."

"Okay, thanks," Pete said into the mic before placing his forearms on the table. He sighed, before saying, "She's at the stage." Really he was letting them know for Steve's benefit. As angry as he was at his friend, he knew he was worried about Maddie even though he was trying to hide it. And he had to give him props, he was doing a damn good job. Maybe too good of one. He was a little concerned that Steve's standoffish behavior with her would only further make her think he didn't care about her in the way she wanted him too.

"You look tired Pete," Kono said, her voice filled with compassion.

"I am," he admitted, rubbing his left hand across his eyes. He then placed his left elbow on the table and held his chin with his hand.

"We all are," Ryan added.

Steve was quiet. Finally he looked across the table to his old friend. "Were the last few days that bad?"

"They were worse," Pete honestly answered. "I'm telling you now that if you don't get her to get some rest she's not gonna make it through this show. She may not even make it to the show."

"She get any sleep over the last four days?" Steve asked, unsure of whether he really wanted to hear the answer.

"Maybe a total of six hours."

"A night?" Lori asked. "That's not so bad."

"No, total."

"Shit," Steve grumbled, his eyes closing as he shook his head, anger and worry filling him.

"Yeah, shit is right," Danny said. "How the hell is she still standing?"

"I have no idea," Doc answered. "She should've collapsed at least a day ago." He turned to Steve. "Even if you get her to get some rest before the show, her body will shut down on her at some point. The only question is when. Let's just hope she can make it to after the show."

Steve was worried. He was going to have to figure out a way to get her to rest when he knew she was going to fight him tooth and nail. He glanced at his watch, anxious for her to be back.

"She seemed fine. I mean she seemed a little tired, and obviously her voice is gone, but besides that she didn't seem as bad as you guys are saying," Lori stated. She knew that what they were saying was worrying Steve and that he'd put all of his focus and attention on Maddie because of it. She really didn't want that to happen, so she tried to counteract their statements.

Pete was annoyed with Lori. Her presence over the last week had caused Maddie a lot of hurt. "That's because she's putting on an act," he replied, his tone short.

"Why?" she asked, her forehead wrinkled in confusion.

"Because…" Pete answered, his voice laced with anger as he stared at Steve.

Danny smirked, shaking his head at his partner. "Idiot over here did screw up, didn't he?"

"Shut up Danno," Steve growled. He already felt guilty and bad enough; he didn't need them to make him feel worse.

"What happened? What did you do?" Lori asked, rubbing Steve's upper back.

Steve tensed at her gesture.

"He hurt Maddie. Therefore she completely threw herself into this show. She refused to sleep."

"Refused to eat," Kendall added, knowing she'd be adding fuel to the fire. Doc straightened at her comment. She shouldn't be saying anything like that about Maddie to her friends. He took doctor-patient confidentiality extremely seriously. He caught her eye, shaking his head subtly while sending her a disapproving look.

Steve's stomach clenched with worry at Kendall's comment, the words 'eating disorder' still running through his head on repeat. _How did this all get so out of control? I should have called Pete months ago when she first didn't call me back. Why did I wait so long?_ he asked himself, feeling guilty. However, he knew the answer. Wo Fat. He'd been so obsessed with tracking down his father's killer that he had let it consume him. Hell, he ended up in prison because of it.

"That's not completely true," Tina piped up, giving the nurse an irritated look.

Seeing that the conversation could get heated, Pete thought he better intervene. Plus, he wanted to talk to Steve before Maddie came back. "McG," he said. Steve looked over at his friend and nodded. "You have to get her to get some sleep. She won't listen to any of us. Seriously, she's barely hanging on. It's worse than when I first brought her to you."

"Shit, Pete…we're all barely holding on," Ryan confessed. It couldn't have been better timing as a giant yawn escaped from Tina. Pete eyed her worriedly, taking in her tired appearance.

Steve swallowed hard at Pete's admission. "Okay," he mumbled. He wanted to say more, but was so concerned that he found himself speechless.

"She's gonna fight you on it," Pete warned.

"I know," Steve nodded. "I got it, don't worry. I'll take care of it."

There was an awkward silence after the two Navy Seal's brief conversation. One that lasted too long for Kono's liking, so she decided to change the subject. "Hey, where did you guys find Maddie?"

The question pulled Steve from his thoughts. "Yeah, where was she?" he asked, curiosity written all over his face, especially since Maddie had refused to tell them.

Pete looked to Chin and nodded, silently telling him to answer.

Chin's face grew serious as he met his boss' eyes. "She was with your mom and dad, Steve."

Steve's stomach sunk. He was silent as his eyes fluttered closed. Once open, he shook his head slightly and licked his bottom lip. "Of course." He paused. "Damn it." He sighed.

"What is it Steve?" Lori asked rubbing his shoulder once again. However this time instead of just letting it happen he subtly moved away from it, a nice way of shaking her off. A lump formed in her throat at his behavior.

The team all knew what he was cursing about, well except Lori apparently. They knew he felt even worse for hurting her when she obviously was grieving. He'd been so consumed with worry over her that he hadn't thought about how she'd just found out about his dad, who was like a father to her. He knew she had to be feeling really alone to do what she did. To take off without security to go see his dad when someone was after her. And he knew it was his fault she was feeling so alone. "Damn it," Steve repeated.

"McGarrett," Chin began. "She'll be okay. She's just sad. I mean, you know that whenever she played here in Hawaii, he'd take the day off and spend it with her."

Steve smiled thinking about how close Maddie and his dad had been. "Yeah, and he'd always bring her a blue rose for good luck."

"A blue rose?" Kono asked, confused. "Why blue?"

"It goes back to when we were little." Steve smiled reminiscing. "It was her first little recital since her mom had passed the year before. Her dad was…well… not there." It was obvious that just the mere mention of her father sparked rage in Steve. "Anyway, she was having a hard time. In fact she said she didn't want to perform anymore, but after much convincing my mom finally got her to agree to at least do this last recital. Maddie was really upset right before she went on and I remember my dad kneeling in front of her and giving her a dyed blue rose with sparkles all over it. It seemed to do the trick and he gave her one at every performance he attended since then."

"Why not a red rose?" Kono questioned.

Steve smiled and shrugged. "I don't know, but there's a reason. I asked my dad every time he gave her one and he'd just smile this…" Steve paused, trying to figure out how to describe it. "…this…knowing smile. Like he had a really juicy secret or something. Anyway, he'd say, 'All in good time. You'll find out when it's time."

"You never found out?" Danny asked.

Steve shook his head. "No, never did. She knows though."

"There's no doubt in my mind that you'll get it out of her one day," Kono smiled. "And when you do…I wanna know." Steve laughed at this girly side of his team's rookie. A side they rarely ever saw.

"You guys really do go way back," Lori said, her voice sounding distant. _This might be harder than I thought. They really do have history_, she thought, growing concerned that she was going to lose Steve. Not that she fully had him. She'd only been on two dates with him, but still, things had seemed promising. That is until Maddie showed up. _I'll see if he's busy Saturday. We just need to get away from everyone, including Maddie. Hang out just the two of us again._

"Yeah, we do."

"What was Maddie like as kid?" Kono asked. "Was she a spitfire like she is now?"

"Oh yeah," Steve chuckled.

"Oh and I'm sure you were an angel," Danny said sarcastically.

"Not that it's any of your business, but in fact, I was," Steve declared, smiling.

Tina, Ryan, and Pete laughed causing the rest to look over at them.

"What?" Steve asked, smirking.

"Oh, we've heard what an angel you were Steve," Tina laughed.

Steve was just about to respond when movement from the doorway to the room caught his attention. Looking over he saw Maddie crutching in, Billy, another one of his Navy Seal buddies, at her side.

As she reached the table, Billy took her crutches and helped her sit. "Hey McG! Long time!" he greeted just as he knelt down to help her put her knee brace back on.

"Billy! Yeah, it has been a long time! How ya been?" Steve asked, happy to see his old friend.

"Good! Really good!" Billy responded. As he spoke to Steve and helped Maddie into her brace he watched her carefully. She'd gone downhill fast over the last 30 minutes. He wasn't sure how much longer she could keep going. He caught Pete's eye and quickly gave him a look.

"Hey Shorty! How'd it go?!" he asked.

She briefly met his eyes and gave him a thumbs up. He noticed her trying not to shiver and realized he'd gotten sidetracked earlier when he went to get her jacket and forgotten it.

"Crap. Sorry, I got distracted. I'll be right back." He quickly jumped up and left the room, heading to her dressing room.

Once her brace and motorcycle boots were back on Tina scooted down a bit on the bench to give Maddie some room to get situated. Like before she put both legs on the bench. Then she placed her left leg down on the other side, followed by her right. Now that she was sitting at the table and facing everyone, she whispered, "Why were you all laughing?"

Steve's stomach dropped. She was so pale. She looked absolutely awful. He knew it was time to force her to get some sleep even if Pete hadn't said what he did.

"Steve claimed he was an angel as a kid," Kono answered.

Maddie couldn't help but laugh, and hard, which made them all crack up.

"I think that's all the response we need Boss," Kono told him.

He smiled, however he wasn't really listening. He was too focused on Maddie. "Did the song go okay Mads?" he asked.

She nodded, meeting his concerned eyes. She was just about to say something when she heard Doc's voice. "Oh no," Doc said from his spot at the end of the table. At his sudden outburst everyone glanced around.

"Oh shit," Ryan mumbled, seeing what he was referring to.

"You gotta be kidding me," Doc angrily grumbled. He crossed his arms as he sat up straight, preparing for what could very well be a battle.

"Hey Mads!" George greeted as he approached the table. "I hear press didn't go so well."

Steve watched her carefully. He didn't know who this guy was, but he could immediately tell he didn't like him, and not just by the other's reactions, but Maddie's too. He noticed the way her jaw clenched as he spoke and the way her whole body seemed to tense up. _Who is this guy?_ he wondered.

She shrugged her shoulders in response as she turned to her right to look at him.

"She can't talk right now. Doctor's orders," Ryan informed him, his tone slightly aggressive.

George ignored him. "Well, don't worry. It'll all blow over. Plus, it'll only bring you more attention, with the speculation of whether or not you really do have a e-"

"What do you want George?" Ryan demanded, interrupting him. After Tina had informed him that the press had been hounding her about something personal, he had gone on his iPhone and looked it up, just like Steve had. Seeing the thousands of articles about it, his stomach had plummeted. It was the absolute last thing she needed to be dealing with at the moment.

Grateful he interrupted and kept George from bringing it up in front of everyone she grabbed Ryan's hand under the table and squeezed hard.

Steve watched her. She was only getting more uptight and uncomfortable as this guy talked. Plus, she didn't look good.

"So, you need to rehearse. No one's using the stage and since your schedule was changed, giving you more time, you need to go out there."

Before he could go on, Doc spoke. "No, she just came from running through a song. She's not going anywhere."

Steve glanced between the men and then to Maddie. He watched her eyes flutter closed as she took a deep breath. His heart pounded as her façade fell. _She's so pale_, he thought, worry filling him. _She looks absolutely miserable. Oh God, I hope her body doesn't decide it's had enough_, he thought, remembering what Doc had told him_. I hope she can at least make it through the show so she can put it behind her and start to recuperate._

"I'm sorry, there's still just too much to go over," George said, pulling Steve from his thoughts.

"No," Pete forcefully stated having walked into the room with Maddie's jacket in his hands. He'd heard the conversation. "She needs to rest, not rehearse."

"She doesn't need rest. She's fine! Look at her! She looks absolutely beautiful!" George looked at Maddie. "You're fine aren't you? You're not tired. You're good to rehearse, right?" He ran his hand down her long hair. It was a gesture that was meant to have been loving, but it only came across as weird and uncomfortable, giving her the creeps. Steve watched her tense significantly as she tried to politely pull away. He suddenly straightened as he tried to fight the intense urge he had to protect her from this man.

Maddie nodded before grabbing the dry erase board and writing her answer. **I'm not tired. I'm completely good to rehearse.** She knew it was a lie. In fact, she had no idea how she was going to be able to do it. She felt like her whole body was trying to shut down on her. Every part of her hurt and it was taking every last bit of energy she had to try and act like everything was fine as well as try to keep her eyes open. They were just so heavy. Running through the fire number had made her feel exponentially worse. Her head was pounding as well as her knee and foot from having to walk on it. All she wanted to do was curl up in her bed, unfortunately that wasn't an option.

"No you will not," Pete snapped as he grabbed the board, slamming it down on the table.

"She's fine! She said it herself!"

"Look at her! I mean really look at her!" Doc cried.

_Oh shit_, Maddie thought, knowing exactly what was going to come out of Doc's mouth. Not wanting to see Steve's face when he heard this, Maddie looked away, cringing before he continued. Little did she know they'd already told Steve what Doc was about to reveal.

"She's absolutely exhausted. She hasn't slept more than," Doc paused, doing mental math. "Six hours in more than three days. How she's still standing and functioning is beyond me. Do you know what it's taken to keep her going? To get her through these rehearsals?"

"You guys are exaggerating! God! She's a grown up! She's fine! She said it herself!" George responded, his voice rising.

Maddie sat there fuming over the way they were arguing about her as if she wasn't sitting right there. _I'm a grown woman for God's sake_, she thought. _I can take of myself. I can do what I want, when I want. This is absolutely absurd!_

"Of course she did! She's upset! When she's upset she drowns herself in work! How have you not noticed that over the last few months?" Pete yelled.

"She's lo-" Knowing exactly what Doc was going to say, Maddie panicked.

"Stop!" Maddie shouted. However, just like earlier, her voice couldn't handle the volume and force she put behind it and she immediately started coughing. Not just once or twice, but a coughing spasm. A bad one.

_Damn it she's sick_, Steve realized as he worriedly watched her cough, her face turning bright red. _Son of a bitch! _He couldn't believe he was just now realizing it. All the signs had been there. He'd just been too distracted to put them together.

"I'm (*cough*) (*cough*) a gro- (*cough*), grown woman. (*cough*)(*cough*) I make (*cough*)my (*cough*) own deci- (*cough*), decisions. (*cough*)(*cough*)(*cough*) I'm go- (*cough*) –ing (*cough*) to rehearse. (*cough*)(*cough*)."

While she continued to cough, unable to stop, Steve rose, effectively hiding the intense concern over her from his face. However, he didn't do as well hiding his anger. In fact, he didn't even bother to try. He was done fighting his urge to protect her. He'd been fighting it all day and as he heard everyone argue about Maddie's wellbeing with this new man, Steve had found himself growing angrier by the second. He'd tried to stifle it, but enough was enough.

"Don't hurt him, Steve," Danny whispered as his partner stood. "Well, not too bad, that is."

Walking around the table Steve approached Maddie. However, instead of sitting down, he turned and faced George, his jaw squared in anger.

_Son of a bitch_, Maddie inwardly cursed, knowing there was no way this could be good. She coughed harder, unable to catch her breath. From his spot across the table, Doc looked to Tina and said, "inhaler."

Tina immediately began fumbling in her purse for the inhaler Doc had given her early that morning for a moment such as this. Locating it, she shook it violently before holding it to Maddie's mouth and giving it a pump. Maddie did her best to hold her breath and not cough, but she wasn't able to do it for that long. She coughed exhaling the medication. Tina looked to Doc, who nodded that she should do it again. While Tina and Ryan did their best to get Maddie's coughing to subside, everyone watched Steve, knowing exactly what was about to happen.

"Hi! I don't think we've met," Steve began.

"No, and I don't really care," George spat, getting a little bit too close to Steve.

Steve did his best to ignore the close proximity – at least for now. Instead, he smirked as he extended his hand to introduce himself. "Lieutenant Commander Steve McGarrett."

George's brow furrowed as he tried to recall where he'd heard the name before. Suddenly his face dropped as it went stark white. He'd heard of him and from what he heard he was unbelievably overprotective of Maddie. That and he was a Navy Seal. A badass. He'd heard stories from Pete and the other bodyguards. His demeanor changed from a bully to that of a scared wimp as he offered his hand to Steve. "George Polunsky," he introduced himself. "Maddie's tour manager."

With a big smile, Steve grabbed his hand to shake it. However the second it was firmly in his grasp, the smile faded from his face and he began to squeeze it. George immediately tensed as he hunched forward towards his aching hand. "So George," Steve began. "This is how it's going to go. Maddie is going to get some rest before the show. Uninterrupted rest. She will not be rehearsing any more today. She's done. If I see you anywhere near her before showtime…" At George's wide, fearful eyes Steve said, "-well I think you can fill in the rest yourself."

As soon as Steve had begun his overprotective display, Maddie's coughing got worse as she panicked. She couldn't believe he was pulling this right now. Using her right hand she reached it back behind her. She reached around feeling for Steve. Because her back was to him, and his to hers, she wasn't exactly sure where he was, she only knew he was close. Finally she came in contact with his cargos at the back of his right thigh. She patted and tugged at them hoping to get him to stop since she couldn't say it because of her coughing.

Steve's heart fluttered at her touch. Sure, he'd been there with her for approximately an hour, but besides their ankles touching, that was it. No hug, no anything. As he'd been focused on taking care of George he hadn't been as aware of Maddie. However, feeling her hand on his leg, he heard her coughing wasn't settling down. In fact, it was getting worse. She couldn't seem to catch her breath. He fought the urge to turn around and help her, but wanted to finish George off first. He wanted to make sure he was completely understood. So, he ignored Maddie for the time being.

George couldn't say anything. He was frozen, too afraid he was going to get his ass kicked. Steve smirked arrogantly at George's reaction. "I see you've heard of me." He paused briefly before continuing, letting what he'd said so far sink in. "You're going to walk away. I'm going to take Maddie and we are going into lockdown, until I…SAY…SO!" Steve bellowed, his voice growing louder. He stepped forward, his face menacing. "And if I ever hear you disregarding her wellbeing again…" Steve snarled, pulling on his hand as he tightened his grip, trying to make his point.

George winced in pain. "I…uh…um…I actually forgot, I….uh…have a long list of things I need to get done. So, uh, get some rest Maddie! And…and you're gonna do great tonight." He tried to pull his hand free, however Steve gave it another hard tug and squeeze making sure this asshole understood how serious he was. Giving him a triumphant and domineering smile, he finally let him go.

George swallowed hard as he tried to smile at Steve. "Um...nice to finally meet you." With that said he rushed off holding his aching hand.

Angry, Steve sighed loudly shaking his head before he turned around. Lightly touching Tina's upper back she slid down to the right, giving him room to sit next to Maddie. He put his right leg over the bench and then sat down, straddling it, his back to Tina as he faced Maddie.

Maddie felt her heart rate increase as he sat next to her, his eyes boring into her. She chose not to look at him as she continued to cough, instead looking straight ahead. Everyone at the table was quiet as they watched, still a bit in shock over what Steve had just done, although they knew they shouldn't have been.

Seeing her coughing wasn't subsiding and it was only getting harder and harder for her to breath, Doc said, "Inhaler again."

Tina handed it to Steve, who shook it before bringing it to her mouth. "You're okay, just take a breath," he whispered to her as Ryan continued to pat her back hoping it might help. She tried but it came out as a gasp. Finally she placed her mouth on the inhaler he held in front of her. He gave it a pump and she held her breath as long as possible, which wasn't as long as it should have been.

Steve placed the cap back on the inhaler and set it on the table beside him. He watched as her coughing slowly began to lessen. "Look at me," he whispered. She was doing her best to keep her heart from pounding right out of her chest, anxious and nervous at his close proximity. Unsure, she thought his request over, however if she was supposed to be acting like her old self then she had to look at him, and without hesitating. Back when things weren't so screwed up and her entire world wasn't crumbling around her, she wouldn't have had any problem looking at him. In fact, he would never have had to ask to begin with.

Finally, Maddie did as he said and turned her head to the right, meeting his eyes. Steve leaned a bit closer as his hand reached forward. At his closeness she did her best to not let the fact she could feel his warm breath on her, which felt cool against her feverish skin, affect her in any kind of way. However, it was a pointless fight as just having him so close to her sent goose bumps across her body. Maddie couldn't have been more annoyed with herself for still letting him affect her after everything he'd done, however she was pulled from her thoughts as Steve placed his hand against her burning forehead.

Subconsciously Maddie tensed slightly at the physical contact with him. She couldn't help it, it just hurt too much.

Steve's stomach sunk, because although it was slight and difficult to see, he noticed her tense. He was overcome with guilt as he continued to realize just how bad he'd hurt her. However, anger and worry quickly pushed it to the back of his mind for the time being as the intense heat coming from her skin registered. Staring into his eyes Maddie saw it. It was unmistakable. "Jesus Madeline…," he mumbled. He blew out a breath. "Oh my God." He couldn't believe how high her fever was. "You're on fire!" _How has she been able to just sit here acting like everything is fine for so long when she's this sick? _he wondered. _And why __the__hell__ didn't anyone tell me? Better yet, why isn't Doc insisting she be resting?! This is way too high!_

Steve looked up, meeting Pete's eyes. He was standing behind Maddie, her jacket in his hand. "Sorry, sworn to secrecy," Pete honestly told him, knowing exactly what he was thinking.

Anger at Pete's confession coursed through Steve's veins and if Maddie hadn't been so sick he would have let her know just how much. However, it wasn't just that he was furious she didn't tell him she was sick. It was that he didn't notice immediately…because he should have. And he would have if she hadn't done such a good job at hiding it. Which scared the hell out of him. To know that she felt she had to hide herself, her emotions and feelings, and her health, so completely, that she had to bury them so deeply, he knew she was upset. Beyond upset. To be honest, he'd rather she give him the silent treatment or freak out and start crying. But this? This made him worry tenfold.

Steve shook his head at his longtime friend's statement. _How could he agree to keep this a secret? _Steve questioned. It made him wonder if there was more he was keeping from him by Maddie's request. The idea made him incredibly uneasy and he hated how this was now going to make him start doubting Pete. Begin to question whether he was being completely upfront with him, whether he knew more than he was admitting. However, one thing he was absolutely positive of and would never doubt was that Pete would always do his best to keep Maddie safe.

Maddie coughed again, pulling Steve from his thoughts. _That sounds really painful_, he thought.

Now that Steve knew she was sick, Maddie didn't see the point in trying to hide it anymore. She needed what little energy she had to pretend she wasn't upset. That she wasn't heartbroken. That everything was fine and she was back to her old self. Looking at her best friend and the man she loved she dropped the façade.

Steve's brows furrowed as he studied her. His left hand wiped at his mouth, sliding down as he tugged slightly on his chin. He noticed she was suddenly so pale. Her eyebrows were furrowed in pain and her eyes…she looked completely miserable. He could already see she was exhausted. That was one thing she hadn't been able to hide from him. But now? _Holy shit_, he cursed. Steve sighed as he stood, irritation and worry etched into his otherwise handsome face. He looked at her. She knew what he was wordlessly saying and she couldn't have been happier at the thought of getting to lie down. However, she was upset and didn't want to give him the satisfaction, so she stayed rooted to the bench as she continued to stare at him.

He cocked his head and lightly licked his bottom lip. "Madeline, come on," he said his tone gentle, but also forceful.

Maddie began to open her mouth to tell him she was fine, but she barely got as far as the first syllable of "I", when his concerned, but also angry and fiery stare met hers.

"Don't even. Just…no." Steve shook his head, trying to hold in his anger and the lecture that was sure to accompany it. _After all_, he reminded himself, _she's really sick and feels awful_. _Save the lecture for when she feels better._

As he rose from his spot on the bench he caught her trying to keep from shivering. Sending a steely glare to Pete he reached out for Maddie's jacket. Pete handed it over without a word as he flashed his friend an apologetic look. _If he's this mad about me not telling him she's sick, he's going to lose his shit when he finds out I didn't call him when someone started tampering with things, leaving Maddie to get hurt_, he thought, not looking forward to the conversation.

"Here Mads," Steve said, holding her jacket open so she could slide her arms in. Once she had it on, he tugged on each side of the front of it, pulling the edges as close together as he could without buttoning it. "Now come on, let's go," he said to her. Although there was concern and compassion in his voice, she could also still hear the anger.

_Oh, he's pissed_, Maddie thought. Sighing she turned to her right bringing her legs up onto the bench before setting them back down on the other side. "Crutches," Maddie whispered to Pete. Steve had every intention of carrying her, but before he could tell her not to worry about them, that he had her, Pete pulled her crutches out from under the bench and handed them to her.

Pete was hoping it would be a good thing for Steve to carry Maddie. That although he knew it was wishful thinking, he thought maybe she'd notice how careful Steve was with her, how loving, and she'd finally realize that he really didn't mean what he'd said. However, she'd asked for her crutches and as much as he didn't want to give them to her, he did what she asked. After months of shutting him out, she'd finally started opening up to him again, even if it was just a little, and he didn't want to risk their progress over something so small as whether she walked or was carried to her dressing room.

Pete helped Maddie up before Steve had the chance and out of the corner of his eye he could see his friend's disappointment.

With the crutches under her arms Maddie leaned heavily on the items. Steve chewed his lip a bit as he watched her eyes flutter closed. He took a step toward her worried that she'd fall asleep and fall.

She couldn't help it; she was really struggling to keep her eyes open. She'd been able to handle it without any trouble, or pretty much, over the last few days, but as soon as Steve got there it'd become much more difficult. Maddie had noticed that the longer she was in his company, the less nervous and on edge she'd become. She had felt the anxiety and fear slowly dwindle. It wasn't completely gone, but she felt a lot calmer with Steve there. She wasn't so afraid to sleep and it was obvious her body subconsciously knew that. Knowing Steve's presence had such an effect on her irritated the hell out of her, making her wish, for the millionth time over the last couple days, that she hadn't ever realized she was in love with him.

As Maddie's eyes opened she came face to face with Steve's worried face. She noticed that he was closer to her than he had been seconds before, which made her more nervous. _I really hope he isn't able to pick up on how nervous and uptight I keep getting when he gets close to me,_ she thought. _I'm not purposely doing it. It's an automatic reaction. Stupid body…just get over him already._

Now that her eyes were open, well partly – they still looked like they would close at any second, Steve looked to Doc, still seated across the table. "Come with us. I want to know what's going on," he ordered, leaving no room for discussion.

As Doc nodded and stood Steve turned to his teammates. "I'm gonna go with Maddie for a little while." At the mere mention of his childhood best friend, Steve quickly and worriedly glanced in her direction, making sure she was still standing. That she hadn't passed out or collapsed. Seeing she was still leaning on her crutches he continued. "If you guys wouldn't mind hanging out for awhile. Ry would probably give you a tour or something."

"Yeah, definitely! Whatever you guys feel like," Ryan interjected. He couldn't have been happier and more relieved that Steve had taken control of the situation with Maddie and was going to make sure she got some sleep. He himself was beyond worried about his friend and would do whatever was needed to help out. "You guys can also come to our dressing room for awhile. It's sick!"

"No problem, boss!" Kono smiled.

"Do what you gotta do, McGarrett," Chin said, also relieved.

"I'm fine," Maddie squeaked out. "You're overreacting Steve." She began coughing.

Steve only raised his eyebrows at her, giving her a pointed, indignant look. "Yeah, I can see you're really fine Madeline," he sarcastically said, irritated, as he shook his head.

"Do you need any help?" Lori asked, not wanting Steve to be alone with Maddie.

_Yeah, that's the exact thing that needs to happen. Lori in the room while I try and figure out exactly how bad this is. That would really go over well_, he sarcastically thought. "No," he gruffly answered. However, his toned softened as he turned back around to Maddie. "Let's go."

Maddie sighed as she began slowly crutching away from the table; Steve was directly next to her on her left while Pete walked a few steps behind.

Having come from the other side of the long table (really five or six picnic tables pushed up against one another into a long line) Doc met them as they neared the door. Just as he was a few feet away, members of the crew came running down the hall and into the room. Maddie had been looking at the floor as she crutched, so she didn't see who it was, she only knew people were running towards her. She immediately tensed as fear took over. Her instincts kicked in and she involuntarily dropped her crutches before quickly taking a rushed step to her left towards Steve. Maddie reached out and grabbed onto him for dear life, burying her face in his neck.

To say he was shocked was an understatement. Not once since they were four years old had Steve ever seen her react this way. To anything. Well, except for the incident an hour earlier, but she had only tensed. She hadn't hid or reached out for anyone. Steve's arms circled her tightly. "Hey….hey," he whispered to her. "You're okay."

Steve glanced up, meeting Pete and Doc's eyes. They'd both quickly approached as soon as they saw what was happening. The three men shared an incredibly serious and concerned look. This was not the Maddie they knew. She didn't just spook easily, she didn't spook at all.

Feeling her bury her face further into his neck, Steve's attention returned to her. "It was just some crew Mads. You're okay." With her body so tightly pressed against his, he could feel her heart pounding. _What the hell is going on? God, I'm going to kill whoever has her this scared_, he vowed.

Steve turned his head slightly to the right and planted as small kiss on the very top of her forehead, near her hairline. He licked his bottom lip in habit. "God, you're burning up baby," he whispered. His chest tightened as he felt Maddie tense at the term of endearment.

Worried she was going to pull away from him and claim she was fine, Steve quickly leaned slightly forward and placed his stitched and bandaged left forearm under her legs and picked her up. "You okay?" he asked, hearing her groan in pain.

She nodded against the crook in his neck. However, he didn't believe her. He knew something else was wrong. She was in pain and it wasn't just coming from her knee.

"Can you grab those?" Steve asked, using his head to point to her abandoned crutches on the ground.

Doc immediately picked them up while Steve and Pete glanced around the large room. They noticed everyone was staring.

"Let's go," Steve directed, wanting to get away from prying eyes. The three men, with Maddie safe in Steve's arms, walked out the door and into the hallway.

"I don't know where I'm going," Steve said to Pete, who immediately walked around him to lead the way.

After a few minutes of walking down numerous hallways, Steve saw a bodyguard standing near a door with a sign saying "Madeline Lily" on it. As they got closer he recognized the man as another member of his Seal team.

Joshua, who was stationed at her dressing room, had seen them approaching and opened the door in preparation. "Hey Josh! Good to see you!" Steve greeted.

"McG! Long time man!"

"Sure has." Steve flashed him a small smile, before telling him, "No one comes in right now, okay?"

"Sure thing."

The three men walked in, disappearing as the door closed behind them, leaving Josh to guard the room.

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><p>Thank you so much for taking the time to read my story! Please, please, please leave a review!<p>

Thanks!

xoxo


	32. Chapter 32

**DICLAIMER****:** I do NOT own "Hawaii Five-0" or any of its characters. However, I do own Maddie, Pete, Tina, Ryan, Mo, Doc, Kendall, Billy, George, etc...

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><p><strong>AUTHOR'S<strong>** NOTE: **Hey everyone! WOW...so, let me start off by saying how much I appreciate ALL of the reviews you left me on the last chapter. You know what? I REALLY needed them! It got me out of my little pity party and writing! So, THANK YOU! You guys really don't realize how much we writers need your reviews! Okay, so...I've been working on this chapter for the last month and it is NOT finished yet. (It's REALLY long - which I know you guys like!) However, I know how much you guys have been waiting for it and I know you want to see Steve and Maddie reunite...So, what I've done is give you the first part of it. It's the first 7 Microsoft Word pages. I'll either give you the rest of the chapter by Thursday (if not before), or the next piece of it! Either way you'll have something, so don't distress! You won't be left hanging for very long! I know this chapter isn't nearly as long as you're used to, but I didn't want to make you guys wait another day before giving you something! I promise though, you'll be excited about the interaction between Maddie and Steve in the next part. There's a part that you'll all LOVE!

As always, thoughts are in _italics_ and flashbacks are in **bold**.

Also, please, please, please continue to review! It makes the world of difference and really pumps us writers up! You guys really helped me get back on track after your reviews on the last chapter!

Anyway, enough of my rambling! ENJOY!

xoxo

Laura

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><p><span>CHAPTER 32<span>

During the walk to her dressing room Maddie had calmed down quite a bit and because of that had pulled her head from its hiding spot in Steve's neck. When he first felt her lift her head he was worried she would insist he put her down, however she surprised him. As he watched her out of the bottom right corner of his eyes he saw her eyes flutter closed. As quickly as they had shut, they opened. She repeated this a couple times, obviously fighting exhaustion. As Steve was filled with more concern, he saw her eyes flutter closed again. Since he expected them to open again he was surprised when they didn't. He couldn't keep the small smile from his lips as she laid her head on his right shoulder causing a warm sensation to fill his body.

Once Maddie had calmed significantly she'd pulled her head from Steve's neck. She knew she should get out of his arms as fast as possible, but she'd missed him. Although she wished she didn't, she felt so safe in his arms. So, she went against what her head was telling her to do and instead went with what her heart wanted; instead of fighting to keep her eyes open, she closed them and gently laid her head on his right shoulder. _We're almost to the dressing room. Forgetting everything that's happened and giving in for one minute won't be the end of the world_, she decided breathing in his scent she loved so much.

As they entered her dressing room Steve glanced around the massive room, rapidly taking it in. His years of training kicked in as he automatically and quickly memorized the layout of the room, its exits, any spots they were vulnerable, and any places that would give him advantage and cover in any kind of tactical situation. Once he'd noted all this, he slowed and took the room in like any normal person would.

"You can set her on the couch," Pete told him, pulling him from his thoughts.

Steve looked towards the area where two overstuffed couches, two big armchairs and a big coffee table were set up. His grip tightened on Maddie, not ready to set her down. He didn't know if she'd let him this close to her, let alone hold her, again. Even though he was upset and angry with her, he just wasn't ready to give up the feeling of having her in his arms.

Hearing Pete's voice pulled Maddie from her make believe world. A world where Steve loved her back. A world where he hadn't led her on only to break her heart. A world where someone wasn't after her. And better yet, a world that didn't have her performing a massive show when she could barely function.

Maddie's eyes opened as the last few minutes came back to her. Mainly Steve finding out she was sick and deciding to make a scene. _Stupid alpha male_, she thought tensing as she was filled with anger at his behavior.

Feeling the change in her, Steve's stomach sunk as he pulled his eyes away from the couch and glanced down at Maddie's face. Although her eyes were open and she was no longer leaning her head on his shoulder, she refused to look at him. It was obvious she was upset. _Why is she mad? _Steve wondered, his anger increasing. _She has absolutely NO reason to be upset! She's the one who lied and had everyone mixed up in it! _

Pete watched his friend stand in the middle of the room looking down at the woman he loved, even if he was too stubborn to realize how he felt about her. "Steve...," he softly said, bringing him back to the moment.

Steve swallowed hard. "Yeah, of course." He walked towards the couches. It was obvious which one he should set her on since a blanket he recognized as hers sat jumbled on it. Reluctantly he lowered Maddie onto the soft, comfortable couch. Pete shook his head trying to stifle the smile that was forming on his tired, but handsome, face as he noticed how careful Steve was with her. _How does she not realize that he loves her? That he feels the same? _he wondered incredulously. _Better yet, how does HE not realize?_

The second Maddie made contact with the couch she let go of Steve. Although she wanted and wished she could stay snuggled into him forever, she also wanted to get away from his as soon as possible. Not only was she pissed off at his behavior, but she knew the more contact she had with him the more painful and heartbroken she'd become. It would only serve as a reminder of what she wanted, but could never, and would never, have.

Maddie straightened as Steve stood. She could feel his eyes on her, but she avoided them, too embarrassed over her stupid and absurd girly reaction over members of her crew running down the hall. _Way to go, Madeline_, she thought. _If he wasn't worried and over protective before…oh man, he's gonna drive me INSANE!_

Steve stared at her, hoping to catch her eye, but she refused to look at him, only irritating him further. _Damn it! How could I have let things get this screwed up between us? Maybe I should have followed her to the arena Sunday after my stupid comment. Made her listen to me. Made her understand I don't feel that way, _he wondered. He sighed as he thought, _God, I hope I can fix things. _Before he could delve further into "what ifs" and "I wonders", the sound of Maddie coughing brought him back to the moment.

_Just act normal_, Maddie told herself as she felt Steve's eyes boring into her, wanting hers to meet them. _Pretend like everything is fine between you. Like it used to be...before you realized you love him and before he played you. _She knew that if things were "normal" between them, she would never avoid eye contact with as she was about to meet his eyes she felt an intense tickle in her throat, one she couldn't ignore. She immediately began coughing, and hard.

Steve sat down on the couch to her left and reached over to gently pat her upper back hoping it would help. Sure, he wanted to help her, but in all honesty he missed the contact with her. He wanted to touch her in any way he could.

She did her best not to tense at the feel of his hand on her upper back. She silently thanked God that her pep talk had the desired and wished for effect. As her coughing spasm died down and she noticed Doc sitting on the edge of the coffee table in front of her, she came back to the moment, and as she did her anger flared.

Feeling Steve's hand still on her, Maddie forcefully shook it from her back taking him by surprise. Her eyes shot to his. Although they were only half open due to her exhaustion, Steve saw the fire in them. He knew what was coming.

"What the hell is your problem?" Maddie angrily whispered. She inwardly cursed her voice, wishing it wasn't so nonexistent. She worried that because she could only speak as loud as a whisper, her anger wouldn't come across. However, there was no need for concern as there was no mistaking how mad she was.

Although he was expecting it, Steve's eyes widened in disbelief. "What is MY problem?" He paused. "Are you kidding me right now?" He scoffed and then continued. "No, what is YOUR problem?"

"I have none!" she seethed, her jaw clenched. "You had no right to do what you did back there! I'm a grown woman! I can take care of myself!" She glared at him.

Steve shook his head in frustration. "Right...you can take care of yourself," he sarcastically said while smirking. "I can really see that." He paused, trying desperately to keep his anger in check. "Maddie, you are even more exhausted than you were when you got to Hawaii. Something, by the way, I didn't even think was possible. Do you remember?" His heated blue eyes met her fiery ones. "When you fainted in front of me!?" His voice rose slightly as he brought up the incident. Every time he thought about it he saw her lying unconscious on the marble floor, an image that would forever haunt him. "Now you're..." He paused, searching for the right words. "…beyond sick. You're not taking care of yourself. You can't go rehearse! How would you have done that?!" He looked at her waiting for her to answer. "I mean really. You tell me how you'd honestly be able to rehearse right now and I'll let you. I won't stand in your way."

The second it was out of his mouth Steve knew he'd made yet another mistake. He didn't need to see her nearly snarl at him to know. _Crap_, he thought._ I gotta stop letting my anger and emotions get the best of me when it comes to her. It only gets me into more trouble…Son of a bitch._

Pete and Doc shared a look, knowing what was about to happen. That things were going to get worse before they got better. They silently stood and made their way to the exit. Although they noticed, both Maddie and Steve paid no attention to them.

"Let me?" Maddie whispered, rage washing over her pale and gorgeous face. "Let me?" she asked again, her voice rising, which was a mistake as it only made her cough.

His irritated and angry face softened seeing her beautiful and tired face scrunch in pain. Steve reached for her, but she batted at his hands. "Maddie…come on," he sighed.

Once the coughing spasm subsided, Maddie returned her furious stare to him. "Let me? Who the hell do you think you are?"

Before she could continue he interrupted her. "Oh come on Maddie! You know I didn't mean it like that!"

Maddie ignored him and continued with her rant. "And what was with your little display out there? Going all Navy Seal!" She moved her head slightly from side to side and changed her voice on the words 'Navy Seal', obviously mocking him. "Saying that to George?! Telling him I'm going into lockdown and that he can't come anywhere near me? You're not the boss of me Steven!"

He wasn't sure why, but her calling him by his full first name only irritated him more. As did remembering George and the entire situation. They only served to exacerbate Steve's anger. "Are you kidding me right now?" he nearly yelled. "I kept my mouth shut long enough! That guy was out of line! And don't tell me you like him, or try to tell me that you aren't happy that somebody put him in his place." Maddie said nothing. She would admit no such thing to him. However, she didn't have to because she silently told him he was right by averting her eyes. He smirked. "See!" He paused, taking a deep breath. He needed to get her to calm down and the only way that was going to happen was if he got his anger in check. "Maddie, I could tell he was making you uncomfortable. Maybe I could have handled it a little-" Steve paused, searching for the right word. "A little more…gracefully.

Still looking away from him and to the right, Maddie added, her voice laced with attitude, "Ya think?"

He couldn't help but smirk at her response. "But, Maddie, I'm right. You can't rehearse anymore today if you want to be able to perform tonight." He paused before continuing. And when he did, his voice had softened slightly. "You're too tired. And you're too sick. You need to get some rest."

Maddie knew he was right. There was no way she would be able to rehearse right then. However, she was not going to admit that to him. "That's not true. I'm fine to rehearse."

Steve sighed as he tried to stifle the intense frustration he was feeling. _Why does she have to be so damn stubborn?_ he asked himself. "And tell me, how would you do it?"

Without missing a beat she countered, "I'd do it just like I always do...with no problem." She began to stand, planning on heading out to rehearse, to prove to him she was fine. However, an intense pain shot through her tailbone as she was halfway to standing. She couldn't help it, she cried out as she sat back on the couch.

Steve immediately reached for her, the worry he was feeling squashing his anger. She swatted him away, causing an aching in his chest. He wanted more than anything to bring up that he didn't mean what he'd said the other morning, as he knew that was the root of why she was currently so mad at him, but he knew it wasn't the time. She was already upset and bringing it up right then would only make things worse. He just wanted her to calm down so she could sleep. He'd bring it up once he got her back home later that night.

Steve watched her for a minute as she breathed through whatever pain she'd felt that made her cry out. He waited until the pain had lessened before asking, "You okay?"

Maddie met his eyes. She was no longer glaring at him. Instead she looked at him in an almost shy and embarrassed, hesitant way. She flashed him a small, tired smile as she barely nodded. He watched her eyes flutter closed briefly before she forced them back open. "Let's get Doc back in here," he softly said.

As Steve began to stand, Maddie's scratchy and whispered voice stopped him. "I'm still mad at you."

He smiled slightly, his back to her. "I know. And I'm still mad at you. But-" he paused, turning around to look at her pale face. "We'll talk about it later. After the show. Okay?"

The look he was giving her and the tone to his voice let Maddie know he was talking about more than what they'd just been arguing about. That he also meant they'd talk about what he'd said Sunday morning. She tried to hide the hurt she was feeling as the words he'd said to her outside her house echoed in her head. **"You know we're just friends…I mean, seriously?" **With the words came his laugh. The way he'd laughed at the idea of them together, as anything more than friends. She had always loved his laugh, until she heard this. It wasn't a good laugh, but an "are you kidding? I would NEVER in a million years date her. Ew!" kind.

Steve watched her whole demeanor change as he waited for her to respond. His brows furrowed in concern as her whole body tensed. Her hands had subconsciously grabbed the fuzzy blanket next to her and pulled it to herself. "Mads?"

Maddie blinked as she tried to force the echoing words and hurtful laugh from her mind. As she came back to the moment, she licked her lips and swallowed hard. She winced slightly at the terrible pain she felt in her sore, raw throat. "Hm?" she asked, trying to mask the intense hurt she was feeling.

Steve's stomach plummeted. He could tell she was trying to hide it from him, but he could see the hurt. "Would you rather talk about it now? Would that be better?" he asked, his tone gentle and encouraging.

Maddie felt herself begin to panic. There was absolutely no way she was ever going to talk about this with him. She knew where he stood; they didn't need to talk about it. It would only make it worse for her. Break her heart even more, if that was even possible. So, she did what she had already decided she would do. She played dumb. "I thought we just did."

Steve knew what she was doing and it worried him. It wasn't like her to avoid a topic with him; not want to clear the air. "I'm not talking about that, Mads." He paused. "Sunday…I…just…I," he stuttered. He couldn't believe it! He'd spent days thinking about what he was going to say to her and now that the opportunity presented itself the words wouldn't come. He sighed in frustration. "I'm sorry."

Maddie's heart was breaking. She assumed because he was stumbling that he was having a hard time letting her down "easy". That he wasn't exactly sure how to tell her he didn't feel anything more than friendship for her. However, he didn't need to say anything. She'd gotten the message loud and clear the other morning.

She could feel the tears stinging the back of her eyes, but she had promised herself there would be no more crying over him. She would not let him know he'd hurt her. As hard as it was, she willed them away. She forced a small smile as she furrowed her brows and slightly shook her head at him. "Not only do I not know what you're talking about, but I have no idea why you keep apologizing."

"Mads…" Steve began as he stared at her. His chest was aching and his stomach felt heavy."I um-"

Knowing she couldn't handle this much longer, Maddie pulled her phone from her pocket and interrupted him, "I'll just text Doc to come back in." As she quickly texted him, she silently thanked God for her fast texting abilities.

He froze as he watched her. As nonchalant as she was trying to act, he noticed the way she straightened in her seat even more. The way her whole body seemed to continue to tense. She was putting her walls up. The walls he'd seen her put firmly into place to protect herself many other times. The thing was, she'd never put them up to keep him out. Well, not until recently. It was an indescribable, terrible feeling. And one he'd never get used to, nor did he want to. Steve wanted to say something, but he didn't know what to say. He knew once she was like that there was no real way of getting to her. But, didn't he have to try? She was way too important to him not to. She was under the wrong impression. She believed he'd meant what he said, but that couldn't be further from the truth. Just as he was about to open his mouth to say something, what, he had no idea, the door to her dressing room opened.

**TO BE CONTINUED…..**

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><p>Hope you liked it so far! I'll give you either the entire rest of the chapter or the next piece of it by Thursday at the latest! You won't get it tomorrow night because I have this huge on camera interview on Tuesday that I need to prep for tomorrow, but you might have it by Tuesday night at the earliest! But, like I said...NO LATER THAN THURSDAY!<p>

Thanks again for all your reviews on the last chapter! Please, please please **REVIEW**!

xoxo


	33. Chapter 33

**DISCLAIMER: **Unfortunately, I do not own "Hawaii Five-0" or any of its characters. I do, however, own Maddie, Pete, Doc, Tina, Kendall, Ryan, Mo, etc.

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><p><span>AUTHOR'S<span>  
><span>

I suck. Yes, I know. I've been working on this chapter for way too long. Unfortunately, we've had 2 deaths in our family in the last month. It's been quite crazy. I wanted to give you the rest of the chapter instead of a piece of it, but I'm not quite done with it. Because I know you are all dying for this next chapter, I have given you the next 35 pages. There are still another 20 that are written, and probably another 20 that aren't. I should have the whole chapter done by next week. If you guys don't want to wait that long for the next chapter, let me know and I'll just give you the next piece of it.

I'm sorry how this chapter ends. It's not a great place to end it. But like I said, it's the 2nd piece of the Chapter 32 (Part 1 was given as the last chapter). The next part, which will be posted as Chapter 34, will pick up exactly where this one leaves off.

Anyway, as always, thoughts are in _italics_. And in this chapter memories/flashbacks are in **bold**.

I hope you enjoy this. The entire thing is Steve and Maddie interacting. Don't worry, it's gonna pick up soon. As soon as her show is done, a lot of stuff is going to happen! :o)

Please, please, please review! It really does make me want to stay up all night and write. Which is what I did tonight. As it is 8am where I am and I haven't been to bed yet. You can thank a fellow writer/reader for that. **KaryMcGarrett** messaged me a sweet message and it made me want to stay up all night and give you guys something! Even if it's just a part of the chapter!

Anyway, you've been waiting far too long for this chapter, so I'll stop rambling!

I really hope you ENJOY!

xoxo

Laura

P.S. REVIEW!

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><p><span>CHAPTER 33<span>

"Anyone dead?" Pete joked as he walked in, Doc closely behind.

Maddie smiled, trying to forget the conversation she and Steve had almost just had. "I spared him..." She glanced over at Steve, her eyebrows raised. "At least for now." She smirked, joking around, trying to pretend like she was her old self. That her world wasn't falling apart.

Although her comment caused his heart to ache, he couldn't help but smile at her joke. He had missed her being that way with him, but he also knew she was pretending like everything was fine. Something he didn't want her to do, especially not with him.

Steve only smiled and shook his head at her, his eyes slightly narrowed in a joking manner as he stood between the armchair on her left and the other side of the coffee table. He noticed that although Maddie was acting normal, she looked at him only as long as she had to before averting her eyes. That was just one of the things that told him she was putting on a show for them as that was never how things used to be between them.

"Would you stop talking for God's sake," Doc said, taking a seat on the edge of the coffee table in front of her.

His voice pulled Steve from his thoughts. Wanting to know what was going on, Steve immediately walked the few steps to the couch. He lowered himself to his previous spot on Maddie's left. He tried to ignore the pang in his chest as he noticed her scoot the tiniest bit to her right, away from him. It was such a small amount that no one else would have picked up on it, but he did. _Great_, he thought. However he knew this wasn't the time to be dwelling or thinking about the fact she was pushing him away. _Focus on her health. Find out what exactly is going on because she's obviously not going to tell you._

"If everything's under control in here, I'm gonna go take care of a few things," Pete announced from his spot just inside the doorway. He met Maddie's eyes. "That okay?"

She knew what he was really asking. He wanted to make sure she was okay if he left her with Steve. If she was comfortable with that. It was hard to be with him no matter if they were alone or with people, so she really didn't see the difference. Plus, she had to start learning how to pretend everything was fine between them and the only way to do that was to actually be in his presence. Maddie nodded at her head of security. "Yeah, it's fine."

Pete gave her a big smile, meant to be encouraging, before he turned his attention to his long time friend. "Steve, I have my phone. And, -" He walked forward and handed him an earpiece attached to a long clear, curly cord with a small microphone at the end. The exact same device each member of Maddie's security team was wearing. "Here's this if you want it. That way you know what's going on. Or, -" He placed a Walkie Talkie into his hand. "You can use this if you don't want to wear the earpiece. They're both set to the correct channel. If you need any of us for some reason, just let us know."

Steve nodded setting the objects on the coffee table in front of him. "Thanks P."

"No problem." He began walking to the door. "I'm gonna send Tina in in case you need anything Mads. And uh, Steve…if the opportunity presents itself can you try and get T to get some sleep?"

_Interesting_, Steve thought, surprised by this request although he didn't show it. He knew the two were good friends, but there was something about the way Pete said this that had him wondering if maybe there was something more going on. He made a mental note to ask Pete about it when the opportunity presented itself. "Will do," he nodded.

"Thanks." Pete placed his hand on the door and opened it. "See you guys later. Oh and Josh will be right outside."

"Thanks Petey!" Maddie whispered. His only response was a smile and a nod before he disappeared into the hall, the door closing behind him.

Bringing himself back to Doc and Maddie, Steve took a deep breath and looked to the doctor. "I wanna know everything. What's going on?" He moved his gaze to Maddie as he reached his right hand out and placed it against her forehead, a move she wasn't expecting. He did his best to ignore the way she tensed and slightly flinched. "I mean-," he shook his head, sighing as he did so. "She's burning up." Steve moved his hand to her cheek, wanting to see if she felt just as warm there. She did.

Maddie rolled her eyes and lightly batted at his hand. "Steve, stop worrying. I'm fine."

He met her eyes, a slightly irritated look on his face. "Don't even try that. We both know you're not."

She only sighed exaggeratedly and rolled her eyes at his comment.

Steve turned back to Doc. "So, what's going on?"

Doc looked to Maddie meeting her eyes. He technically couldn't disclose anything unless Maddie gave him the go ahead. It didn't matter that Steve was one of her emergency contacts; this wasn't an emergency and in this case, she still needed to give her permission.

She remained silent, thinking it over.

Steve was getting antsy as they waited for a good minute or so, Maddie silent as she mulled it over. Finally he turned to her, the look on his face incredibly serious. "Mads, give him the okay. I wanna know what's going on." He paused waiting for her to say something. "I'm not kidding, Madeline."

Maddie sighed. She was annoyed at how he was acting. He wasn't her boyfriend, yet he was acting like it. He didn't have the right to demand this information or be so overprotective. But at the same time, she knew that once he found out about all the "incidents" that had happened over the last few days and that he hadn't been made aware of them, he was going to completely lose it. And that was a major understatement. So, she knew letting Doc tell him what was wrong with her would make him feel a little less in the dark, which she hoped would help his reaction when he was filled in on the rest later that night.

Finally, Maddie turned and nodded to Doc. "It's fine."

"Okay," Doc smiled to her as he opened his old-fashioned, worn, black leather doctor's bag sitting to his left on the coffee table. He pulled out a thermometer. "Open," he told her as he reached his arm towards her, the object in his hand. She did as he asked and he placed the thermometer in her mouth. As they sat there waiting, Doc placed his hand on Maddie's forehead. "You are on fire, Shorty," he sighed. "Worse than before you headed out this morning."

Steve subconsciously nibbled on the inside of his bottom lip as he watched and listened.

When the thermometer beeped Doc removed it from her mouth. "Damn," he mumbled reading the object.

"How high?" Steve immediately questioned.

"104.2," he replied.

Steve immediately placed the fingers of his left hand on his forehead and began slightly rubbing it in exasperation as he looked to his childhood best friend. "Why didn't you say anything? You should've been in here resting this entire time, not sitting out there or rehearsing," Steve asked Maddie, doing his best to keep the irritation out of his voice. However, he wasn't very successful.

"I'm fine Steve. I really don't feel that bad," she lied just before coughing a couple times. She winced at the sharp pain it caused in her throat.

"Don't even…I know you feel awful. You think I don't know you well enough by now that I can't tell?" he asked incredulously. "Because I can." Steve took in her pale face. She looked absolutely miserable.

Not wanting them to start fighting again, Doc interrupted. "How's your throat? Still really painful?"

Maddie hesitated before nodding, purposely not looking at Steve. She didn't want to see the look of worried disappointment she was sure would be there.

Steve looked at her disapprovingly. _Just another thing she kept from me_, he thought.

"Let me see," Doc said scooting forward on the coffee table to get closer. Just as she was about to open her mouth, a coughing spasm began. She immediately moved her head to the right and covered her mouth, not wanting to cough on either man and get them sick.

As she continued to cough Steve watched her worriedly. He wanted to touch her, rest his hand on her back, but he knew she'd only pull away from him. And to be honest, he wasn't sure he could handle her batting him away again right now.

Doc glanced at his watch. "Its almost time for some more cough medicine. As soon as we're done here you can take some."

After at least a minute the coughing seemed to die down and Maddie turned her body and head so she was facing Doc again. "Okay," she mumbled. With her right hand she rubbed the left side of her ribs.

"You getting sore from all the coughing?" Doc asked.

Steve looked to her, his brow furrowed in concern. Maddie only nodded. He fought the intense urge to reach out and rub her back, hoping to help ease some of the soreness she was feeling. However, he decided he'd wait until Doc was finished looking her over.

"Alright, open up." Maddie did as he asked and Doc used a wooden tongue depressor and a torch, a medical tool with a light on the end, to look in her throat. "Ooo, Mads. Oh man. That looks really painful." He removed the items from her mouth and set them to his bag on the coffee table. She closed her mouth while Doc reached forward with his hands and checked the size of her glands.

As he felt the glands in her neck Steve watched his reaction closely. "That bad?" he asked the doctor, picking up on what he wasn't saying from his facial expressions.

Doc nodded. "Yeah, they're really swollen."

"Don't know why you're surprised. I could've told you that," Maddie mumbled.

Steve gave her a look. Normally she would've countered back, but she felt too awful to respond. She only shrugged her shoulders as she looked away, coughing and sniffling as she did so.

"How's her concussion?" Steve asked, returning his attention to her doctor.

Maddie briefly looked to Doc, silently telling him that he was to say nothing about how she'd hit her head when she fell on the roller skates the other night. It was such a quick look between doctor and patient that Steve missed it, which surprised Maddie since he was watching her like a hawk.

Sighing, Doc turned to Steve. "It's only the littlest bit better. Mostly it's the same."

"But it's been almost 4 days. How is it not better?" Steve asked, concern evident in his voice.

"Lack of rest mainly," Doc answered, leaving out what Maddie wanted him to.

Steve sighed, his lips pursed in anger as he shook his head. "How are her dizzy spells? They were still really bad Saturday night."

"You know, I'm sitting right here, Steve," Maddie stated sounding slightly annoyed. Steve was acting as if she wasn't in the room. "You can ask me."

He turned to look at her. "Oh yeah? And you'll tell me the truth? Because as you've proven over the last week, I can't trust anything you say to me." He knew he shouldn't be getting mad at her or giving her such a hard time at the moment. Especially with everything that was going on. He knew that he should wait until the show was done and they were back at her house. However, he just couldn't help it. He hated that things were this bad and that he was just now finding out about them. What made him even more upset was that he knew he wouldn't have learned any of this if he hadn't have insisted on being there when Doc looked her over. Steve just didn't understand why she had stopped letting him in.

Maddie said nothing, only sighed and shook her head.

"Mads, you wanna answer his question?" Doc asked, trying to help the pair.

She only looked away from them and to her right, anger over Steve's comment displayed plainly on her face. She could feel Steve's eyes on her as he waited to see if she would say anything. Shaking her head she finally turned to her left to look at him. She met his intense stare. "The dizzy feeling is better than it was."

"You told me that Sunday morning and I'm thinking you weren't telling the truth because you also swore to me that your knee was a thousand times better. And we both know that was a lie," Steve told her, a disapproving and irritated look plastered on his handsome, but beat up face. He wasn't intending to come across as such an ass, but he was worried and upset and unfortunately, this was how it was coming out. He just didn't know how he was supposed to make sure she was okay when she wouldn't be honest with him.

The two stared at one another for a minute, both silent. He was challenging her with his stare. Her beautiful, but tired, blue eyes flashed anger back at him. Finally Maddie shook her head and licked her lips before responding. "Yes, I exaggerated how I was feeling."

Before she could continue Steve interrupted her. "You mean, you lied."

She bit her tongue wanting nothing more than to argue with him, but she felt too awful. At the moment, she just didn't have it in her to keep fighting with him. The two continued to stare at one another before Maddie began to speak. "The dizzy spells were better Sunday morning. I told you the truth, I just…maybe I led you to believe they were better than they were. But they definitely were better. Actually, a lot better."

"And now?" he asked, his face serious.

Maddie sighed. "I still feel dizzy here and there, but only a little bit. It doesn't make me feel like I'm gonna fall or anything."

Steve said nothing, he only looked at her, waiting to see if she'd divulge anything else. Maddie was quiet as she thought things through. With how hurt and upset she was, her instinct was to be stubborn and not give him what he wanted. But, again, she knew if she "bent" a little that hopefully he'd react better to finding out she'd kept the fact that someone had repeatedly sabotaged her show from him. Maddie knew what she should do, but her stubborn side was fighting her. After a minute of her thoughts running a million miles a minute she sighed heavily, giving in and absolutely hating it. "Okay, look. Here it is-," she began. Steve looked at her expectantly, a skeptical and irritated look on his stitched up face. "I feel awful."

His face softened at her declaration. Although he had an intense urge to reach for her and pull her close, he fought it, wanting to see if she'd continue.

"My throat is…well, it hurts." Maddie smiled uncomfortably. "Just to speak, it hurts. I can barely swallow." The look on his face was killing her. The concern and sympathy that had replaced the anger and irritation was making her heart hurt. It only served to remind her that he thought of her as a sister or friend, nothing more. She had to fight against her instincts to avoid eye contact with him. But she reminded herself that the old Maddie would never have had a problem looking at him and she wanted everyone, especially Steve, to believe she was back to her old self.

She willed herself to continue. "My body aches…I mean everywhere. Places I didn't even think could ache. This stupid cough is driving me crazy! And my nose… It's either completely stuffed up or won't stop running. Either way, I can't breath out of it. My head's pounding. Try having a cold on top of a concussion." She shook her head, annoyed. "My knee, well you already know it's painful. And my foot-." She made a face.

With his brow furrowed in confusion Steve cleared his throat slightly. "Where you cut it on the broken glass at Five-0 Headquarters?"

Maddie nodded, biting her lip sheepishly. It had just dawned on her that by telling him about her foot he was going to find out why it was so bad; that she had taken off and gotten it dirty at the beach. _Good one, Maddie_, she told herself. _The point of telling him this stuff was to hopefully lessen his anger, not make it worse. _

Steve stared at her expectantly, his eyes slightly narrowed as he licked his bottom lip.

"What?" she questioned, confused.

"Aren't you forgetting something?" he asked, his eyebrows raised. He watched her brow wrinkle as she thought things over, trying to figure out what he was referring to. "Something else hurts," he stated. "What is it?"

Maddie met his eyes, confusion on her face.

"When I picked you up in the hall you groaned in pain. And when you stood up just a few minutes ago, you cried out. What hurt? I know it wasn't your knee," Steve explained. He wasn't stupid. He knew he couldn't tell her about having seen the video of Tina pulling her up from the couch without having to admit that Gracie had been spying for him. He knew that would most definitely not go over well. She seemed to be opening up to him a bit and he knew if she found out about the video and the spying she'd clam up.

Maddie hesitated. He was asking about her tailbone. She had been planning on telling him after the show, but it looked like she had no choice but to do it now. "I hurt my tailbone," she mumbled.

Steve's jaw clenched, the only sign of the intense worry he was feeling. "How?"

Maddie shrugged, averting her eyes briefly before returning them to his. "I fell."

Steve could tell she wasn't telling him the whole story by the way she had quickly looked away. "How?"

She gave him an 'are you serious?' look. Kendall's words from only a little while before replayed in her head. **Maddie's not a klutz. She's a spazz.** The words she had hoped Steve would dispute, but didn't. _Probably because it's true_, she thought.

_What is she thinking about right now? She tensed up again_, Steve wondered as he watched her. Whatever she was thinking about, he wanted her to stop, so he repeated himself, hoping to pull her out of her head. "How? How'd you fall Mads?"

Shaking Kendall's words from her head, Maddie answered him. "I'm a spazz, you know that. I just fell Steve. No surprise there." As she said this she averted her eyes from his. Suddenly uncomfortable she said, "So, there you go." She looked to Doc. "Can we get this over with?"

Her words surprised Steve. She'd never called herself a spazz before and never with that kind of tone. He didn't like it. Suddenly it dawned on him. _Kendall_, he thought briefly closing his eyes as he remembered what she'd said. _Damn, I should've said something. Way to go Steve…_ He inwardly cursed himself. He was worried. As much as she was trying to hide it he could tell Mads wasn't feeling like herself. She hadn't been herself since she'd arrived in Hawaii and according to Pete, Tina, and her team she hadn't been herself in months. That had already had him concerned, but now with the reports of her having an eating disorder, something that had not left his head since he read it 30 minutes earlier, his worry over her had risen exponentially. Before he could think anymore on the topic or ask any further questions, Doc's voice pulled him from his thoughts.

"Sure thing Shorty," Doc said as he reached forward pulling his stethoscope from around his neck and placing the eartips in his ears. He breathed on the chest piece (the round metal piece at the end that's placed against the patient's skin) trying to warm it up. "This'll probably be cold. Sorry Mads," he said as he rubbed the piece against his shirt still trying to make it warm.

"S'okay", she mumbled, shrugging her shoulders. Steve watched her. She sat hunched forward, her face pale, and her eyes halfway open. As she swallowed, he noticed the wince she tried to keep from her face. _Her throat is killing her_, he thought. Once she mentioned that it hurt so bad she could barely swallow or even talk, he began to notice it for himself. Especially when she spoke. He watched Maddie straighten as Doc's hand went up the back of her shirt listening to her lungs.

"Take some deep breaths," Doc instructed as he listened carefully. She did as he asked.

The deep breaths must've irritated her cough as she quickly turned her head to the right and covered her mouth. She coughed a couple times. Once finished her face scrunched in pain as she mumbled, "Ow," and cleared hr throat.

"Sounds painful Mads," Doc stated. Maddie said nothing, only dropped her hand from her mouth to her side and returned to looking straight ahead across the room.

Steve watched as Doc's hand moved to the front of her body. He fought the urge to clench his fists at the fact that a man had his hands on her chest. _Relax Steve, _he told himself. _He's a doctor. There's nothing inappropriate about it. _It wasn't just that someone had their hands on her like that, it was more that he wanted to. A feeling that scared the hell out of him. After all, they were best friends. They'd known each other since they were four years old. He wasn't supposed to want to feel her up. But then again he told himself he wasn't supposed to have the kinds of feelings he did for her.

Before he could drive himself crazy with this line of thinking, Doc brought his attention back to the moment.

"It's still not bronchitis. Close, but not quite," Doc said as he pulled away from her and removed the stethoscope from his ears. He placed it back in his bag. "Hopefully it doesn't get there. Once you do this show, you need to go right home to bed and stay there and rest. Hopefully that will keep you from getting worse. You just really need some rest, Shorty."

"That's exactly what's going to happen," Steve said matter of factly, his tone controlling in a loving way. "You'll be resting for the next week at least."

Doc turned to the Navy Seal and smiled approvingly as he reached forward and began unstrapping her knee brace. "Good!"

Maddie shook her head slightly at the two men treating her like a child. If she hadn't felt so terrible should we have told them just what she thought of their controlling behavior, especially Steve.

Steve watched her face and demeanor as Doc began removing the brace from her right knee, unintentionally moving her leg around. He could tell that moving it caused her pain, even though she was trying to hide it. Steve reached his right hand over and placed it lightly on her upper back. He hated that she slightly, almost imperceptibly, tensed the second his hand came in contact with her, serving as yet another reminder of how badly he'd hurt her. However, he didn't let it stop him, but instead lightly brushed the tips of his fingers against her, hoping it would help soothe her. Plus he knew she wasn't going to just believe him when he said he hadn't meant his stupid comment the other day. He was going to have to show her through actions. This was a start.

Suddenly the dressing room door flew open. "I was a bit worried when I didn't hear voices outside. Thought maybe they'd killed one another," Tina joked, a smile on her tired face.

Maddie was not expecting their new guest and jumped at the noise. Once again she subconsciously reached for Steve. It wasn't nearly to the extreme it had been earlier. Instead of pressing herself up against him and hiding in his neck, she reached her left hand out and grabbed the closest part of him, which just so happened to be the middle of his right thigh.

Steve immediately felt a tingling in his low belly at her touch. He panicked a bit as he felt his lower half reacting to the placement of her hand on his thigh, especially because she wasn't too far from the area doing the reacting. Not wanting to become so hard that it was noticeable, his left hand crossed his body and took her hand from his thigh and held it. He leaned in and whispered, "You're okay. I'm right here."

Maddie hated how much hearing those simple words from him calmed her. Or really just having him there with her. He smiled, seeing her immediately begin to relax.

"Sorry Mads. Didn't mean to scare you," Tina said, a sheepish look on her face.

Maddie smiled a tight smile and shook her head lightly. "No, you didn't. I'm fine."

"I need your jeans off kiddo. I want to see how bad your knee is."

Maddie tensed again, something Steve could feel in her hand alone. He squeezed her hand in comfort. However, it only made her aware of the fact they were holding hands. It was just too painful for her, so she pulled her hand from his. However, she made sure the reason behind it wasn't obvious as she used the same hand to point to her jeans as she began to speak. "Can't you tell how it is through my jeans? They're skinny ones," she said, obviously uncomfortable with the entire scenario.

"No, I need to actually see your knee," Doc smiled reassuringly. "Sorry Mads."

"No, it's uh-" Maddie cleared her throat, trying her best to hide how nervous and uncomfortable she was with the idea of having to take her pants off with Steve right next to her. "No, it's fine. I get it." She took a deep breath, before slowly letting it out. "No big deal."

Tina watched the whole exchange, her heart aching for her friend. She wanted to help in any way she could. Having an idea she asked, "Don't you want to change into something a little more comfortable anyway Mads?"

Maddie shook her head not understanding what Tina was doing. "Nah, I'm okay. I'm fine. I'm comfortable."

Steve hated seeing her so uneasy and nervous with him. With his right hand still on her upper back, he inconspicuously rubbed it, hoping to ease her discomfort. "Mads, change. You'll be way more comfortable."

"Guys-," she began. However, the look Steve gave her let her know there was no point in arguing here. She sighed, slightly shaking her head in annoyance._ How the hell am I going to be able to last three weeks with him? No Pete, no Tina, no Ryan,_ she wondered. "Fine, I'll change my clothes."

"Perfect! I'll grab something!" Tina announced as she quickly ran into the other room, the one with the bed. Before they knew it, she was back with Maddie's clothes in her hands. "Here, I'll help you."

Suddenly it dawned on Maddie what Tina was trying to do. Her face turned a light shade of pink as she smiled at her longtime friend and assistant.

"Excuse me Doc," Tina politely said, as she approached the couch.

"Here, let me just get out of your way." He stood and moved to the armchair next to the couch on Maddie's right.

"I'm assuming you're going to put Maddie in her big knee brace. Why don't you show Steve how to do it all as he'll be the only one left with Maddie in a couple days. And I'm sure you'll still have her in it," Tina suggested, catching him before he had a chance to sit down.

Doc smiled, knowing what Tina was doing. _She's a great friend. I'm so glad Maddie has her_, he thought. "Good call T!" He looked to Steve. "Come with me, I'll show you how to do this."

Steve hesitated, looking between Maddie and her doctor. He wasn't stupid, he also knew what Tina was doing and why. She had created a scenario where Maddie didn't have to change in front of Steve, since she was suddenly too uncomfortable to. Something he hated. She'd never had a problem doing it before. He'd seen her in her underwear a million times. It was no big deal. However, deep down he knew it was now. Things had changed between them and then he'd hurt her. _Damn it_, he sighed.

He looked at Maddie. He didn't want to leave her, something that was obvious to Doc and Tina. "Steve, we'll just be right behind her in the kitchen. Don't worry, she'll be fine," Doc smiled. _How the hell has he not realized he's completely head over heels in love with her? And, more importantly, how has she not realized? _he wondered, dumbfounded.

Steve nodded, knowing he was being ridiculous. His right hand still on her upper back, he rubbed it once more as he leaned towards her, his soft lips lightly touching her left ear. "I'll be right there in the kitchen," he whispered.

Goosebumps immediately spread over her entire body as well as a tingle down her spine at not only the feel of his lips against the sensitive skin at her ear, but the tone of his voice. It had suddenly taken on this deep, sexy quality.

As Steve began to pull away, he kissed the side of her head, right above her ear. He stood, trying to keep from smiling at her reaction. _Maybe I will be able to fix things after all_, he thought, seeing how flustered she was.

Maddie sighed as he stood, having not realized she'd been holding her breath as soon as he'd gotten so close to her. Every single cell inside of her body was tingling. Her stomach was flip-flopping while her heart was racing. She tried to ignore the sudden throbbing she had for him between her legs. Although she was mad at herself for letting him get to her in such a huge way, especially over such a small interaction, she couldn't help but blush. She could feel his eyes on her as he stood from the couch, however she refused to meet them. Not until she'd composed herself. She didn't want him to see the effect he had on her. It would only embarrass her further, making her feel even more pathetic, knowing he didn't see her as anything more than friends or a sister.

"Steve, can you grab that ice bucket on the coffee table?" Doc asked, pulling Steve from the moment.

"Sure thing," he answered, reluctantly turning away from Maddie. He grabbed the object and then headed to the kitchen, which was behind the couch.

Tina waited until the two men were busy and not paying attention before starting to softly snicker.

Maddie closed her eyes, slightly shaking her head. "Shut up," she whispered, a guilty smile on her pale face. Taking a deep breath she began unbuttoning her jeans.

"I told you he feels the same Mads," Tina whispered.

"He does not T. He wasn't intentionally doing that. He had no idea it would have that kind of effect on me," Maddie countered as she unzipped her pants, coughing and sniffling as she did so.

Tina gave her friend a skeptical look as she shook her head. "Yes, he did. He was testing the waters with you. He was trying to figure out if his screw up on Sunday was fixable or not. If you still have feelings or if you've given up," she quietly whispered. Tina reached out her hands and pulled Maddie's motorcycle boots off. As the right boot left her foot Maddie quietly winced. It must have rubbed or bumped her infected gash just the right way causing her discomfort.

"Sorry." Tina made a face, biting her bottom lip in guilt. "You okay?" she whispered.

"Yeah, fine," Maddie mumbled.

Something caught Tina's eye across the dressing room. Looking up she met Steve's eyes as he stood in the kitchen near Doc. She searched his face. She realized quickly that although it was quiet he must have heard Maddie wince in pain, pulling his focus from what Doc was showing him.

Steve was tough to read. His jaw was set and his gorgeous blue eyes were intensely looking in their direction. However, to her surprise, the worry she knew he was feeling was not present in his features. She had to hand it to him; he could really keep everything inside, well buried and hidden. _Maybe too well hidden_, she thought, worried that Maddie would continue to think he really didn't have feelings for her. Tina gave him a barely there nod, letting him know Maddie was fine. In return he gave her the smallest of smiles. So small, in fact, that she almost missed it.

"Ready?" Maddie quietly asked, bringing her assistant and long time friend back to the task at hand.

"Of course." Tina smiled slightly before taking a fist full of her boss' jeans in each hand. Maddie carefully used her legs, and abs, to lift herself up the littlest bit as she used her hands to start pushing her jeans down and over her little bubble butt. However, the movement caused excruciating pain in her tailbone. Not to mention using her legs to push herself up and hover slightly above the couch caused insane amounts of pain to both her right knee and right foot. Although she tried to keep it in, she couldn't. The pain was just too much. She cried out, her eyes filling with tears.

Steve's head immediately jerked in her direction. _That's it_, he thought. "Maddie?" He strode over to the back of the couch, and as hard as it was for him, he forced himself not to rush. He was trying to play things as cool as he could. Keep his emotions and feelings as close to the vest as possible, except when it mattered. Like freaking out on George for example.

He didn't care that he was currently supposed to be giving her some privacy. He set his hands on the back of the couch and leaned over trying to see Maddie's face. It wasn't easy since he was standing behind her. "What happened?" Although she turned her head to the side a bit so he couldn't see her face he immediately saw the look of pain on her gorgeous features. Not only that, but before she turned further he could have sworn he noticed her eyes shining with unshed tears. "What happened?" he repeated.

Maddie only shook her head as she coughed a couple times. She was worried if she spoke her voice would give away just how much pain she was really in (which was an insane amount). That it would crack and the tears would begin to flow. She'd promised herself there would be no more crying, especially around Steve, and she meant it.

"She's fine Steve," Tina tried to assure him. She knew her friend well enough to know what was going on and why she wasn't responding.

"She's not fine, T," Steve replied, never once taking his eyes off Maddie. "What happened?"

Maddie took a deep breath willing the unshed tears away and the pain from her face before leaning her head back a bit and looking at him. She was surprised at how close his face was to her. "I'm fine Steve. Go back in the kitchen with Doc," she whispered.

His heart ached as he noticed she'd put her walls back up, in fact, higher than before. He could also tell she'd pushed her emotions deep within, locking them away. He swallowed the lump that had formed in his throat as he stared at her, his eyebrows arched waiting for her to tell him what happened. He needed to be informed. He was, after all, the only one going to be with her in a few days. He needed to be sure he knew what was going on.

Knowing he wasn't going to back down until she told him what happened, she slightly glared at him, annoyed. "When I tried to stand and get my pants off it caused pain in my tailbone." Steve's eyes immediately followed her hand as she subconsciously rubbed her right knee.

"Your knee too I see," he stated.

She inwardly cursed herself as she quickly pulled her hand away from her throbbing knee.

"Let me help you," he quietly said.

"I got this," she answered.

"Mads…" he sighed.

"Steve, I'm a grown woman. I can certainly undress myself," she told him, her tone forceful as she looked at him for the first time since he'd come over worried.

"I know you can, but-," he began, only to be interrupted by Tina.

"Steve, I got this. Go finish learning about that brace because you're going to need to help her with that when it's just the two of you. Okay?" Tina smiled brightly at him, hoping to get him to relax and worry less. "That's something she will definitely need your help with."

Subconsciously licking his bottom lip, he stared at Maddie. He hated how much pain he'd caused her. He wanted, more than anything, to take it away, but he knew there was no way she was going to listen or believe him at the moment. So, he reluctantly stood, doing what she wanted. "If you change your mind and need me-,"

"I know," Maddie interrupted, turning away from him and instead looking straight ahead at Tina. "You'll be right there. 3 feet away." Not only could he hear the slight sarcasm, but also the anger and hurt in her voice, only making him feel worse and guiltier.

Sighing, Steve walked back into the kitchen.

"You okay?" Tina whispered.

"Of course," Maddie said, forcing a smile.

"He loves you. Deep down, you know that Maddie."

Maddie closed her eyes and briefly massaged her temple and forehead with her left hand. Her head was absolutely killing her and all this talk about Steve, and well, just Steve in general, was making it a thousand times worse. Not to mention every part of her body was aching. It felt like it was coming from inside her bones and radiating out into every cell and fiber of her being. After a second she opened her eyes. "T-" She sighed. "I know you mean well, but I just don't want to talk about this anymore. I feel awful. I just can't handle thinking or talking about this whole Steve thing right now. Okay?"

Tina stared at her heartbroken and miserable best friend. She felt so helpless. "Sure Mads. I understand." She reached out her hands and took hold of her jeans. "Let me help you." Maddie smiled appreciatively at her friend and assistant, glad she understood where she was coming from.

As Tina's hands grabbed her jeans and began to pull, Maddie began to slightly lift herself up again. She whimpered in pain. "Just relax. I'll do the work," Tina told her. Her eyes immediately glanced up and met Steve's concerned look. He was standing next to Doc at the kitchen table learning about the brace. Well, he was supposed to be learning about it. He'd obviously heard Maddie whimper again, although she'd tried to be quiet, making him look in their direction.

Tina couldn't help but feel bad for him as she looked at his handsome, but worried face. His jaw was clenched so tightly, she was sure it had to be painful. She was sure it was taking everything he had not to rush over and take control of the situation. He hated when he couldn't fix or control things. Especially when it came to Maddie. She smiled reassuringly at him, hoping to help calm him.

Doc pulled his attention back to the brace and Tina returned her gaze to Maddie. Taking a deep breath she roughly pulled on her jeans. "This is proving to be a lot harder than I thought," Tina whispered as she tugged and struggled with the denim. "It's never been this hard before." Not understanding why, Tina eyed her legs carefully. It was only then that she discovered the problem. Maddie's knee was really swollen and unfortunately she was wearing tight, skinny jeans. They just didn't allow room for her knee, or any part of her legs, to swell. Tina began pulling on them again, but they wouldn't budge.

"I can just stand up and do this," Maddie told her.

"No, it'll be so painful for you to bend over. Plus, I'm almost there." Tina gave it one last hard tug, putting everything behind it, and the skinny, medium wash jeans came sliding off her friend's legs. However she pulled so hard she fell backwards, landing on her butt and crashing the back of her head against the coffee table.

"Tina!" Maddie cried. "Oh my God! Are you okay?"

Hearing the commotion, Doc and Steve came rushing over. "Steve!" Maddie cried, reaching for the blanket next to her on the couch and trying to cover her bottom half. "I'm in my underwear!"

As he squatted at Tina's right side, which was also in front of Maddie, Steve looked over at her, frustrated. "Maddie, I've seen you in your underwear plenty of times. I don't care." He made a face. "I'm not even looking," he finished, turning his head away from her and instead towards Tina.

"Oh crap," he immediately mumbled. His eyes shut. He realized it too late, once it was all out of his mouth. Steve swallowed looking back at Maddie. She was tense and he could tell what she was thinking. "Maddie…" he began, slowly. She said nothing as her heart ached. "That's not what I meant."

Swallowing the lump in her throat, she forced a smile. _Of course he doesn't care! And of course he's not looking. Looking would repulse him_, she thought to herself. "What are you talking about Steve?" she asked, feigning indifference and confusion.

Steve closed his eyes in frustration as he took a slow, deep breath. After a few seconds he opened them and tried to meet her eyes. "Maddie…"

"You okay T?" Doc asked. "T? ... T?" Hearing Doc calling Tina's name a couple times with no response pulled Steve's focus from Maddie.

Maddie looked at her friend sitting on the floor slightly leaning back against the coffee table, of course not by choice. It was how she'd landed. Maddie's discarded jeans were still in her hands. Her eyes were open, but she was not responding to Doc. It was as if she was in a trance as she stared off into space. "Tina!" Maddie exclaimed, her voice filled with fear and worry. She moved to stand, trying to ignore the pain it caused since she wanted to get closer to Tina to make sure she was okay.

Steve heard her hisses and groans and immediately looked back to his right at his best friend. Seeing she was trying to stand, he put his hand out to stop her. "Maddie don't move! You're in too much pain. Just stay there!" Seeing the rebellious look on her face, his voice rose slightly as he flashed her a serious, warning look. "I mean it Madeline! Do not move!" Just as she was about to argue with Steve, having every intention of disobeying him, Tina's voice interrupted them

"Ouch!" Tina whispered. Hearing her voice they turned their heads to her. Doc was flashing a light in her eyes. She batted at his hand. "Doc, I'm fine." Her left hand released the jeans and came up to the back of her head. She began to rub it, her forehead wrinkled in pain.

"You alright?" Steve asked.

She nodded.

"Can you stand?" Seeing her nod again he took a hold of her right hand with his same hand. He then placed his left hand on her back and began to slowly help her to her feet.

"Careful, Steve. Not to fast," Doc mumbled as he assisted him.

Once she was on her feet she looked between the two men standing before her. Both were worriedly staring at her, studying her movements and behavior closely. "Is this how you feel Mads? When people constantly worry and fuss over you?" Tina asked.

"Yes. Fun, isn't it?" Maddie replied sarcastically.

"I get it now. I get why you fight them and take off. How have you handled it for so long?"

"I deserve an award, don't I?" Maddie joked.

"At the very least," Tina whispered as she took a small step. She immediately realized it was a bad idea when she faltered.

"Woah, T," Steve mumbled, grabbing her so she wouldn't fall.

"I'm fine Steve. Really," Tina smiled at him.

"Why do women always say that when it isn't true?" Steve asked, smirking.

"You really hit your head hard. Sit and let me take a look at it," Doc instructed.

"I'm fine, really," Tina tried to tell him.

"I'm not going to take no for an answer."

Tina sighed. "Fine, but at least finish looking Maddie over. That way she can get some clothes on. Plus, um…there's some things I think you should look over on her. Things that are much more pressing than my head."

Steve's head jerked to Maddie as he scanned her body, trying to discover what Tina was referring to. His stomach became heavy with worry and concern.

"Thanks for selling me out, T. I thought we were friends," Maddie said, the look on her face showing she was joking. Well, mostly.

"Sorry, Mads. But, you're right. The worrying is too much to handle. You're good at dealing with it,… well, kind of," Tina chuckled slightly, thinking about all the stunts Maddie had pulled and the times she had run. She grabbed the blue tank top and white long sleeved shirt from the coffee table. "Can you guys turn around while I help her change her shirt."

Maddie immediately spoke up. "T, go sit down. Seriously, thank you, but I'm fine." She paused. "Plus, I'm a grown woman. I'm pretty sure I can change my shirt by myself," she said, giving her a joking, exasperated look. Tina looked at her boss questioningly for a second, but finally conceded from the look on Maddie's face.

"I'll just be in the kitchen," she said as she began walking around the couch. Steve walked with her, staying close in case she tripped again. Once seated at the kitchen table, she looked up and gave him an appreciative smile. Grabbing his hand her smile broadened as a knowing look appeared on her face. She whispered, "Now, go to your girl. As much as she claims and swears she doesn't, she needs you. She feels awful and is really in a lot of pain. Go be with her." Steve smiled at her as he squeezed her hand appreciatively before turning and walking back to the couch.

As he approached, he noticed Maddie had quickly changed her shirt while he was gone. He couldn't help but think about how weird things were between them. She was self-conscious in front of him, something she'd never been in front of him before.

He watched Doc push the blanket off of Maddie's knee. Seeing Steve she self-consciously held it tightly over her underwear and upper thighs. Noticing, he met her eyes, hoping to convey his emotions and thoughts without speaking. _Great, now she thinks I'm disgusted by the thought of her in her underwear or naked. That on top of what I said on Sunday_, Steve thought, sighing, as he recalled what he'd said to her a minute before when Tina was on the floor. He hadn't meant it the way she'd taken it. But to be honest, he didn't blame her for going there after everything he'd said and done since she'd returned to Hawaii. _You're really on a roll Steven_. Knowing he couldn't talk to her about it in front of others, Steve returned to his spot next to her on the couch.

"Oh man, Mads," Doc whispered.

Steve's eyes immediately found the reason for his statement. Steve hissed as he looked at her extremely swollen right knee. It wasn't just swollen, but the skin not only on her knee but also surrounding the area was beginning to discolor a bit. Lightly bruised. Just looking at it made Steve's own knee hurt. It was that bad.

Without thinking, he gently caressed the skin of her left thigh. She felt electricity shoot through her body at his touch. However, she didn't let on how much the simple gesture affected her. _God, all it takes is a single touch from him to turn me on_, she thought, frustrated with herself. _I mean, it's a simple gesture, meant to be comforting! Get yourself together Mads! _She tried to take a deep breath, hoping to calm her emotions and hormones._ Body, why are you reacting like this after everything he's said and done?_ she wondered, annoyed that she didn't seem to have any control over her hormones.

However, little did she know that feeling her soft skin underneath his fingertips caused the same jolt of electricity. He fought the urge to move his hand further up her thigh. He wanted to feel her. Touch her. Everywhere. At the thought he felt his pants begin to tighten. _Not again_, he thought. _What am I? A teenager again? This shouldn't be happening…not with a single touch. _He was thankful for Doc's voice as it distracted him from the thoughts he was having.

"This is worse than this morning, Shorty," Doc said looking at her. "You've gotta be in excruciating pain. You want a pain pill?"

Maddie shook her head. "Nah, I'm okay. It's nothing I can't handle." She shrugged, nervously nibbling on her bottom lip. Steve's hand was making her incredibly nervous and unsure. Well, that and turned on.

Seeing her nibble her bottom lip, Steve struggled to keep from staring at them, wanting nothing more than to kiss her. _Get a hold of yourself Steve. Focus on what's going on, not on her lips_, he told himself. He was thankful that somehow it worked, well sort of. "Mads, I think you should take something."

She made a face, scrunching her nose. Little did she know he thought it was so cute whenever she did that. _Oh she's killing me, _Steve thought. _If we were alone right now I'm not sure I could control myself. _

"It makes me loopy. It's too hard to rehearse," Maddie told him, her nose still slightly wrinkled.

Steve's eyebrows rose as he gave her a knowing smile. "Well then, good thing you won't be rehearsing anymore today."

"But," she began to argue with Steve only for him to interrupt her.

"Nope," Steve said, his voice filled with authority. Although still wanting her, the turn in their conversation was giving him something else to focus on, much to his satisfaction.

She met his eyes and began to give him a sad look by widening her gorgeous blue eyes. "But the pills give me a stomach ache," Maddie told him, her voice still not much more than a whisper.

As cute as she looked flashing him her sad face, Steve's whole body tensed at her comment, something she immediately noticed. "That's cause you need to eat with them Madeline," Steve told her, his voice suddenly sounding odd. The words 'eating disorder' were echoing in his head. "And, it's perfect timing because you haven't had lunch anyway."

"Speaking of lunch," Tina interrupted. "I'm gonna go out and grab you guys some lunch." Tina stood, however, she quickly realized that she'd hit her head harder than she thought as she felt a slight dizzy feeling. Not wanting anyone to realize, she ignored it and headed towards the door.

"Are you sure you're okay Tina?" Steve asked, studying her from across the room.

"Aw, you're sweet to worry, but I'm just fine. No worries!" she smiled tightly.

"I'd really prefer to check you over before you go anywhere T," Doc said, quickly glancing at her before returning his attention to Maddie.

"I won't be gone long. Let me just get their lunch orders in. It could take a bit to cook."

Reluctantly, both men conceded, letting her leave. "Okay, just be careful!" Doc told her. "And if you don't feel well, call for Pete or someone to help you and bring you here."

"Gosh, you guys worry too much. I'll be fine!" Tina smiled. "Be back shortly!" With that said, she disappeared through the door before they could change their minds.

"Ugh," Maddie mumbled. "I'm not hungry."

Steve tensed at her statement. "Madeline, you need to eat something."

The use of her full name didn't go unnoticed by her. In fact, it was the second time in the last minute. As they stared into one another's eyes, she knew exactly what was going through his head and why he was suddenly tense. Her mind was running a million miles an hour as she wondered what she should do. _Do I pretend he doesn't know what the press is saying? Or do I bring it up right now? _Maddie wondered. _The conversation is kind of leading us there. It'd be a perfect opportunity. Well, as perfect an opportunity as you can have with something like this. _

As they continued looking at one another Steve knew she was trying to figure out what to say, which only worried him further, making him wonder if the rumors were in fact true. _She shouldn't have to think so hard about it if it's not true_, he thought.

Maddie quickly glanced over at Doc who was busy looking at her knee, moving it around and checking its mobility, before bringing her eyes back to Steve's.

He watched her look over quickly to Doc. He assumed it was because she was trying to decide whether to bring it up with him there. But the more he thought about it the more he began to wonder if Doc knew anything about it. If she did in fact have an eating disorder, had she been able to hide it from her doctor? From everyone?

Once again staring into each other's eyes Maddie quickly decided she needed to say something, but what should she say? She nibbled on her lip as her eyes fell from his for a second while she thought things through.

She looked back at him as they continued to gaze into each other's eyes. Although it wasn't for that long, it felt like forever. Steve could feel her searching his eyes trying to figure out what to say while he was searching hers trying to figure out if the rumor was true or not.

Deciding there was really only one thing she could say to him, she swallowed hard, her eyes and face crinkling at the pain she felt in her throat. Once the worst of the pain passed her eyes opened, meeting his once again. She took a deep breath. "Steve…" she began.

"Not now," he immediately said, not letting her go any further. The truth was he wanted to talk to her about it. In fact, he couldn't wait to discuss it. Since he'd read the reports online he hadn't been able to get it out of his head. It was eating away at him. The words 'eating disorder' repeating themselves like a terrifying mantra in his head. He just didn't want to talk about it there. It was a conversation they were most definitely going to have, but in private. Once he got her back home after the show. In fact, they were going to be talking about a lot of things, not just that.

"But, wait…Steve," Maddie tried again, surprised by his reaction. She was confused. She knew he was upset and worried, but she thought for sure he'd not only want to discuss it, but hear what she had to say on the subject.

"We'll talk about it later," Steve interrupted again, his tone firm, letting her know he wouldn't be changing his mind on this.

Just as she was going to argue, Doc interrupted. He wasn't sure what was going on between the two or what they were talking about, as he hadn't been made aware of the reports yet, however he knew the two were only going to get into a fight. Wanting to avoid that and keep Maddie as calm as possible so she could hopefully get some rest, he interceded. "How's your foot?" he asked.

Maddie reluctantly looked away from Steve, shaking her head in frustration as she did so. "It's good! Feeling so much better!" she answered as she subtly tried to move her feet away from Doc.

His eyes narrowed slightly at her. "What'd you do?"

She straightened a bit, surprised at his question. "What do you mean? I didn't do anything?"

"Let me see it." He reached out and tried grabbing her foot as gently as possible so as not to unintentionally hurt her. She quickly pulled it away.

"I'm fine. It's feeling better," Maddie tried to convince him.

"Madeline," Steve said from his spot next to her. She turned to look at him, an innocent 'I have no idea what you're talking about' look on her face. He looked at her exasperatedly. "Let Doc see your foot."

His tone pissed her off. "You can't tell me what to do Steven!" Maddie cried. She'd held her tongue over the last twenty minutes when it came to his overprotective behavior. Behavior that only acted as a reminder that they weren't together. That he didn't feel for her like that. That he had tricked and played her. Made her feel like a fool. Thinking about it upset her. "You're just my friend. Like a brother, if you will." Raising her voice caused her to begin to cough.

Steve's eyes shut in frustration as he took a deep breath, trying to control his frustration at the way she was using his stupid statement from the barbeque against him. "Maddie…I'm not like your brother. Trust me." He knew he needed to talk to her and try and make her understand he'd screwed up, but he couldn't do that with Doc there. He'd already tried to bring it up when they were alone and she shut down on him, pretending she had no idea what he was talking about. He didn't even want to know how she'd react if he brought it up in front of other people.

She cleared her throat, the coughing finally dying down. "Really brother? Because those words came out of your mouth!" Maddie retorted, snorting slightly in irritation. Once again, she began coughing.

Steve waited for her coughing to subside. Once it did he looked her in the eye. He expected to see anger because of the sound of her voice, but he didn't. His heart ached at what he did see. Hurt. A lot of hurt. His face softened. However, before he knew it the hurt in her eyes was gone, replaced by…nothing, worrying him further. Just as he was opening his mouth to try and get through to her, Doc's voice interrupted them.

While the two argued, Doc took the opportunity to grab Maddie's foot. His brow furrowed at the feel of her black, sock-clad right foot in his hand. "What the hell?"

Both Steve and Maddie turned to him. Realizing what was going on Maddie tried to pull her foot from his hand. "I told you it's fine!" Steve could see she was getting flustered and upset, so he ran his right hand down the back of her head in a loving gesture. The tips of his fingers lightly played with her soft, reddish-brown hair as his hand made it's way to her upper back, stopping just below her shoulder blades.

Steve leaned a bit towards her. "Hey," he softly said. "Calm down, let him see your foot." She only nudged him away, angry with him. Well really she was just hurt and it was coming out as anger.

Steve sighed realizing more and more just how hard it was going to be to get through to her. "What is it?" Steve asked Doc, focusing on the moment. "What's going on?"

"Madeline, you should've said something the second you got back from press," Doc told her, the tone of his voice and the look on his face completely serious. In fact, he seemed angry. An emotion she never saw from him, especially towards her. "I told you how bad this was. I reiterated it over and over again Maddie. Why didn't say anything?"

Maddie only shrugged, a sheepish look on her face.

"What's going on?" Steve asked, becoming more worried and concerned by the second, especially given how Doc was reacting. Although Steve had just met the man, he knew it was out of character for him, making him more concerned.

"Her foot. It's worse," Doc said. "It was already infected. I don't even know if I want to see how bad this is!" Doc paused as he sighed. "This is really gonna hurt, Mads," he warned as he began to carefully peel off her drenched sock.

She winced. She instinctively began to reach for Steve with her left hand, but then remembered everything that he'd done and brought her hand back to her lap. Instead, she gripped her hands together.

Although it was quick Steve saw her begin to reach for him. In that brief second he couldn't have been happier. However, his happiness and elation was short-lived as he watched her bring her hand back to her lap. He inwardly sighed, saddened by how bad things were between them although no one would have ever known by looking at him.

Maddie hissed as she squeezed her eyes shut, the pain in her foot excruciating. _If it hurts this much and all he's doing is pulling my sock off my foot…_ she thought. "Can't we just leave it alone?" she asked.

"I'm sorry," Doc told her as he continued to slowly peel the wet sock from her foot. "How long have you been walking around with your sock wet like that?"

"Wait, wet?" Steve asked, confused. "Mads, how is your sock wet? Just one?"

"You probably don't want to know," she told him, biting her lip as she looked over and met his eyes. His tough exterior cracked a bit seeing the intense pain written on her face. Her face scrunched up in pain, whatever Doc having just done must have hurt even more. Steve glanced down at her hands clasped together in her lap. She was squeezing them together so hard that her skin was turning white. Hating to see her like this he reached for her hands and pulled them apart. He took her left one in his hand.

Maddie looked at him hesitantly for a minute, unsure and nervous to put herself in a position like this with him. Trying to convince her, Steve flashed her a small reassuring smile as he gave her left hand a light squeeze.

She was still unsure if she wanted to be that "intimate" with him for fear that it would only end up hurting her more. However, as Doc continued to slowly peel her sock from her infected foot he must have rubbed up against a particularly sore part and she whimpered squeezing not only her eyes shut, but Steve's hand as well. She jerked her foot away from Doc, not wanting him to touch it anymore.

"I know it hurts Shorty, but I gotta get this wet sock off it," Doc told her, his face and voice filled with sympathy.

"Why is your sock wet?" Steve asked again, as he held Maddie's hand.

She made a face. A face he had grown to learn meant 'I don't want to tell you cause you're gonna get upset'. He gave her an exasperated look.

Seeing that Maddie wasn't going to tell Steve, Doc decided he better tell him since he knew he wasn't going stop asking until he found out. "Steve," he said, pulling the Navy Seal's attention from Maddie. He held his palm out for him to see.

"Is that blood?" he asked, his eyes wide. "Maddie!" he yelled, turning back to look at her.

"Crap," she mumbled, knowing he was going to be even more overprotective and overbearing. Not to mention, she knew she'd receive another lecture because of this. _Just another one to add to the long list_, she thought.

Before Steve could say anything more, Doc added, "It's definitely not just blood."

Steve turned back to him. "What do you mean?"

Doc used the fact she was distracted to grab her foot back. He quickly pulled the rest of her sock off knowing he just needed to get it over with. "Ow!" she cried, her face scrunching in pain.

Steve felt Maddie tighten her grip on his hand. He looked over at her, seeing her in complete agony. He hated seeing her in that much pain and not be able to do anything about it. Going on instinct he quickly took his right hand and brought it around her shoulders. He waited a second to see if she would pull away, when she didn't he pulled her a bit towards him. Not much, just a little. He didn't want to push his luck.

"Sorry, Mads," Doc apologized, feeling bad for the pain he'd caused her. He gently lifted her foot, trying to get a closer look. "Oh God Shorty. This is really bad."

With one arm around Maddie and the other one holding her hand, Steve watched Doc inspect her foot. He could tell by the look on his face it was bad. Worse than he was even letting on. "What did you mean you don't think it's just blood?" Steve asked again.

Doc glanced up and met the Navy Seal's concerned look. "It's oozing. We'll leave it at that."

"Ew, that's so gross," Maddie mumbled. "Did you really have to share that with him?"

"Yes, he did!" Steve replied incredulously. "Good thing he did! And just so you know, Mads-" He paused waiting for her to meet his eyes. Once she did he continued. "You're not putting any weight on that foot for at least a week. Probably longer. Until it's healed." She narrowed her eyes slightly at him. He knew what that meant. She was going to argue. "No, that's an order. If I have to handcuff you to your bed to keep you off it, I will."

Maddie's face flushed red at his comment, her mind immediately going to the gutter. She looked away quickly, hoping he wouldn't see and know what she was thinking.

However, it was too late. Steve smirked seeing her bright red face and knowing exactly what she was thinking. He decided to take it as a good sign that her mind immediately went there when he said he'd handcuff her to the bed. That it meant things were fixable between them.

Doc had stood up and quickly walked to the kitchen to get some items he'd need to clean Maddie's foot. Grabbing what he needed, he hustled back to the coffee table. "Good! That's exactly what needs to happen! She absolutely needs to stay off her foot and let it heal!" Doc said as he placed a towel on his knees, happy to hear that Steve was going to take care of things and make sure she started taking care of herself.

He gently set her foot on the towel on his knees before reaching into his leather doctor's bag and pulling out a pair of gloves. As he quickly slipped them on he said, "I'm gonna need to clean this. To be honest Mads, it's gonna hurt like a bitch."

"It's fine," Maddie claimed, trying to feign indifference. In reality she couldn't imagine how it could hurt more. The thought alone caused her stomach to twist in knots.

Steve was hesitant to pull away from Maddie, but he wanted to get a good look at her foot before Doc took care of it. He wanted to for a couple reasons. Mainly he just wanted to see how bad it was for himself. Secondly, he wanted to be sure that he saw what it looked like bad. That way when he was the one left with Maddie, he could keep an eye on it and make sure it was always looking good. "Before you clean it, let me see." Steve reluctantly took his arm from behind and let go of her small hand. He scooted to the edge of the couch and leaned over, looking to his right. "Holy shit!" Steve cried. His left hand immediately came to his face, resting above his mouth. "God Mads, that has to be so painful! How the hell have you even been able to walk on it?"

Maddie looked at her hands, embarrassed by the whole thing. "It looks much worse than it feels. Trust me," she claimed, refusing to look at either man. _Great, Steve was already repulsed by me. Now what? He's not gonna wanna be anywhere near me now that he's seen my bloody, puss oozing foot, _she thought. The thought of her foot like that made her gag and it was her foot! _I guess that's probably a good thing though. I gotta get over him. _

Steve couldn't put his finger on it exactly, but Maddie suddenly seemed much more uncomfortable. _Almost self-conscious_, he thought, although he couldn't understand why. _I doubt it's what I just said_.

To be honest, as upset with her as he was for not speaking up, he also had a lot of respect for her. He had no idea how she'd been able to walk on that foot, let alone dance and perform nearly 24/7 for almost four days. Plus, it was the same leg that had her busted knee. He wasn't sure how she'd been pushing through the pain. She was strong and tough as nails, he had to give her that.

Sighing, Steve said, "Don't even try that with me. That's killing you and we all know it." Done looking at her foot he straightened and leaned back into the couch. His right arm immediately went behind her. His stomach sunk when she didn't lean into him. Crossing over, he went to take her left hand with his. Again, he was disappointed when she didn't really respond. Instead she left her hand almost rigid in his. As hard as it was for him, he didn't force it. He didn't want to pressure her. He knew it would only result in her pushing him further away. If he was going to push her, he had to choose the moments wisely. So for now, he kept his right arm around her back and continued to hold her left hand with his.

"Alright, I'm gonna apologize ahead of time," Doc told Maddie, sympathy and guilt etched into his handsome features as he looked at her.

She shrugged her shoulders, nibbling on her bottom lip. Although she didn't let on, she was freaking out inside. She knew this was going to be beyond painful. "No big deal. Don't worry about it," she murmured, pretending like it was nothing.

Taking a deep breath Doc began.

Steve immediately felt Maddie tense as she shut her eyes. Although she didn't realize she was holding her breath, Steve did. "Breathe Mads," he quietly instructed as the hand around her back rubbed her right bicep soothingly.

"Yeah, seriously. The last thing we need to happen right now is for you to pass out on us," Doc stated as he continued to clean the huge infected gash on the bottom of her foot.

As Doc worked, Steve felt Maddie reposition their clasped hands, threading their fingers together. He gave her small, delicate hand a light squeeze, letting her know he was right there with her.

"Oh man," she whispered as she hissed in pain. She inhaled sharply, her breath shaky. It must've caught in her throat just right because it caused a coughing spasm. Steve watched her closely as she coughed, wincing every time.

In fact, it wasn't just Maddie that was wincing. Steve was forcing himself not to as well. The sound of her cough was painful. It sounded wet and sharp, as if cutting into her vocal chords.

Just as she stopped coughing, Doc caused a surge of pain and she grumbled, "Holy crap!" That was it, Steve wasn't going to wait for her to instigate it. After all, he wasn't sure if she would given how badly he'd hurt her. So, with his right arm still around her shoulder, his hand lying on her right bicep, he pulled her towards him. He didn't pull her completely flush against him, but she was at least quite a bit closer.

Maddie went back and forth in her head, trying to decide if she should snuggle into Steve for comfort or just remain how she was. After all she was already leaning a bit towards him. Her instinct was to bury herself in him, however she knew she needed to be careful and protect herself. Sure, she wanted to act like things were back to normal between them, but in moments like these it was hard. The old Maddie would have had no reservations curling into him for comfort in a situation like this. But, although she wanted people to think she was back to her old self, she wasn't. And she and Steve's friendship was not what it once was. If she was being honest with herself, the second she realized she was in love with him, she knew their relationship would never be the same. She knew her feelings for him were not reciprocated and putting herself in a position to be comforted and held by him was too emotionally painful for her. She had to protect herself. She knew he was only going to continue to hurt her. He'd made that very clear over the weekend.

Although she knew all this, she just couldn't handle the pain anymore. She needed to be closer to him. She needed his comfort. Sure, it was going to hurt her emotionally later, but she was in such physical agony now that she didn't really care. She needed him. And she absolutely hated that she did.

As Steve watched her try not to cry out in pain as Doc cleaned her foot, he debated pulling her completely against him. However, before he even realized what was happening Maddie closed the rest of the distance between them. She laid her head against the area between his chest and shoulder.

"Aw Mads," he whispered. "It's okay. I'm right here. It'll be over before you know it," he tried to soothe her by rubbing her arm with his right hand while he squeezed her left hand that was intertwined with his.

"Crap," Doc whispered as he looked at her foot. He hated what he was going to have to do, but he had no choice. He pulled away from her foot as he reached for the tweezers he'd set on the coffee table next to him – just in case he'd need them. Maddie was thankful for the brief break, giving her a short amount of time to try and collect herself. She had continued to unintentionally hold her breath. Every minute or so Steve would press against her ribs with his right hand and quietly whisper to her to breathe.

Now that Doc wasn't working on her foot for a second she tried to normalize her breathing. She panted a bit trying to get it under control as she silently thanked God for the brief break. Although all his touching and cleaning of her foot had made it throb even more even when he wasn't working on it.

She wasn't the only one thankful for the short break either. It was killing Steve to see her in so much pain. She was tough as nails and could handle an incredible amount of pain, so he knew for her to be like this it had to be excruciating. He hated not being able to take it away and fix it for her.

Suddenly he was pulled from his thoughts as Maddie released his hand, pulling hers away. His stomach dropped slightly, immediately missing the feel of her long, delicate fingers laced with his. However, he was surprised when he felt her take his same hand again, only with her right hand instead of her left. He suddenly realized that once she had tucked herself against his side like she was, it became uncomfortable for her left arm to be twisted the way it was just so she could hold his hand. Using her right hand was easier and more natural for their current position. Plus it had just dawned on him that he'd been holding her injured hand. _I hope she didn't hurt it when she was squeezing mine, _he thought. Happy that she hadn't pulled away like he originally thought, he lightly squeezed her right hand, silently letting her know.

"I just realized I was holding your injured hand. Is it okay?" Steve quietly asked her.

She nodded against his chest, her left cheek against him. "My hand's actually a lot better," she whispered.

"Good," he smiled, placing a light kiss on the top of her head. "At least something's doing better." As he did so he watched Doc turn back to her foot.

With a tweezers firmly in one hand, Doc sighed, hating the pain he was about to cause her.

"What?" Steve asked, reading his facial expressions as he lightly rubbed Maddie's back. Although her breathing had normalized some, he could tell she wasn't completely comfortable being this way with him. She struggled to figure out what to do with her now free left hand. A couple of times she'd begun to wrap her free arm around his torso, but as soon as she began she quickly pulled it away, as if she'd been physically burned from touching him. The whole thing just served as a reminder that although she was letting him comfort her during this whole ordeal, she was still hurt and upset. Things were far from okay between them.

Doc closed his eyes briefly and sighed heavily again. "I'm so sorry Mads, but I somehow missed something in your foot yesterday. I think it's some kind of piece of glass. Although it's hard to tell until I get it out of there." He sighed again, feeling guilty for somehow missing it the day before. "It's pretty deep, but I have to get it out. I think it's definitely part of the reason why your foot is so much worse."

Steve immediately was filled with guilt. _I should've looked over her foot again after Kono and I pulled the glass from it_, he thought. He assumed that because it was glass it had to be from when she first injured it at Five-0 headquarters. He'd sat there picking glass from her foot, with the help of Kono, thinking he'd gotten it all, but he must have somehow missed a piece. However, he wasn't aware that Maddie had gone down to the beach barefoot the morning before, getting all kinds of stuff inside the lacerations.

"Sorry Shorty," Doc whispered as he gripped her foot tightly with his left hand; he didn't want her pulling it away once he began. With the tweezers in his right he began to dig in her foot hoping to get the piece.

Maddie immediately tensed at the excruciating pain his actions were causing. _And I thought it hurt before,_ she thought.

Although unsure of what to do with her left arm only seconds before, Steve felt her wrap her hand in his outer light blue long sleeved button-up shirt.

Doc must have dug deeper causing an ungodly amount of pain because Maddie suddenly cried out. In fact it was nearly a scream. It drove Steve crazy, hating seeing her in any kind of pain, let alone like this. He immediately became agitated and upset. "For God's sake, are you almost done John?" he growled, using the doctor's given name for the first time. In fact, it really took Doc back as he quickly glanced up at the man before returning his attention to Maddie's foot and continuing his ministrations.

Although Steve's tone was angry as well as the look in his eyes, the rest of him was sweet and supportive as his right arm pulled Maddie tighter to him, rubbing her back gently while he rubbed circles on the top of her hand with his left thumb. Of course he did this while she squeezed the hell out of his hand.

"I'm sorry. I just have to get this out or her foot will only get worse. And we really can't afford to let that happen," Doc apologized, feeling absolutely awful for the pain he was causing Maddie. "This fucker's just really deep in there."

Maddie couldn't help but briefly lightly smirk at the fact he'd just sworn. She wasn't sure she'd ever heard him use the F-word before. However, the smirk didn't last long. It immediately fell from her face as he caused more pain with the tweezers.

Steve felt bad for suddenly snapping at him when he knew he was only doing his job. It was torture for him, seeing her in agony and not being able to fix it.

"Ow," Maddie mumbled as Doc continued to try and get the piece of glass out of the severely infected laceration.

"What's going on?" Tina asked concerned at the sight before her as she walked back in the dressing room, food in hand.

Before either man could answer her question Maddie screamed in pain pulling her foot away from Doc. "Fuck!" she yelled. She'd been doing an excellent job of not crying over the unimaginable amounts of pain she was in, although she desperately wanted to. However, she couldn't keep it in anymore. Not after what Doc had just done to make her scream: digging the tweezers in even deeper, hitting an extremely sensitive and sore part of her foot. "Stevie," she quietly breathed out, almost inaudibly, as she buried her face in his chest right below his neck.

Steve's eyes closed as he held her tight against his body. He absolutely hated this. Her desperate whisper of his name upset him, and that was putting it mildly. He felt powerless and helpless, feelings that did not go over with his macho Navy Seal persona. However, feeling her warm tears against the skin of his neck was even worse. His heart sunk.

Doc reached for Maddie's injured foot. However, she moved it out of his reach. She'd had enough pain; she was done. He sighed. "Mads, I know this hurts, but I gotta do this. I'm almost done, I promise. But…I need your foot," Doc tried to reason with her.

Maddie only shook her head roughly against Steve's chest and violently pulled her foot away as she felt his hand touch her ankle.

Doc looked to Steve for help. "Steve," he said looking for some kind of help from him, his voice soft and guilt-ridden.

Sighing, Steve said, "Mads, give him your foot. This will be over before you know it. I know it's not fun, but the sooner you let him get that chunk of glass out, the sooner it'll be over."

He felt Maddie hold her breath as she thought it over, the occasional tear still hitting his skin. "Breathe," he whispered quietly when it'd gone on too long for his liking.

Maddie knew Steve was right. The sooner she just let Doc get her foot cleaned up, the sooner it would all be over, but it was so painful. She could handle pain, a lot of pain, but she really didn't think she could handle much more of this. However, she really didn't have much of a choice in the matter.

Whimpering, she relaxed her foot signaling that she was going to cooperate.

"I'm gonna get this out as fast as I possibly can Maddie," Doc told her. "I promise." He glanced over at Tina sitting at the kitchen table. "Can you come help me?"

"Sure thing," she quietly responded. Sure, she had just walked into this scene, but it was obvious what was going on. She took a seat on the couch to Maddie's right. Wanting to let her friend and boss know she was there for her, she rubbed the bare skin of her right thigh. "How can I help?" Tina asked, readjusting the blanket being used to cover Maddie's underwear-clad bottom half since it had moved when she had jerked around.

"Hold her foot. And tight," Doc whispered, hoping Maddie wouldn't hear. However, he could tell she did as her body and leg tensed. Doc glanced at Steve, making eye contact with him just as Maddie changed her positioning.

She let go of Steve's hand, contact he immediately missed. However, before he had a chance to even think about it he felt her wrap her now free right hand around his torso, bringing her even closer to him. He fought the urge to smile. As much as he hated the circumstances, he couldn't have been happier that he was not just getting to hold her, but that she was seeking out his comfort.

Steve wrapped his now free left hand around her back, holding her even tighter against himself as he continued to make eye contact with Doc. He couldn't help but feel bad for the doctor as he saw the guilt and remorse in his eyes.

As Tina tightly grabbed Maddie's ankle, helping Doc, Maddie whimpered softly as she tried nuzzling herself further into Steve, wanting to get even closer to him. As much as she wished she didn't, she needed his comfort. She wouldn't get through it without it.

"You're okay," Steve whispered, leaning the right side of his face against her forehead. He jumped back feeling the intense heat radiating off her when their skin touched. However, then he remembered her fever. There had been so much going on in the last few minutes that he'd completely forgotten. _God, she has to feel absolutely awful_, Steve thought. _Worse than awful actually. The pain in her foot and knee, then being sick and having such a high fever…_ He wished he could fix it all, but the only thing he could do was try to comfort her and take care of her. Well, that and get her to get some sleep once Doc was finished. Of course, he just hoped Maddie was going to let him continue to be there for her. His gut told him the second Doc was finished she was going to pull away again. _Well, until then I'll just enjoy having her in my arms_, he thought as he rubbed her back.

Maddie tensed, her breathing quickening in anticipation as she felt Doc's hands on her foot, preparing to go after the piece of glass again. She would hold her breath as long as she could, only to gasp for air and then do it again. Steve didn't like this.

Steve leaned his head back a bit so he could try and look at her face still buried in his chest and neck.

Feeling his movement, she tilted her head to look up at him.

The look of pure agony and pain killed Steve. He lifted his right hand from her back and brought it up to her face. He gently brushed away the hair stuck to her cheek, which was slightly damp from the few tears that had fallen down her beautiful face. "I'm right here," he whispered only loud enough for her to hear as he looked into her terrified and miserable eyes.

Maddie stared into his gorgeous blue eyes as his hand brushed the hair out of her face. Her head was telling her to not only look away, but also pull away, while her heart was telling her to stay exactly where she was. She loved him. As much as she wished she didn't, she did. The problem was she knew he didn't feel the same way. That and someone desperately wanted to keep them apart. But that aspect was the last thing on her mind at the moment.

With his right hand still on the right side of her head, he took in her beautiful, but pale, face. She had stopped crying minutes before. That is, if you could've even considered it crying as only a few tears had fallen from her eyes. However, there were still a couple on her cheeks that hadn't yet dried. With his eyes filled with so much concern and love, although she didn't realize that's what she saw, Steve used the thumb of his right hand to wipe them away. "I'm right here," he repeated, his whispered voice just as quiet as before. "I'm not going anywhere Maddie. Okay?"

Maddie knew he was referring to more than just the current moment. He was letting her know that he wasn't going to let her push him away. She could try, but he wasn't going to budge. As much as she wanted him to just let her push him away, she also was happy he wasn't going to. _Well, that's not confusing_, she thought sarcastically of her contradicting feelings as they continued to gaze into one another's eyes.

"Okay?" Steve quietly asked, wanting some kind of response from her. He wanted to make sure she understood that he wasn't going to leave her like that. That he knew something was seriously wrong and whether she told him what it was or not, he was going to figure it out and fix it. After more than twenty-five years of being best friends, of being constants in each other's lives, he wasn't about to abandon her when she needed him the most. No matter how much she pushed him away.

She barely nodded, unsure of what to really say.

"Everything's going to be okay, Mads." With that Steve gave her that small, one sided, smile-like smirk he was so good at. The one that always caused an immediate wave of warmth to spread throughout her body. His right thumb slid from her cheek and joined the rest of his fingers as they moved through her silky, soft hair. Seeing she seemed to be receptive to the moment they were having, he leaned forward, brushing his lips against her forehead. Her eyes fluttered closed as his lips hit her hot skin. Feeling Steve pull away she opened her eyes only to find herself staring into his, a knowing smirk firmly in place on his face.

Feeling as if he was making fun of her reaction to him, she tensed. Saturday night's kiss followed by his statement and laugh Sunday morning immediately popped into her head. On repeat.

Steve immediately noticed the sudden change in her. Not understanding why, his eyebrows wrinkled in confusion. Worried she was going to pull away he leaned forward and gently kissed her nose. He lingered, wanting her to begin to realize that what he'd said over the weekend wasn't true.

He pulled back the tiniest bit, leaving almost no space between their faces. Maddie's heart was pounding at their close proximity. Her heart wanted nothing more than to kiss him, but her head was telling her that sharing moments like this with him was only going to make things harder on herself.

Maddie wasn't the only one whose body was reacting to their close proximity and intimate moment. _Why the hell does my heart feel like it's going to pop out of my chest, _Steve wondered. To be honest he was slightly annoyed and frustrated by this. He was a grown man. A Navy Seal. A military man. He wasn't supposed to react so significantly to the smallest moment with her.

However, as bothered as Steve was by his body's reaction to Maddie, he also loved it. His left arm remained around her, holding her close, while his right hand was still firmly placed on the side of her head, his fingers tangled in her long, slightly wavy, reddish-brown hair.

As time went by and their faces remained only an inch or two apart, Maddie began to get nervous. Everything he'd said and done to lead her on and break her heart since she'd been in Hawaii ran through her head. _Get out of this situation, _she told herself. _You're just gonna end up even more hurt and heartbroken than you already are. _Although her head was screaming at her to pull away, she stayed rooted to the spot, staring into his deep blue eyes. Her nervousness only multiplied as the seconds ticked by. Feeling unsure and self-conscious, she began to unknowingly nibble on her bottom lip.

Steve had already been fighting the urge to kiss her, but seeing her tongue lightly lick her bottom lip before beginning to bite it, only intensified the feeling. He couldn't help it when his eyes flitted from her eyes to her lips and back, subconsciously licking his bottom lip in longing.

Noticing this Maddie immediately tensed, scared. She was scared that it would be a replay of Saturday night. That he would kiss her, making her believe there were feelings there, when that couldn't be further from the truth. She couldn't let him lead her on again. She didn't think she'd survive another scenario where she got her hopes up only for her to become devastated when reality sunk in: that he thought the idea of them "together" was disgusting.

Steve could feel her tense in his arms. Not only worried that she was going to pull away, but also wanting to get through to her that he didn't mean what he'd said, he quietly whispered, "I missed you."

Maddie was unsure of what to do or say as she felt herself beginning to panic. However, thanks to Doc she was given an out.

"Alright Shorty, all done," he said, interrupting their moment.

Surprised, Maddie broke eye contact with Steve. As she turned her head to the right she saw Doc sitting back on the coffee table, his hands no longer on her injured foot.

Realizing she'd been so wrapped up in the moment with Steve that she hadn't noticed Doc not only retrieve the piece of glass from deep within her foot, but also finish cleaning it up, her face began to blush. She turned her head back to Steve, whose arms were still wrapped around her. He smirked at her, also realizing what had just happened.

_I didn't even realize Doc had continued to work on her foot_, Steve thought, the situation becoming clear. The realization that they'd been so transfixed by one another that everything around them completely disappeared scared the hell out of him. Before he could think too much about just how much it scared him, he forced himself to take a deep breath, reminding himself what would happen if he let that fear take over and determine his actions. _I'll definitely lose her_, he told himself. That reminder alone was enough for him to ignore the fear he was feeling. Or at least not react to it. It was definitely still there.

However, Steve wasn't the only one freaking out. Maddie couldn't believe that after everything he'd said and done she'd still allowed herself to get sucked in. And easily. _Damn it_, she inwardly cursed. However, she tried to remind herself of the circumstances. That she'd been in agony and needed comfort to get through it. _It's still no excuse_, she told herself.

Suddenly it dawned on her that he was still holding her tightly to him. Maddie quickly pulled her hands away from his torso, releasing the bit of his long sleeved, light blue, button down shirt that had been clenched in her right hand. As she did so she looked away from him, her tinged cheeks slowly turning a darker shade of red.

Before Steve could stop her, she completely pulled out of his arms. They both immediately missed the contact.

Maddie leaned back against the couch as she stared straight ahead at her doctor.

Tina and Doc shared a quick look, communicating with their eyes. Although the two had been busy trying to clean Maddie's infected foot, they'd caught the best friends staring into one another's eyes. Tina couldn't help but smile slightly as she hoped the incident was a sign that maybe Maddie wouldn't push him away after all. That she'd decide to talk to him and tell him how she felt.

Steve glanced quickly over at Maddie. His stomach sunk as he noticed her sudden uptight and tense demeanor. She was sitting stick straight, her shoulders squared. Every muscle in her body seemed to be tight. His eyes fell to her hands as he watched her continuously pull and smooth out the blanket on her lap, being sure that her bare thighs and underwear were completely covered.

_Damn it. If only we were alone right now…I'd clear this all up with her_, he thought. But then again, he knew if they'd been alone he definitely would have kissed her when he'd gotten the urge. The only reason he hadn't was because Doc and Tina were there. _But then again, who knows if she would've let me_. He was confused. He wanted to show her she had it wrong, but at the same time he didn't know if she'd let him.

**...TO BE CONTINUED….**

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><p>I hope you enjoyed it!<p>

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE take 2 seconds and leave a review!

xoxo


	34. Chapter 34

**DISCLAIMER:** I do NOT own "Hawaii Five-0" or any of its characters. I do, however, own Maddie, Doc, Pete, Tina, Ryan, Mo, Billy, etc.

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><p><span><strong>AUTHOR'S NOTE:<strong>

First off, let me just say thank you to all of you! I appreciate all your kind words on the passing of two of my uncles in the same month. It has been hard, especially on my mom. She is the oldest of 10 children. She has 8 brothers and 1 sister. So, as you can imagine, I have A LOT of cousins! Which I LOVE! Fortunately I've gotten to spend a lot of time with my family over the last month, which I always enjoy. I just wish it was because of better circumstances.

Enough personal stuff...To the story!

Originally Ch.32 & 33 were going to cover everything up until right before Maddie took the stage for her show. Ch.34 was going to be her show and then Ch.35 was going to be Steve taking Maddie home - where he finds out about what happened while she'd been rehearsing (that's gonna be a GOOD chapter!). HOWEVER, because I'm trying to update more often, I've been giving you the orginal Ch.'s 32 & 33 in pieces. So...the timeline got a little screwed up. But, I assume from all your comments you'd rather have smaller chapters if it means you receive updates more frequently. Is that correct? Please let me know!

Anyway, here is the next 10 pages of the story...this was still originally part of Ch. 32. I'll try and make the next update as long as I can without waiting too long to update. I'll probably post it towards the first half of next week as I have an awards show to attend this weekend, so that'll eat up a lot of my time.

So, here is the next bit of the chapter. I know it's shorter than usual, but I figured you all wanted something sooner rather than later! I hope you enjoy it!

Also, thanks so so so much for all your awesome reviews! As I let you guys know every time I update, the more reviews I get the more I'll update. In fact, that's why you're getting this next update now. I originally wanted to wait until getting to when she's about to perform her show, but because of all your awesome reviews, I'm giving you part of what I have so far. I have more written, it's just that this is a good stopping point. It's weird when a chapter gets cut off in the middle of dialogue or something. lol.

Well, let me get to it! As always, thoughts are in _italics_. Also, I've included the last little bit of Ch.33 right before the new chapter (Ch.34) begins to refresh your memories. I had ended the last chapter in the middle of a situation, which I NEVER do. So, I just wanted to give you a little reminder!

Anyways, I hope you all enjoy!

xoxo

Laura

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW!

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><p><span>PREVIOUSLY IN CH.33<span>

"Alright Shorty, all done," Doc said, interrupting their moment.

Surprised, Maddie broke eye contact with Steve. As she turned her head to the right she saw Doc sitting back on the coffee table, his hands no longer on her injured foot.

Realizing she'd been so wrapped up in the moment with Steve that she hadn't noticed Doc not only retrieve the piece of glass from deep within her foot, but also finish cleaning it up, her face began to blush. She turned her head back to Steve, whose arms were still wrapped around her. He smirked at her, also realizing what had just happened.

_I didn't even realize Doc had continued to work on her foot_, Steve thought, the situation becoming clear. The realization that they'd been so transfixed by one another that everything around them completely disappeared scared the hell out of him. Before he could think too much about just how much it scared him, he forced himself to take a deep breath, reminding himself what would happen if he let that fear take over and determine his actions. _I'll definitely lose her_, he told himself. That reminder alone was enough for him to ignore the fear he was feeling. Or at least not react to it. It was definitely still there.

However, Steve wasn't the only one freaking out. Maddie couldn't believe that after everything he'd said and done she'd still allowed herself to get sucked in. And easily. _Damn it_, she inwardly cursed. However, she tried to remind herself of the circumstances. That she'd been in agony and needed comfort to get through it. _It's still no excuse_, she told herself.

Suddenly it dawned on her that he was still holding her tightly to him. Maddie quickly pulled her hands away from his torso, releasing the bit of his long sleeved, light blue, button down shirt that had been clenched in her right hand. As she did so she looked away from him, her tinged cheeks slowly turning a darker shade of red.

Before Steve could stop her, she completely pulled out of his arms. They both immediately missed the contact.

Maddie leaned back against the couch as she stared straight ahead at her doctor.

Tina and Doc shared a quick look, communicating with their eyes. Although the two had been busy trying to clean Maddie's infected foot, they'd caught the best friends staring into one another's eyes. Tina couldn't help but smile slightly as she hoped the incident was a sign that maybe Maddie wouldn't push him away after all. That she'd decide to talk to him and tell him how she felt.

Steve glanced quickly over at Maddie. His stomach sunk as he noticed her sudden uptight and tense demeanor. She was sitting stick straight, her shoulders squared. Every muscle in her body seemed to be tight. His eyes fell to her hands as he watched her continuously pull and smooth out the blanket on her lap, being sure that her bare thighs and underwear were completely covered.

_Damn it. If only we were alone right now…I'd clear this all up with her_, he thought. But then again, he knew if they'd been alone he definitely would have kissed her when he'd gotten the urge. The only reason he hadn't was because Doc and Tina were there. _But then again, who knows if she would've let me_. He was confused. He wanted to show her she had it wrong, but at the same time he didn't know if she'd let him.

...to be continued...

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><p><span>CHAPTER 34<span>

"So," Maddie whispered, hating the silence that had fallen over the room.

Doc cleared his voice. "So, I got everything out of your foot. It's completely clean. However, it's really infected Mads," he told her. "Have you taken the antibiotic for it today?"

Biting her lip, she shook her head. She moved her foot the tiniest bit, however feeling the intense pain she immediately stilled. She wasn't sure how she kept from outwardly cringing at the small movement, but she did. She couldn't believe how badly it hurt now. She thought it was bad before, but now that Doc had worked on it? She honestly didn't know how she was going to be able to put even the littlest bit of weight on it let alone perform.

Although she didn't wince or make any kind of face that would allow people to know how much agony she was in, Steve could tell. "You should take a pain pill," Steve said, his tone quiet and calm.

"I'm okay," she lied.

"Maddie, come on," he said, sighing exasperatedly. "I know you're in pain." He didn't understand why she wouldn't just admit to him she was in pain. Why she pretended to be fine. He knew she wasn't. He'd seen the way her eyes barely widened, literally almost a microscopic difference. But what really gave it away was the way her breathing became irregular for a split second, holding in her breath as the surge of intense pain dissipated the smallest amount. The signs were easily missed, but not only was he a Navy Seal, but he knew her like no one else. So, what was the purpose of lying about it? Why lie to him?

"Steve's right Shorty. I don't even need to look at you to know you're hurting. Your foot alone tells me you've gotta be in agony. I mean, you have to be! It's beyond infected." Doc paused as his eyes traveled from her face to her foot. "I mean, look at this Maddie," he motioned to her right foot. He watched her as he waited until she was looking towards her foot before continuing. "Remember how it was really only red along the bottom of your foot? Well, it was spreading up your heel just the smallest amount, but for the most part it was still really localized to the bottom of your foot." He took a deep breath, letting it out, before proceeding. "Now it's up your heel about an inch. And it's spreading to the top of your foot." Doc sighed, shaking his head, and returned his eyes to Maddie's pale and exhausted face. "Madeline, this is really bad. People can, and have, lose their foot because of a terrible infection like this. You absolutely HAVE to keep this clean and stay off of it."

Steve studied Maddie's injured foot as Doc pointed out what was going on. He thought he was concerned before, but compared to how he was currently feeling, he wasn't. Wanting to see Maddie's reaction to Doc's warning, his eyes flitted from her foot to her face. Although she was doing her best to keep a calm and collected façade on, he could tell it was just that. A façade. She was clenching her jaw in what he assumed was not only pain, but also worry over the realization of how bad her foot was. And God was she pale. She seemed to be getting paler and paler by the minute. The makeup that had hid as much of her exhaustion and illness as possible earlier, was now fading significantly. Dark bags were now visible under her gorgeous, but dull blue eyes. Steve was suddenly finding it nearly impossible to keep the worry and concern he was feeling at her appearance from showing. He didn't know how much longer he could fight it and keep from pulling her tight against him. _Just wait_, he told himself. _Wait until you're alone with her. _

"How can I stay…uh… off it in my show tonight? I … um … have to perform," Maddie managed to ask. She was so tired it was taking everything she had to form sentences. Doc cleaning her foot had taken what little energy she had left out of her. She wasn't sure how much longer she could fight sleep, something all three, Steve, Doc, and Tina, were aware of. They eyed one another, communicating their concern with their eyes.

Doc sighed loudly, licking his bottom lip as he shook his head briefly. "You really shouldn't be on your foot at all, but I know you have no choice in the matter." He paused. "We'll cross that bridge before the show when I get your knee ready."

Maddie barely nodded in response as she stared at him. Tina, who was still sitting on the couch to Maddie's right met Steve's eyes, who was sitting on Maddie's left. She silently told him how concerned she was about her friend and boss. He gave her the smallest of smiles, letting her know he was going to take care of the situation. That she shouldn't worry.

"Mads, it's not just a good idea to take a pain pill now, it's a perfect time. I know they make you sleepy and loopy, but that's okay because you have some down time before you have soundcheck, your meet and greet, the press line, and the show. So, you have time to get a little rest before things get crazy. Plus, you really need the relief," Doc said, agreeing with Steve that she should take something for the pain.

As much as she wanted to prove she was fine, they were right. She was in complete agony. And that was putting it mildly. She was really hurting. Her entire foot was throbbing. And a deep throb. Just the littlest movement was unbearable. And, to be honest, she wasn't sure how much longer she could handle it. "Fine," she finally said, admitting defeat. She sighed. "Aren't you gonna … wrap it up?"

"No, it needs some air for awhile. Then we can wrap it. Plus, it's still really bleeding." She glanced in the direction of her foot and noticed, for the first time, that it was resting on a towel on Doc's leg, bleeding. Digging in her foot for the shard of glass had apparently caused it to bleed, and quite a lot from not only the color of the towel, but from the blood still running down her foot. She sighed. She wanted her foot wrapped up with a sock on. Her feet got cold so easily. And the kind of cold that was painful. Her foot was already killing her, she didn't need anything making it worse. Plus, she just wanted her nasty foot covered up. She didn't want anyone looking at it. Hell, she didn't want to look at it.

Doc flashed her a sympathetic smile at her obvious disdain at the idea of airing it out for awhile before asking, "Speaking of pills, have you taken any of your pills today?"

_Pills?_ Steve thought. _As in plural?...Crap, what else is she taking? Please tell me it isn't what I think it is. _He turned his head, taking in her tense demeanor. Suddenly she was even more uptight than she had been thirty seconds before. That alone answered the questions he hadn't yet asked.

Maddie swallowed visibly, knowing exactly what Steve had discovered from Doc's question. _Great…_ she thought. "No," she whispered, her voice barely audible.

"Maddie," Steve slowly said, the anger he suddenly felt poorly concealed. His tone, although warning, also had a slight hesitant quality to it as if he wasn't sure he wanted to hear the answer. He waited a minute for her to turn her head and meet his eyes, but she didn't. Instead, she stayed rooted in her tense position, eyes straight ahead, unmoving. "What pills?" he finally asked, knowing she wasn't going to respond.

Again she said and did nothing. Feeling his irritation level rise, he ordered, "Look at me, Madeline."

She inwardly cringed at his use of her full first name. Knowing he wasn't going to let this go, she hesitantly turned her head to look at him. His eyebrows arched questioningly as he waited for her to speak. She took a deep breath before answering, her voice still nothing more than a whisper, and not just because of her lack of voice, but because she hoped if she whispered he'd somehow miss her answer and she could avoid the lecture that was sure to follow. "Prednisone."

"Damn it Maddie!" Steve exclaimed, shaking his head as he licked his lips. He paused, trying to get his rising anger in check. "How much?"

Seeing her hesitate, Doc decided he would answer and try to explain to him why she was on it. "A lot. More than she's been on in a while," he replied honestly. A little too honestly for Maddie's liking.

"I don't like her on that. She completely loses her appetite. Most people," Steve began, beyond worried about her after hearing Doc's response.

"- have an increase in appetite. But in Maddie's case it completely takes it away. I know," Doc interrupted, knowing exactly what he was going to say. After all, it was one of his own concerns and reasons he did everything he could to avoid putting her on the drug.

Doc's admission only angered Steve more. _If he knows that happens to her, why the hell does he have her on it?_ he wondered, fuming. "Then why give it to her? If you know it does that?" he asked, fuming.

"I rarely do. Unfortunately, the situation we were in,-" He paused. "- are in," he corrected himself before continuing. "…it was our only option. I was trying to keep her from getting sick and help her voice at the same time." Doc paused, taking in the Navy Seal's angry demeanor. "Just know I've been keeping an extremely close eye on her. She has to take a special shake if she's not going to eat. It helps give her the nutrition she's missing if she doesn't have a meal."

"I don't care," Steve said. "I don't want her on it." He remembered four years before when they'd put her on a high dose of it, the most she'd ever been on, because she was extremely sick and she needed to get through an important week of appearances and performances, including the Grammy's. She'd had a bad reaction to the medication and, since Steve was her emergency contact, he'd been called. He was in the Middle East at the time and couldn't get to her, which nearly killed him. He was, however, able to video chat with her while she was in the hospital and she looked awful, which was putting it mildly. She was hospitalized for over a week and he made her promise she'd never let them put her on the drug again. "It's not just the appetite. Four years ago-,"

"I know, Steve," Doc interrupted again. "I was the doctor assigned to her case while she was in the hospital. Afterwards, she switched and I became her primary care physician." He gave the man a small, reassuring smile. "I promise, I am watching her. I've been on top of it. So far, she's fine." Doc paused, meeting the Navy Seal's worried eyes. "I promise, I'm not going to let anything happen to her."

Although he knew Doc meant what he was saying, Steve sighed, shaking his head. "It just isn't worth the risk. She can't take it."

Maddie had been doing everything she could not to lose it on Steve. Where did he get off trying to control her and tell her what to do? They were friends. Only friends. He wasn't her boyfriend or husband, something he'd made incredibly clear. He didn't get a say in this.

It was his last statement that was the final straw. "Are you kidding me right now?" Maddie asked, turning back to him.

Steve knew what was coming, but he didn't care. He stared back at her, his eyes challenging her.

"You don't get a say in this, Steve!" she cried, well as loudly as her voice would go.

"Yes I do!" he argued, only angering her further.

"No, you don't! You aren't my boyfriend or anything close to it. Therefore you don't get a say," she yelled softly. Realizing what she said, her face began to turn red. "And…um…Not that I'm saying you would get a say if you were – or, uh, that I want you to be, … but," she stuttered, embarrassed.

Steve smirked. He couldn't help it. She was cute when she was embarrassed and flustered. "I do get a say because I care about you." He paused, sighing loudly. "Like I told you earlier, I was gonna wait until after the show to talk, once we were alone. But, do you want to talk about it now? Clear things up?" he asked her. "I told you I was sorry, that I didn't mean it."

Maddie tensed as she turned her head a bit to the right. She was still facing him, but instead of looking directly at him, she stared over his left shoulder, unable to meet his eyes. Or his face for that matter. "I have no idea what you're talking about," she responded, not only her voice taking on a distant and emotionally shut down tone, but her demeanor as well. Steve could see her immediately put her invisible walls up around herself, something he hated. But, he knew he only had himself to blame for her shutting him out, at least in this case.

"Maddie," Steve sighed. "I pro-"

"I'll take them now, Doc," Maddie interrupted, turning to look at Doc. She refused to have this conversation with Steve in general, but especially in front of anyone.

Steve sighed, frustrated, unsure how he was going to get through to her. However, as Doc rooted around in his bag for her pills, Steve realized now wasn't the time to think about it. This was more important. "Maddie, I'm not kidding. I don't want you taking Prednisone. It's too dangerous," he said, his tone taking on a slightly desperate quality to it, something she'd never heard from him before.

Confused, Maddie turned to look at him, her eyebrows furrowed as she took him in, studying his demeanor. She was surprised at the sound of his voice. _I know what happened last time scared him … but, there's something else there too_, she thought. Suddenly it dawned on her. The rumors the press were saying. He was worried about an eating disorder. That if she did indeed have one, her loss of appetite, thanks to the Prednisone, would contribute to it, making it worse. That the side effect of the medication would provide her with an excuse to why she wasn't eating. "Steve," she said softly. She searched his eyes. It didn't take long for her to see the concern and fear peaking through his tough exterior. Barely. But it was there. "I'm taking it for exactly what Doc said. And he is watching me closely. Okay?" she told him trying to reassure him that taking the medication had absolutely nothing to do with any eating disorder. She knew him well enough to know that he'd understand what she was trying to tell him, that he'd read between the lines.

"This will be her last big dose, I'll be weaning it down over the next two days," Doc added, hoping to help ease the Navy Seal's mind.

Steve was silent, thinking things through. He knew what she was trying to tell him, and he wished more than anything that it made him feel better. That it made him worry less. But it didn't. The rumor that she had an eating disorder was just an extra reason he didn't want her to take the drug. She'd could've died from it before; he didn't think it was worth risking her life again. Sighing, he finally said, "You can't take it until you eat lunch."

Maddie's shoulders dropped a bit at his statement. "Steve, I'm not hungry. Really."

"I don't care. You need to eat something," Steve told her, his tone authoritative.

Maddie was annoyed. He wasn't allowed to be like this with her when he'd done and said what he had. But, she could see he was scared. Scared the rumors were true. Scared that she really was in trouble (not in terms of her safety and the stalker). Because of that, she conceded. "Fine." Seeing his small, triumphant smile she added, "But I'm not promising I'm gonna eat a lot."

"We'll see," he cockily told her.

Wanting to leave the two alone to see if they could hopefully work things out, Doc began packing up his small, black, leather, old fashioned Doctor's bag. "Speaking of lunch," he began. "I'm gonna go get some myself." With his right hand he gently lifted Maddie's still bleeding, injured foot from his lap. Before setting it down, he used his left hand to pick up the white, now partly covered in blood, from his lap.

"Me too," Tina said, also wanting to leave Maddie and Steve alone. She was really hoping Steve would get through to her and that she'd decide to stop playing dumb and talk to him.

"Perfect," Doc said, looking to Maddie's assistant and friend as he stood from the coffee table, the singer's bloody foot in one hand while the towel was in the other. "I want to check you out anyway. Make sure you didn't seriously hurt yourself when you fell." He placed the towel on the edge of the coffee table, where he had just been sitting, and then very gently placed Maddie's bleeding foot on it. He heard her sharp intake of breath. "Sorry Mads, I know it hurts. Get some food into you and then take these pills here." Doc set a handful of pills on the coffee table. "Alright, now T, let's go and check that head of yours."

"It's really not necessary. I'm fine," Tina claimed.

"Yes it is," Steve stated, again taking on that commanding tone he often got.

Tina's shoulders slumped in defeat. "Fine, but," she looked over at Steve. "Can we keep what happened between us? No one else needs to know."

Steve squinted his eyes slightly as he studied her. He recalled how Pete had asked him to try and get Tina to rest. Was something going on between them? "You mean, you don't want Pete to know?" Steve asked, fishing for information.

She paused, not expecting his question. "Anyone. I don't want anyone knowing. It was no big deal," Tina said, trying to keep her feelings bottled inside. "Just me being clumsy."

The fact she'd paused before answering told him his instinct was correct. She didn't want Pete to know. _But why? _he wondered. "If it's no big deal why can't we tell anyone?" Steve asked, still trying to get information out of her.

"Steve," Maddie intervened, her tone slightly warning. "Leave her alone, you don't need to know everything about everyone. Just don't tell anyone, Pete included. It's as simple as that. It's no big deal. Look, she's fine, so one needs to know about it." Maddie wasn't sure what was going on with Tina, but ever since she'd come back from getting Steve and her lunch, she could tell something was off. Although Tina was hiding it, she could tell she was upset. She just could. It wasn't just because they were best friends, more like sisters really, but also because she was a female. It was a girl thing.

Feigning mock annoyance, Steve rolled his eyes. "Fine," he mumbled. "I won't say anything."

"Good boy," Maddie teased. Their eyes met, and they smiled at one another. The entire simple exchange was incredibly difficult for her, but she had promised herself that although she wasn't back to her old self, she'd pretend she was. Part of the charade was acting like she used to with Steve. Act like she wasn't head over heels in love with him and he hadn't broken her heart.

Tina looked to Doc, her eyebrows raised in question.

"Your secret's safe with me," he smiled at her. "Doctor-patient confidentiality."

"Thanks," she mumbled. "Do you guys need anything before we leave?"

"No," Steve said. "We're good."

"You're lunch is on the kitchen table," Tina told them standing slowly before beginning to walk to the door. She ignored the strange feeling in her head as she did so. Suddenly she stopped, realizing she'd forgotten to do something. "Mads, let me help you finish getting dressed."

"I can help her, it's fine T," Steve said as he met Maddie's eyes, a hint of a mischievous look in his. He was testing the waters with her, seeing how she'd react.

Maddie immediately became nervous. _Is he making fun of the fact I have feelings for him? _she wondered. If she'd been thinking clearly when it came to him she would have acknowledged and told herself that he would never do something like that. He wasn't a mean person. However, she wasn't thinking clearly, so she did think he was making fun of how she felt about him. Suddenly feeling even more self-conscious she used her hands and tucked the blanket under her legs, making sure not one speck of her underwear or bare upper legs was showing.

Steve forced himself to keep from frowning as he watched her emotionally withdraw, becoming nervous and self-conscious. She was trying to hide it, and she was doing a great job of consistently keeping her "mask" on, but he knew her too well. He could see her real emotions and feelings peak out every now and then.

Seeing that Maddie was beginning to panic inside, Tina knew she had to say or do something. "Why don't you finish getting Maddie's big brace ready as I'm sure Doc wants her in it." As she said the last half of her suggestion she turned to Doc.

"Yep!" he smiled. "Here I'll help you." Doc walked from the other side of the coffee table and towards the kitchen, passing Steve. "Come on Steve."

Reluctantly, Steve rose, never once taking his eyes off Maddie. Although she could feel them on her, she couldn't meet them. She felt too stupid. Like a complete fool. She'd fallen for it when he'd kissed her Saturday night. She just couldn't look at him knowing he thought of the whole thing as a big joke. The idea of them together disgusted him.

Steve moved slowly, hoping to catch her eye, but she refused. Instead, she busied herself with the blanket on her lap, pretending to readjust it. Finally he sighed lightly. "I'll just be in the kitchen if you need anything, Mads."

She nodded, biting her bottom lip uncomfortably.

With how she had curled into him and seeked out comfort from him, Steve had been feeling a bit more hopeful that he'd be able to fix things with her. But, seeing her shut down on him? His hopefulness was replaced by fear and uncertainty that he'd blown it for good with her. These were the thoughts running through his mind as he walked slowly to the kitchen table behind the couch area and, with the help of Doc, finished getting Maddie's brace ready.

Tina approached Maddie. "Okay, how do you want to do this?" Tina grabbed the clean pair of black leggings she'd pulled from Maddie's duffel bag. Maddie reached forward, preparing to set her elevated right leg onto the ground in order for her to stand. "Wait, just stay like this for a second." She did as her assistant and best friend directed.

As Tina squatted down in front of her boss, she bunched up the left leg of the leggings and slid it over Maddie's left foot, leaving it pooled around her ankle. She then bunched up the right leg. However, because she didn't want to bump Maddie's bleeding, uncovered, and injured foot she stretched the leg hole as wide as possible. Carefully she began guiding it over her elevated foot focusing intensely so she wouldn't touch the injury.

It didn't take long for Tina to get the black leggings pulled up her legs. Once she got them to her upper thighs, she stopped. Before she could ask Maddie how she wanted to get them over her little bubble butt, the singer used her hands and lifted her bottom half off the couch a few inches.

"Would you mind-" Maddie began. However, there was no reason for her to finish because Tina had already pulled the leggings up the rest of the way. Maddie lowered herself back down. "Thanks T. I don't know what I'd do without you."

"No problem," Tina smiled. However, Maddie immediately noticed there was something different about her smile. Not only did it not quite reach her eyes, but there was a strange sadness to it.

"You okay, T?" Maddie whispered, her voice barely audible, and just because it was nearly gone, but because she didn't want Doc or Steve to hear her.

Tina nodded sadly, trying to keep the emotions she was feeling from showing. However, she wasn't completely successful. Maddie noticed a slight change as she fought to act like everything was fine.

"T?" Maddie asked, her voice taking on a concerned tone. "You know you can talk to me."

A sad smile tugged at the corners of her mouth as she recalled what had happened while she was getting lunch for Steve and Maddie. "I know…it's…" She stopped, her eyes darting towards the kitchen where Steve and Doc were.

Before she could finish, Maddie said, "No worries. I got it. We'll talk later. And if you need me before then, just let me know and I'll kick my overprotective babysitter out of the room."

"You better not be talking about me," Steve said, walking around the couch and stopping next to the coffee table, the knee brace and ice water filled tank in his arms.

"Of course not," Maddie said, flashing him an innocent smile. "I would never do such a thing."

Steve jokingly narrowed his eyes at her, studying her. "Uh huh," he muttered skeptically. Maddie just shrugged her shoulders in response.

Seeing them slightly banter, although she knew it was forced on Maddie's end, Tina felt it was time to give the two privacy. "I'm gonna go. Let me know if you need anything."

"T?" Maddie called out to her, her eyebrows furrowed in a questioningly and concerned manner.

"Later Mads," T said, trying to smile as reassuringly as possible. However, she failed. It came out sad and pathetic.

Maddie only looked at her in a more questioning way, silently asking if she was sure she didn't want to chat about whatever was going on right then. Tina nodded, understanding what she was asking.

"Everything okay?" Steve asked, picking up on something.

After a few seconds of the two women staring at one another, Maddie turned to look at Steve. She plastered on a smile. "Yep! Everything's peachy!"

Steve stared at her, studying her. Finally he hesitantly said, "Okay." Although he knew something was going on, he decided to let it go for the time being. His gut told him whatever it was was a girl thing. He'd wait and see what happened and if it felt like he should know what was going on, he'd force the issue.

"Mads, keep that foot up and let it breathe," Doc told her from his spot near the door. "I'll be back to check on it in about a hour or so. Until then, eat something, take your pills, and try and get some rest. Okay?"

"I'm fine," Maddie tried to tell him as she stifled a yawn.

Steve shook his head, inwardly cursing her stubbornness. "She will do all those things." He turned and met Maddie's eyes. "Including getting some sleep!"

She wrinkled her nose and squinted her eyes at Steve, preparing to challenge him.

Doc only chuckled, shaking his head at their complete denial over the fact they were soul mates, completely head over heels in love with one another. Well, more so Steve's denial than Maddie's. He pulled and held open the door for Tina. As she walked through they shared a knowing look before Doc followed her through. The door shut behind them as they left Maddie and Steve alone in her dressing room.

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><p>Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter! I'll update soon! Until then... REVIEW! Please, Please, PLEASE! I promise...the MORE reviews I get, the SOONER I'll update!<p>

Btw...get ready for some juicy stuff to happen in the next few chapters!

xoxo


	35. Chapter 35

**DISCLAIMER:** I do not own "Hawaii Five-0" or any of its characters. I do, however, own Maddie, Pete, Tina, Ryan, Doc, Kendall, etc.

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><p><span><strong>AUTHOR'S NOTE:<strong> Hello everyone! So, I've been working my butt off on this chapter. It's realllly long... 51 typed Microsoft Word pages! So, I hope you enjoy!

To answer some of your questions about future chapters...

- The next chapter, Ch.36 will be FILLED with a lot of things that happen. It is the last chapter where everyone is at the venue before the show. A LOT happens in this chapter.

- Chapter 37 will be Maddie's show.

- Chapter 38 will be when they head back to Maddie's house. Steve learns a few things...you'll see how that goes over with him...

There will be a couple more chapters after that where some of Maddie's team is still in town. Once they leave and it's just Steve left with Maddie, the story starts to move faster. I will skips days, even weeks here and there. So we'll get to what you guys are DYING to happen a little faster.

I just thought I'd answer some of your timeline questions.

Thank you so much for all the reviews! For those of you that are just readers and not authors, they really make our day! It's 5 seconds, if that, out of your day. And it makes us want to update more often. It made me work really hard on this chapter. It might have taken me a bit, but that was because it was 51 pages. I will let you know that I might post Ch. 36 in two chapters if it's looking like it's going to take me a while to write the entire thing. That way you get an update sooner. I'll play it by ear. As of now, it looks like I'm not super busy this week and I'm pretty inspired. I've been dying to write a lot of what happens in Ch. 36.

As always, thoughts are in _italics._ In this chapter there is a flashback. You can't miss it. Also, in this chapter, text messages are in **bold**.

Anyways, I'll let you guys get to reading. I really hope you enjoy it! Please, please, please REVIEW! The more I get the sooner I'll post. That's a promise! In fact, I'll give you the first piece of Ch.36! YAY!

ENJOY!

xo

Laura

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><p><span><strong>Chapter 35<strong>

"Go ahead and sit there," Doc instructed Tina as she followed him inside the room that he was given to use at the arena. It was where he was throughout the day; well, when he wasn't with Maddie. The room anyone on her team would go if hurt or not feeling well.

As Tina walked inside, she took in her surroundings. It wasn't a gigantic room, but not small either. On one side, the right side, was a large L-shaped couch, coffee table, and a pretty big flat screen TV. A small kitchen containing just the basics was located on the back wall, behind the couch.

As her eyes drifted towards the other side of the room, Tina saw a table and four chairs sitting in the middle of the room, effectively placed between both sides.

The left side of the room, the side in which he was directing her towards, was set up as his office. There were some basic medical equipment; nothing too extreme. However, she only saw a few medical supplies. She assumed the rest were in the stacks of drawers set up near the cushioned, cream leather doctor's chair that Doc was pointing to. She walked towards it and carefully pushed herself up onto it.

Although it was comfortable, very high-end for a doctor's office, and leaned back, having the capability to completely recline, she couldn't relax. She was tense.

"Relax, T," Doc smiled, taking in her rigid demeanor.

"Sorry, I don't like going to the doctor's," she quietly replied. Her eyes darted around nervously. She could feel her heart rate increase and her breathing quicken. It was the start of a panic attack. _Don't panic, T. Just take a deep breath_, she told herself, hoping it would help her calm down. _You're fine. It's Doc. He's completely trustworthy. You know and trust him._

"Does anyone?" Doc joked, hoping to ease her discomfort. She forced a smile and did her best to try to relax; however it was pointless. It just wasn't going to happen. Especially with her encounter with Pete from only a little while before so heavily on her mind.

"So, how do you feel? Your head okay?" Doc asked after taking a seat on the rolling stool. He repeatedly pushed a lever on it, making the stool taller, as he waited for her to answer.

"I'm okay," Tina answered.

"You sure? You were unresponsive for almost a minute and a half after you hit your head," he stated. Now that he was eye level with her, he watched her carefully.

"I really didn't hit my head that hard," she lied. In reality, she had a pretty decent sized headache. One that seemed to only be getting worse as time went by.

"Let me be the judge of that," Doc told her as he studied her. She was definitely a bit pale. Something he knew could be attributed to her lack of sleep over the last four days, but could also be from a head injury. "I'm just gonna run a few quick tests, okay?"

Tina paused, hesitant. She really wasn't a fan of doctors. She couldn't help it after her childhood. However, she knew there was no way out of this, so she nodded. Knowing she needed to distract herself she thought back to her encounter with Pete less than thirty minutes before.

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><p><span><strong>...FLASHBACK...<strong>

Tina turned right after exiting Maddie's dressing room and headed towards the main room, where Craft Services was. Heading down the hallway Maddie's dressing room was located in she smiled, hearing Pete's voice in the near distance. She continued her walk down the hall, anxious to see him. Just as she turned right down the next hallway she spotted his tall, muscular frame about 50 feet in front of. His back was to her as he spoke on the phone. She wasn't able to hear him very well, but she assumed that whomever he was talking to had something to do with Maddie. However, as she continued towards him, she was able to make out more of his side of the conversation. At first, it wasn't really his words that had her stomach suddenly feeling a bit heavy, but the tone of his voice. Instead of the professional tone she was so used to hearing him use on the phone, it was lighter. More playful. Flirty even. Tina swallowed hard as she slowed her stride. The smile that had been growing bigger with every step, anxious to see him, began to fade as she heard him say, "It was good to see you too. Sorry it wasn't for very long."

_See who? Who did he see? _Tina wondered as she slowed her pace even more. She tried to tell herself that he was just talking to a friend, however her gut told her that wasn't the case. Her brows furrowed as she listened further. Although she knew she shouldn't be eavesdropping, she couldn't help herself. "Tomorrow night?" He paused briefly before continuing. "Sure, tomorrow night would be great! It's a date!" Tina abruptly stopped, freezing in the middle of the hallway.

The headache she'd been feeling since her fall suddenly became worse as the word 'date' echoed in her head. She thought it couldn't get much worse, that is until he spoke again. "I miss you too." A pang shot through her chest as she felt her eyes begin to moisten. She didn't know why she was getting so upset, it's not like they were dating or anything. However, if she was honest with herself, they'd had a few moments lately that had her wondering if maybe Pete felt something for her more than just friendship. Apparently she couldn't have been further off base.

Feeling more tears welling up, Tina quickly turned around. She couldn't risk Pete seeing her cry. He didn't know how she felt about him and she had no intention of ever letting him find out, especially now. Desperate to get away from him she began taking hurried steps back in the direction she'd come from. Of course, this was in the opposite direction of Craft Services, but she didn't care. She'd just take the long way around.

Just as she began to walk away, Pete turned around. He inwardly tensed, immediately spotting her. "Hey, I gotta go. I'll talk to you later," he said to the person on the phone. He didn't wait for a response before hanging up and walking down the hall, hoping to catch up to Tina. His brow furrowed slightly as he took in her hurried pace. "Hey! T!" he called. "Wait up!"

Tina froze, knowing she couldn't continue walking as if she hadn't heard him. Her eyes closed as she forced away the tears that wanted to fall. Once she took a deep breath, hoping to breath through the aching in her heart, she turned around to face him.

Pete smiled as he approached. He was always happy to see her. Having her gone for nearly two months had triggered something within him. Something he wasn't sure he was ready to acknowledge. Maybe that was why he was really making an effort with Melika, the woman he'd met the last time he was in Hawaii with Maddie. He wondered if he was using her, so he wouldn't even entertain the idea of Tina. He had to take care of Maddie, keep her safe. Steve was counting on him. Getting involved or falling for Tina would distract him, which, with everything going on with Maddie at the moment, the stalker and attempts to hurt her, not to mention how withdrawn and secretive she was being, he couldn't afford to be distracted.

"Hey," she greeted, trying her best to hide the hurt she was feeling as she returned his smile. She knew she needed to pretend like everything was fine, like she hadn't heard anything he'd said to the mystery woman on the phone.

He studied her as he reached her, wanting to see if she still seemed as tired as she had earlier. He'd hoped Steve had convinced her to get some rest, but seeing as she was standing in front of him, that obviously hadn't happened. Taking in her appearance he immediately noticed she seemed reasonably pale. "Everything okay?" he asked, fighting the urge to reach out and touch her. He noted how tense she seemed.

Tina forced a smile. "Of course! Just going to get Maddie and Steve some food." She paused as she briefly looked away. "So, uh, if you'll excuse me." She took a step in the original direction she'd been going before she'd seen Pete and turned around. She needed to get away from him as soon as possible. She needed to let soak in the fact that he had a woman in his life.

_What was that?_ Pete wondered. She'd basically just dismissed him. However, although he was surprised at her strange behavior, he didn't act it. He cocked his head slightly in question as he smirked at her. "Then why were you headed in the opposite direction?" He immediately saw her tense at his question.

"I had a question about Steve's order, but I, uh, … I figured it out," she lied, unable to look at him as she began walking away, down the hall in the direction of Craft Services.

_Why's she trying to get away so fast?_ he wondered, bewildered at her odd behavior. "You know, I was headed in the same direction," Pete claimed, taking a few large strides and catching up to her. "So, I'll walk with you." He was concerned. Something was off. He could feel it.

"Okay," Tina smiled as she nodded, acting as if she was okay and happy to have the company, his company, although she was anything but okay with it. Normally she was ecstatic whenever it was just the two of them, but right now she just wanted to get away from him. Be alone to digest what she'd just heard and discovered.

As they made their way to Craft Services he continuously glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. She was much quieter than she normally was. She was usually chatty and joking around, but she wasn't saying a word. He noticed she seemed distracted, like something was weighing heavily on her mind. _Maybe it's just because she's exhausted, _he thought.

Wanting to break the silence, Pete asked, "What's going on in there?" He nodded his head backwards towards Maddie's dressing room. "Have they killed one another yet? Or better yet, have they kissed and made up?" He smirked, chuckling softly as he shook his head. _Those two are so damn stubborn_, he thought. "Has Steve said anything to her about what happened Sunday?"

Tina was so deep in thought that it took her a moment to realize what he'd been asking. She glanced over at him and found him looking at her questioningly, a small crease beginning to form between his eyebrows. Her face flushed slightly realizing she'd been so absorbed in her own thoughts that she hadn't responded. She looked away quickly. "Still alive, surprisingly. And no kissing," Tina answered, her voice sounding strange to him.

"And Sunday? Did he say anything to her about it?" Pete asked again, once he realized she wasn't going to say anything else.

"Oh, um," Tina paused, trying to will her mind to stay present in the moment instead of wandering off and obsessing over the fact he had someone in his life. "Yeah, he's mentioned it, but more in a 'should we talk about this now or wait till we're back home' kind of way."

He waited for her to elaborate. When she didn't he asked, "What did she say to that?" _God, it's like pulling teeth_, he thought, confused at how distant she was being with him.

"What do you think?" she countered, her voice laced with a bit of attitude, something extremely uncharacteristic for her. She caught herself before saying anything further. However, she wished she'd been able to stop before letting her emotions get the better of her and copping attitude with him. Hoping to cover up the tone she'd just used with him, she looked over at him walking beside her and forced a smile. "She pretended she had no idea what he was talking about." She shook her head at the thought of her best friend, forcing a slight chuckle.

Tina's slight tone took him by surprise. Up until then his gut had told him something was off, but now he knew for sure. Something was definitely wrong. He immediately grew concerned knowing how completely out of character this behavior was for her. Wanting to keep her talking in hopes of figuring out what was going on, he asked, "But he's not forcing the subject?"

She shook her head before answering softly. "Nope."

Pete let out a sigh of relief, happy that at least Steve recognized that doing that before the show was a bad idea. "Finally he does something smart." Just as he was about to say something more they entered the main room and she bee-lined it over to Craft Services. He followed her, not ready or wanting to be done talking to her. Standing on her right, he studied her as she ordered Steve and Maddie's lunches. He noticed how tense she still was. In fact, she seemed to be more so than she was when he'd first run into her a few minutes before. He didn't understand; she was usually so relaxed, especially around him.

As Tina finished ordering, she unconsciously rubbed at the sore spot at the back of her head; near the area that had smacked against the glass coffee table. She winced slightly at the pain she felt. _I guess I really did hit my head_, she thought.

Pete's forehead wrinkled in both confusion and worry, noticing the almost imperceptible pain that flashed across her face. Sure, it was slight and gone almost as quickly as it had come, but he had seen it. He leaned his head a bit closer to hers. "You okay?" he asked, concern evident in his voice. He made sure to speak quietly, not wanting to draw attention to them or have anyone overhear.

She tensed as he got closer. Not realizing why he'd asked that, her head shot to her right, her face and eyes filled with confusion as she looked at him. She immediately noticed the concern on his face, which matched what she'd heard in his voice.

"You have a headache or something?" Pete asked, trying to clarify for her as he glanced towards her head.

_Damn_, Tina inwardly cursed, realizing what she'd done. "No, I'm okay," she lied, hoping it was believable. As much as she loved that he was a Navy Seal, there were those few times she also hated it. Now being be one of those times, knowing how hard it was to get away with lying to him. That and he picked up on everything, just like Steve. She shrugged her shoulders hoping to distract him from the fact she'd just lied to him. However, it didn't. He knew she was lying; he just didn't know why.

_Tina doesn't lie…What the hell is going on? _Pete wondered. _Great! Is she hiding things from me now too? _He eyed her carefully, licking his lips quickly. Just as he was about to press the issue, Gladys from Craft Services interrupted.

"It'll just be a few minutes dear."

_Thank God_, Tina thought, happy for the interruption. She turned to the sweet woman and smiled genuinely. The first genuine smile Pete had seen out of her since running into her. "Thank you!" Tina glanced over her shoulder. Seeing the nearest table to her empty, she turned back to Gladys. "I'll just be right there waiting."

"Sure thing, honey," the woman smiled.

Tina grinned at her once more before turning and walking the short distance to the nearest picnic style table. With the headache that had slowly been growing worsening, she was anxious to get off her feet. Plus, she was tired. Really tired.

She sat backwards on the bench, her back leaning slightly against the table. Instead of facing the table, she faced towards Craft Services, wanting to be sure she could grab the food the second it was done. Partly because she wanted to get it back to Maddie and Steve, but mainly because she wanted to get away from Pete. It was hurting her to be near him right now. She'd be fine eventually. She always was. But, she needed time to process and accept what she'd learned. It's not like she really ever thought they'd end up together or anything like that, but finding out the man you love was with someone else, whether you thought you'd be together or not, hurt.

Pete watched her sit, staring off into space, obviously lost in thought. He continued to study her as he walked the short distance to the table and took a seat next to her on her left. She could feel his eyes on her as she sat there staring straight ahead. It was making her nervous and uncomfortable. _Try and act normal Tina. He's picking up on the fact something is wrong_, she told herself. She was doing her best to act like nothing was bothering her, but she wasn't as good at it as Maddie.

_She looks like she's paled a bit more in the last few minutes_, Pete thought, worrying. He had never seen Tina like this. He'd seen her sick, sure. But never this tired or pale when she wasn't. And never shut down and quiet like she was. And quiet in a 'something's wrong' kind of way. It wasn't an 'I'm content' kind of quiet.

The silence between them was getting to them both. It was beginning to make them feel a bit awkward and uncomfortable. Finally, Pete couldn't take it anymore. He had to say something. "So, you're sister. How is she?" Wanting to get her talking, he chose a topic he knew would make her happy and be easy for her talk about.

Thinking about her older sister, Tina smiled slightly. "She's good."

"Yeah? That's great!" He paused. He'd been hoping for more than a short answer, although he didn't know why he was surprised. She'd been giving him nothing but quick, straight to the point responses since running into her. "The baby?"

Pete couldn't help the grin that appeared on his face as her smile brightened. "She's gorgeous! So cute!"

"Yeah? Got any pictures?" he asked, wanting to see them, but mostly wanting to keep their conversation going. Plus, he wanted the smile to stay on her face and he knew thinking about her baby niece would do just that.

She looked at him as if he'd asked the stupidest question. "Of course! What kind of aunt and Godmother would I be?" She pulled her phone from her back pocket and immediately went to the picture folder she'd created just for pictures of her adorable new baby niece. She handed the phone to Pete.

He smirked at the cute, chubby baby girl on the screen. "You're right, she's really beautiful!" he told her, briefly meeting her eyes before returning to the pictures. He flipped through more. "She's gonna be a heart breaker when she's older!"

Finished looking through the folder, Pete handed Tina her phone. "I feel sorry for Tom."

The two chuckled at the thought.

"Oh yeah, her Daddy's gonna have a hard time when boys enter the picture," she smirked slightly, thinking about it. She hit the power button on her iPhone, putting it to sleep, and pocketed it.

Silence descended over the two as the slight comfortableness that had existed while talking about the baby disappeared. Once again, Tina was acting weird.

"Hey, that reminds me," Pete suddenly said.

She glanced over at him, an eyebrow raised in question.

"Are you planning on leaving the arena any time before the show tonight?"

Tina thought about it. "Actually, I think so. I need to grab a couple things for Maddie. Why?"

"While you're out, and if you have the time, can you stop by a Verizon store and change Maddie's cell number?" Pete asked.

Tina turned her head to look at him, confused. "Yeah, why? Everything okay?" She immediately saw him tense. Her gaze dropped to his hands at his sides as she watched him ball them into fists.

He sighed, shaking his head. "Jesse's been calling her."

"Ah, I see," Tina said, suddenly uncomfortable, something Pete quickly picked up on.

"What?" he asked.

"What do you mean?" Tina questioned, refusing to look at him, but instead stared straight ahead at Craft Services. She inwardly prayed Gladys would finish the food and interrupt their conversation.

"T, look at me," Pete said, his voice suddenly serious.

_Crap_, she thought, hesitantly turning her head to the left and meeting his gorgeous hazel eyes.

He narrowed his eyes slightly as he watched her carefully. "Does he call her a lot?" he asked. He studied her to be sure what she told him was the truth.

Tina knew there was no way she could get away with lying to him this time. It was pointless to even try; she had to tell him the truth. She sighed. "He's called a couple times since the… incident… for lack of a better word." He suddenly seemed taller as his anger flared. "Seriously, Pete. A couple times. That's it. She's never answered and from what I know, he hasn't called her recently."

"He has," Pete growled. "He called her several times when I was sitting with her Monday night. Ant that was just what I witnessed. Who knows how many other times he's called."

"Really?" Tina asked, the surprise evident in both her voice and face. "News to me." _I'll have to remember to ask Maddie about it when I have a chance_, she thought.

Knowing they needed to change the subject, she said, "But yeah, I'll get her a new number when I'm out later."

"Thanks," he mumbled, still angry. Something that happened any time Jesse's name was brought up.

Tina turned to look straight ahead at the Craft Services area. "Mm hm."

Silence descended over them once again and just like before she could feel him eyeing her every so often, making her nervous and uncomfortable. However, it didn't last longer than a minute or two thanks to Gladys. The friendly older woman smiled and caught Tina's eye as she waved slightly, letting her know the food was ready.

Anxious to get away from Pete, Tina jumped up quickly. However, she suddenly felt slightly dizzy thanks to her worsening headache combined with how tired she was. _Woah_, she thought, standing in place as she waited for the feeling to hopefully pass before walking forward. However, she knew she couldn't remain standing in one place for too long or Pete would notice. Feeling she'd waited as long as she could, she took a step forward even though she was still fairly dizzy. She immediately realized it was a mistake as the feeling worsened causing her to sway back and forth slightly.

Pete had been watching her closely. He thought it was odd that after rushing to stand and grab the food she stayed rooted in place for a few seconds. His eyes widened and concern filled him as he saw her begin to sway. He wasted no time and urgently reached for her as he rose to his feet. "T, you okay?" he asked, immediately placing his hand on her waist.

She nearly flinched when his hand made contact with her. Thankfully, she caught herself just in time, forcing herself not to react. However, she didn't realize that she tensed, something he noticed. _What the hell? _Pete wondered. _Is she upset with me for something? Is that what's going on?_

Although having his hand on her made her heart ache more, she noticed how gentle his touch was. As if he was holding some delicate and important object near and dear to him. However, she almost wished she hadn't noticed because it made it that much harder for her. If he was that gentle with a simple touch with a friend, she could only imagine how he'd be if he was in love with the person. The thought caused her heard to constrict. It felt as if someone was literally squeezing it between their hands. _I gotta get away from him_, she thought. _Just act like nothing happened and everything's okay._ Tina took a deep breath and plastered a smile on her slightly pale face. "Yeah, I'm fine! I just stood up too fast! What can I say? I guess I've been hanging out with Maddie too long. Her dizzy spells are apparently contagious," she joked, forcing herself to laugh. She exhaled a sigh of relief as she felt the dizzy sensation begin to fade.

As she casually pulled away from Pete, he took a step towards her, worried. Although his hand was no longer on her waist, it was still outstretched, close to her in case he needed to steady or grab hold of her again. She shrugged, her pale cheeks a light shade of pink showing her embarrassment, as she began to walk the short distance to Gladys.

Tina's smile broadened as she approached Gladys, the older woman who was not only the main chef, but also ran Craft Services,. "Thanks so much!"

Gladys' eyes glanced behind her, seeing Pete hot on the assistant's heels. He looked concerned the older woman noted. She looked back at Tina and took in her fairly pale appearance. "No problem, honey!"

Tina took the boxed up food and turned to her right as she headed towards the exit to the room. She was trying to hurry, to get away from Pete before he could ask more questions. In general she just needed to get away from him. Her heart was breaking and she could feel the earlier suppressed tears beginning to resurface. She knew it was only a matter of time before some slipped from her eyes and she refused to let that happen in front of him. Plus, she was embarrassed he'd seen her on the verge of fainting.

_She's really trying to get away from me_, Pete thought as he quickened his pace wanting, and needing, to catch up to her. Just as she exited the door of the main room and entered the empty hallway, he reached her, grabbing her arm gently to stop her. He turned her towards him. "Tina, are you sure you're okay?" he asked, his eyes filled with worry as he searched her face.

Tina stared at him, unsure of what to say or do. All she could hear were his words to the mystery woman on the phone echoing in her head. When she didn't respond he became even more concerned. He took a step towards her, closing the distance between them. "Tina? You okay?"

Seeing the worry on his face intensify, she swallowed hard and forced herself to answer. "I'm fine. Really, I am." She plastered a small smile on her face and shook his hand from her arm.

Pete continued to search her face with his eyes as his hand dropped to his side. It was then he noticed it. Her eyes seemed glassy, like she might cry, something, like Maddie (or the old Maddie), she didn't do very often. His eyebrows furrowed as the concern he was feeling multiplied. "Tina, talk to me. What's going on? What's wrong?"

Tina couldn't handle it anymore. She absolutely had to get away from him. Unfortunately, her emotions got the better of her and she was unable to stop the next comment from leaving her mouth. "I'm not yours to worry about Peter, so stop," she snapped.

She watched his eyebrows arch and his eyes widen in shock. Hoping to counteract not only her words but also her tone, while trying to play it off as a joke of some kind, she forced a small laugh. However, it didn't work and instead of happy, it came out pathetic and sad. Mortified she let her emotions get the best of her, she spun around and quickly started walking away.

Pete came to as the shock of her little outburst wore off. "Wait! Stop!" he called to her retreating figure. However, he stayed rooted in place, not running after her.

Tina didn't ignore him, but she might as well have. She quickly glanced back and shook the food containers around in her hand, not bothering to stop walking as she did so. "I gotta get this back to them. Mads needs to eat before she can take her medicine," she told him before turning back around and hustling down the hallway. Reaching the end of it, she turned left, leaving Pete behind. As soon as she did, a few tears made their way down her face.

"What the hell just happened?" Pete asked aloud, as he scratched the back of his head, completely and utterly confused. He stayed there, rooted to his spot, thinking over their entire encounter. Tina didn't look good. He knew she was exhausted; she had to be. She hadn't gotten much more sleep than Maddie over the last four days and she couldn't go nearly as long as Maddie could without it. The fact she'd nearly fainted when she stood freaked him out. Well, scared the hell out of him was more like it. _Great! Now I'm worried about both Maddie and Tina_, he thought. He shut his eyes and rubbed his temples as he sighed deeply. Opening his hazel eyes, he brought the walkie-talkie hanging from his belt up to his mouth. (He'd use the small mic down his sleeve once he changed back into a long sleeved shirt or had a jacket on. For now, he was in a short-sleeved shirt, so it wasn't ideal. The walkie-talkie worked better and because he had his earpiece connected to it, his team's voices went straight into his ear, so no one around him could hear what was being said.) Still staring down the empty hall, the hall where Tina had been just a minute before, he said, "Hey, something's off with Tina. Keep an eye on her and report back to me regularly." A chorus of "Yes sir's" and "sure thing's" filled his ear.

Sighing, Pete turned around and headed back into the main room. He wanted to go check the outside perimeter, see how many paparazzi, reporters, and fans were camped outside. He knew more and more would be arriving as show time grew near. Afterwards, he'd go check on the Five-O team and see what they were up to. Ryan had taken them somewhere while he, Steve, and Doc had taken care of Maddie. However, knowing Maddie, he knew as soon as she had lunch she'd want them in her dressing room even though Steve would argue and say she should be resting. He rolled his eyes at his best friend and fellow SEAL, wishing he'd get his head out of his ass and just realize that he was head over heels in love with her already. _It would make things so much easier_, he thought.

However, the two didn't occupy his mind for long. As he walked he thought about how strange Tina had been with him. He made a mental note to head back to the dressing room in a little bit to check on her. Given her comment to him and the way she'd called him by his full first name, Peter, he had a feeling whatever was going on had to do with him. He just had absolutely no clue what it could be. As he exited the main room and entered the hot, spring, Hawaiian day, he heard Josh in his ear.

"Tina just walked back into the dressing room. She seemed upset. And, uh," Josh paused. He didn't want to say the next part into the walkie-talkie. He didn't feel the entire team needed to hear it.

Pete's pace slowed, hearing the hesitation in his voice. "What? What is it?"

Josh debated whether or not he should say it and let everyone hear, but eventually decided against it. He quickly pulled his cell phone from his belt and began typing.

Pete was growing impatient over the silence from Josh, his concern for Tina worsening. He was just about to tell him to spit it out when his iPhone dinged. He pulled it from its holder on his belt and glanced at the screen. **1 Text Message Joshua Cudney**

Pete furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. _Why is he texting me when he can just talk to me? _he wondered, a sinking feeling beginning in his stomach.

He opened the message and read it, immediately understanding Josh's reservation on telling him over the walkie-talkie. **She'd been crying. **

His concern grew. He had noticed her moist eyes, so he wasn't really surprised. However, it still worried him. She just wasn't a crier. And with her odd, distant behavior and little outburst? He knew something was definitely wrong. He sighed. _Just what I need right now_, he thought, _Tina upset and hiding things when I've got rebellious Maddie and a crazy person to deal with and worry about. _

Pete quickly typed back. **Hard?**

He only had to wait a few seconds for Josh's response. **I didn't see her actually cry. I saw her wipe some tears away. That's it. But she looked really upset.**

**Thanks. Keep an eye out**, Pete replied. Once he placed his phone back into its holder on his belt, he sighed heavily. _What the hell is going on? Am I missing something? _he asked himself.

**...END FLASHBACK...**

* * *

><p>"Were you bleeding?" Doc asked Tina suddenly, pulling her from her thoughts. From recalling her encounter with Pete.<p>

_Busted_, Tina thought. "A little bit," she quietly answered.

"You should've said something immediately, T." He paused looking closely at the back of her head, his hands holding back her chocolate brown hair. "And it looks like it was more than a little bit." He sighed, releasing her hair and sitting back on the stool. "How long did it bleed? A long time?"

"No," Tina answered truthfully. "I just held a towel to it for maybe five minutes and then it stopped."

Doc looked at her, thinking. "Okay…Have you, or are you, experiencing any dizziness?"

"Nope. None," she lied, smiling slightly. _After all, it's not that much. Barely any_, she told herself, trying to justify and make herself feel less guilty for lying.

"Okay! Great! Well then, looks like you were lucky! Really lucky!" He stood, pushing the stool to the side. He reached for her hand to help her down from the cushioned, cream leather doctor's chair. "I gotta tell you, I'm surprised it isn't worse. You really should have a slight concussion." Once standing, he let go of her hand.

"As hard as a rock," she smiled as she lightly knocked on her head with her knuckles.

Doc chuckled lightly, walking over to the door. Before he pulled it open he met her eyes, a serious look appearing on his handsome face. "You probably have a slight concussion, but when a patient doesn't experience any of those symptoms, nausea, dizziness, fatigue, etc., we don't really refer to it as a concussion. However, you hit your head hard, enough to break the skin and leave you unresponsive for a minute and a half… It's still pretty early… It didn't happen that long ago." He paused, taking a breath. "I wouldn't be surprised if you start to experience some of those symptoms. And to be honest, with how hard you hit it I wouldn't be surprised if the symptoms are quite prominent." Doc paused, thinking things through. "You know what? I wanna check on you in two hours. Do another quick exam. However, If anything changes before then, if you have a headache, or you experience any dizzy spells, or nausea, let me know immediately."

Tina nodded. "Of course!" To be honest, the information Doc just shared with her scared her a bit. _If I'm already experiencing some light dizzy spells and a bad headache, how much worse will it get? _she wondered. _I mean, I didn't hit my head nearly as hard as Maddie. _For a brief second, she debated telling Doc she'd lied and was already experiencing some of the symptoms. However, she decided not to. Maddie needed her too much and she knew Doc would tell her she couldn't do anything except rest. And then what would Maddie do? She'd be screwed. She needed Tina to help her get through the show. She could rest after.

"We don't need both you and Maddie falling apart!" He laughed lightly as he shook his head and rolled his eyes.

"That's for sure," she smiled, hoping he couldn't see the apprehension and fear she was feeling.

Doc pulled the door open and held it for her. "Still going to grab a bite? Wanna eat together?"

"Sounds great!" Tina said, forcing a small smile. In all honesty, she wasn't hungry at all. She had just said she was gonna get food to give Steve and Maddie some privacy.

"Alright, let's go." At that, Tina walked through the door with Doc following close behind.

* * *

><p>With Steve still standing to the left of the couch and Maddie sitting in the middle of it, they stared at one another as they found themselves alone for the first time since Sunday. It was as if neither one knew what to do or say. <em>Things have definitely changed between us<em>, he thought, as he tried to squash that little ball of fear and panic that popped up every time there was any kind of thought or feeling of Maddie in a more than friends way.

Maddie was beginning to panic, although she was doing a damn good job of hiding it. However, Steve did notice the way she seemed even more rigid and tense since Doc and Tina left, but he just figured she was a little uncomfortable and nervous to be alone with him. He didn't realize how freaked out and panicked she was. How much she wanted to run. Run from him. From her love for him. From her broken heart. And to be honest, run from her life.

The fact that she wanted to run from him was the most upsetting part for her. In fact, as she thought about it, her chest began to tighten and she felt the familiar, as of late, spike of emotions build behind her eyes as she looked at him. She hated that she wanted to run from him. From. Him. Him. Steve. The one constant in her life. _How did it get to this?_ she asked herself. He was always the one she ran to, not from.

"Mads?"

Her eyes began to clear as she pushed her thoughts from her mind. She realized he was looking at her, concern evident in his eyes.

"Hm?" she quietly asked.

"You okay?" Steve licked his bottom lip out of habit.

She forced a smile. "Of course."

He studied her for a minute as he wondered where she'd gone off to. He'd been trying to get her attention for at least a minute while she just stared at him, a distant look in her eyes.

Feeling self-conscious and uncomfortable under his gaze, Maddie began to move around. However, she moved just right, causing pain to shoot through her still bleeding foot and up into her injured knee. She couldn't help the slight wince that crossed her beautiful, but extremely pale, features.

"Let's eat lunch, so you can take your pain pills," Steve said, noticing the pain that had flashed across her face. He took one last look before hesitantly taking his eyes off her. He bent over and grabbed the large knee brace he'd set on the floor next to the ice-filled tank. "But first, let's get this on." He took the few steps forward, closing the distance between them. He knelt next to her elevated right leg in the space between the couch and the glass coffee table.

"Do I really have to put that on?" Maddie asked, her voice tiny.

He could definitely tell that all the talking she'd done over the last hour had made her voice worse. She cleared it, hoping it would help.

Steve glanced up, meeting her big, sad, blue eyes. If things had been good between them he would've leaned forward and kissed her, but they weren't, so he didn't. Instead, he stifled the urge and gave her a small, sympathetic, but sexy, smile. A smile that made her want him more, which of course only led to remind her he didn't want her back. She clenched her jaw, trying her best to stifle her emotions and act normal with him. Normal like they'd always been. "Yes, you do. Gotta keep ice on that knee."

_Act like nothing's changed_, Maddie reminded herself. She buried her broken heart deep within and did exactly that. She pushed her bottom lip out and raised her eyebrows to make her blue eyes look larger.

"Maddie," Steve warned. "Put the face away. It's not gonna work." He was doing his best to fight the smile that wanted to sneak through. _She has __no__ idea how cute she looks when she does that_, he thought. Unfortunately, he lost the battle and the smile slipped through his tough façade, appearing as a small, sexy smirk.

"But it makes me so cold Steve," Maddie told him, her 'sad face' still in place.

The small smirk became a smile as he responded. "Well, good thing you have a blanket then." His eyes shot to the blanket on the back of the couch and then back to her. He didn't think she could get any cuter, but then she pouted. _God I wanna kiss her_, he thought. However, he knew he couldn't. He was afraid of how she would react. He was worried she'd push him away and he just didn't think he could handle that right now. Plus, he was worried she'd get upset and he wanted to keep her as calm as possible, so she'd hopefully fall asleep and get some much needed rest before the show. So, in order to keep himself from leaning forward and kissing her, he looked away, focusing on the huge brace in his hands. "Don't worry, I'll be careful," Steve told her as he held the brace under her elevated leg. He wanted to be sure she knew that he'd do his best to keep from wiggling her knee around causing more pain in it as he did so. However, there was no need for him to tell her. She wasn't worried he'd hurt her knee. She knew he wouldn't hurt her. _Well, not physically_, she thought. _However, he has no problem shattering my heart into a million pieces_. She fought the urge to roll her eyes at the irony.

Steve repositioned himself so that he was now only kneeling on his right knee and instead placed his left knee under her leg, using it to hold the brace in place. It would have been easier if she'd been lying down on the couch or on a bed. But because her foot sat on the coffee table, nothing was under her leg supporting it. So, he used his knee to support the brace, keeping it in place.

Carefully he began fastening the straps, glancing at her out of the corner of his eye every few seconds to make sure he wasn't hurting her.

For a tough and often times abrasive Navy Seal, he was always so gentle with her. This time being no different. He didn't hurt her at all as he fastened the brace to her leg. Of course this simple and mundane task only reminded her why she loved him so much, which made her heart hurt as she thought about how he didn't feel the same.

Maddie swallowed hard, hoping to push the emotions she was feeling deep down inside. However, she forgot how raw and sore her throat was. She winced at the excruciating pain she felt.

Steve had just finished getting her knee in the big brace when he looked over at her and caught her look of pain. "Did I hurt you?" he asked, concern on his face. He'd feel awful if he'd been the source of further pain for her. He'd already caused her so much. Not physical, but still. It was pain and he hated himself for being responsible for it. All he wanted to do was undo it, not add more.

Maddie shook her head, not wanting him to think he'd hurt her knee. "Throat," she mumbled, her voice cutting out in the middle of the word before coming back in at the end.

Understanding, he flashed her a sad, sympathetic smile as he hit the "On" switch on the tank that he'd placed under the coffee table. The device immediately came to life as it began circulating the ice-cold water into the brace. He stood quickly, turned around, and headed to the kitchen table behind the couch. He grabbed their food and brought it back, setting it on the coffee table. "Let's eat."

Tina had been so sweet and emptied their To-Go containers onto normal plates. However, she'd left Maddie's soup in the Styrofoam container, not wanting it to get cold.

Steve sat down next to her, noticing the way she positioned herself the littlest bit away from him as he did so. He felt a quick pang in his chest although she wouldn't have known as he kept his emotions from showing. Before he could focus too much on how much he'd hurt her that she didn't want to be close to him, he caught her shiver. He quickly turned and grabbed the blanket that had been set on the back of the couch when Tina had helped her into her leggings. "Here baby," he mumbled as he gently placed it on her, making sure it wasn't just on her lap, but also on her elevated right leg. He placed it in such a way that allowed her to be able to pull it up over her shoulders if she wanted. He didn't realize what he'd called her until it was out of his mouth. As hard as it was, he dared a quick glance at her, wanting to see her reaction to the pet name. His stomach sunk seeing how tense she was. It wasn't just the way her back slightly straightened. Her face was even tense. And he could tell she was clenching her jaw. _What did you expect? You hurt her Steve, _he told himself. _You're such an idiot. How the hell are you going to undo what you did? Can you even fix the damage you caused?_

He could've continued to dwell on the subject, but her coughing brought him back to the moment. His eyes softened as he watched her face slowly become red from the coughing spasm she was experiencing. Her face slowly began to contort in pain from the sharp pain the coughing was causing in her throat.

"Try to relax," Steve softly instructed, seeing her becoming more tense as the spasm continued, which only seemed to be making it worse. Not able to help himself he placed his hand on her upper back and began to gently rub it, hoping the gesture would help her relax.

After a minute longer, the coughing spasm began to die down, instead leaving her to cough once or twice every thirty seconds or so. Maddie took deep breaths as she tried to calm her racing heart. Crossing her right hand across her body, she began gently rubbing the area between her left shoulder blade and left side. She winced, feeling the pain.

"Sore from all the coughing?" he asked her.

She turned and met his face, slightly startled at how close it was to hers. She nodded, meeting his blue eyes.

"I'm sorry, Mads." He slid his right hand from her upper back down to the area she was rubbing, lightly nudging her hand out of the way. Having him so close and touching her made her want to snuggle into him, close her eyes, and never leave his arms. However, she had to protect herself. If she did that, it'd only make it hurt that much more. _But, you have to act normal_, she told herself. _The old you wouldn't have thought twice about snuggling into him right now. _She didn't know what to do. Finally, after going back and forth, she decided to do something that was in between the two; she leaned into his touch a bit.

A warm sensation filled Steve's belly as he felt her lean into his hand just the littlest bit. She looked up, meeting his eyes again.

_God, she's so pale_, he thought. _She's beyond exhausted. I don't know how she's still going._

Thankfully, he could feel her begin to relax. It was the first time she'd done so near him in the last hour. He watched as her blinking slowed down. He could see her fighting exhaustion.

"Let's have some lunch, baby." Relief filled him when he didn't see her react to the pet name.

As much as Maddie loved when he called her that, it also killed her. Her heart ached as the term of endearment left his mouth for a second time in the last few minutes. As much as it hurt, she kept herself from reacting, reminding herself for what felt like the millionth time in the last hour to act normal. Behave like she did before the stalker and, more importantly, before she realized she was completely and utterly hopelessly in love with her best friend.

Steve leaned his head down towards hers and placed his lips against her forehead, kissing her gently. Her eyes fluttered closed, reveling in the feel of his soft lips against her skin.

He didn't pull his mouth away, but instead kissed her again, letting his lips linger longer. "God, you're on fire, Mads. You must feel awful."

_Yes, I do_, she answered his question inwardly. She knew if she told him how awful she felt he'd only worry more about her and she just couldn't handle that at the moment. "Eh…it's not so bad actually," she lied.

He rolled his eyes. "Yeah, right. Nice try." Reluctantly, he pulled completely away from her, scooting forward on the couch and reaching towards the coffee table. He knew they needed to eat so he could get her to take all the medication Doc had left out for her.

Maddie sniffled as she opened her eyes and leaned back against the couch, immediately missing the contact with Steve, even though she told herself she didn't. That she couldn't miss it because it would only make things harder for her.

"Here you go," Steve said, handing her the plate with her lunch on it while offering her a small smile.

She sniffled and coughed. "Thanks," she croaked out, taking the plate.

Leaving his plate on the coffee table, Steve positioned his body so that he remained seated more towards the edge of the couch, but was turned a bit so he was looking to his right at her. He wanted to be able to see her.

As he dug into his lunch, Maddie stared down at the grilled chicken, steamed vegetables, and piece of bread on her plate. _God, I'm not hungry_, she thought, the food not looking even the least bit appetizing to her.

Steve watched her stare at her food while he ate, a worried, sinking feeling building in his gut. The words "eating disorder" played on repeat in his head.

Knowing she just needed to suck it up and force herself to eat or else Steve was going to drive her crazy worrying, she sighed and slowly cut the chicken up. She didn't want him to think the rumors the press were saying were true. She stabbed a piece with her fork and slowly brought it to her mouth.

Steve felt himself relax slightly as the food entered her mouth. He watched her chew and swallow the small piece of chicken, wincing as she did so. He felt bad she was so sick. That was the last thing she needed on top of her injuries.

In the past, when there was silence between them it was always comfortable. That was one of the things that had always been so cool about their friendship. They didn't need to constantly be talking when together. They were completely content to just be in one another's company. However, it was different now. The silence was deafening. It was so loud, filled with the unresolved issues, secrets, and hurt feelings just hanging there in the air, waiting to be dealt with.

Finally, Steve had to say something. He couldn't deal with it anymore.

"Is everything okay with Tina?" he asked. It was the first thing he could think of that had nothing to do with the two of them. "She seemed a bit off before she left."

Maddie thought back to the way her best friend and assistant had been acting. She shrugged. "I dunno," she quietly answered. She cleared her throat slightly, hoping it would help the state of her voice.

"She didn't say anything?" Steve asked, watching her slowly take a couple more bites of her food.

"No. She didn't want to talk with you and Doc here," Maddie responded, meeting his eyes.

Steve nodded slightly, more to himself than to her. "So, she was upset."

"Yeah," Maddie answered, sniffling and coughing once. She set the fork down on her plate, unable to eat anything more.

"Mads, you gotta eat more than a quarter of that piece of chicken," he told her. "Plus, what about the vegetables? And the bread?"

"I'm not hungry," she answered. She met his eyes and immediately saw the concern and fear he was so desperately trying to keep hidden. She knew he was terrified the press was right.

"I don't care. You gotta get more in you." He paused. "Did you have any breakfast?"

Maddie nodded.

"What?"

She sniffled. "Bagel."

"How much of the bagel?" Steve asked. He wasn't an idiot; he knew she'd probably had half of it or something. He knew she was on Prednisone and that it killed her appetite.

She wrinkled her nose at him slightly, annoyed that he saw through her lack of information. "A quarter of it."

"Yeah, you need to eat more," he told her, his voice taking on a more serious tone as he used his fork to point towards the plate on her lap.

"But," Maddie began, but stopped, not wanting to continue. She reluctantly picked her fork back up.

"But what, Mads?" he asked, taking another bite of his lunch as he eyed her.

She sighed. She might as well tell him. "It hurts too much when I swallow this." She pointed at her chicken with her fork.

Steve sighed, feeling bad for her. "Well-" His eyes scanned the table. Spotting the closed Styrofoam bowl-type container he'd carried over with their food, he pulled the top off and peaked inside. "Tina also got you some chicken noodle soup. Try this. It'll feel better on your throat, plus it'll hydrate you. Electrolytes."

Maddie stared at him, trying not to smile. It was dorky, but cute, that he was talking electrolytes and hydration with her.

"What?" he asked after she'd been staring at him for a good minute, her eyebrows slightly raised as she tried to keep from smiling.

"You're a dork," she answered, the smile finally breaking through. A genuine smile. One that warmed his heart, especially knowing it was for him.

"What?" Steve looked at her questioningly. "No, I'm not." He feigned hurt. However, inside he couldn't have been happier. She was being herself at the moment. They were having a genuine, real moment, reminding him of how it used to be between them. _The only difference is I want to see her naked,_ he thought._ Touch her, kiss her, have… _He interrupted his train of thought, already feeling his pants begin to tighten at the mere thought of her like that. _Yeah, that's definitely different, _he thought, referring to the fact that thinking about her could so easily make him hard.

"Whatever you say, Steve," Maddie replied, rolling her eyes, a small smirk still on her pale face.

He stared at her, grinning widely before finally saying, "Mads, take this," as he slightly moved the open, Styrofoam soup container in his hand.

Sighing, she did as he instructed. He watched her, waiting until she began eating it before returning to his own lunch. He inwardly sighed in relief as she brought the first spoonful of the warm liquid to her mouth.

They ate in silence for the next ten minutes. Only saying things here and there. It wasn't as uncomfortable as it had been before, but it still wasn't comfortable at the same time. He continued to watch her. She was eating. Slowly, that's for sure. But at least she was eating. The soup seemed to have been a bit more tolerable on her sore throat, although she still winced nearly every time she had to swallow. Finally she leaned forward and set the soup on the coffee table. She leaned back, groaning at the intense achiness she was feeling in her body.

Hearing her groan, Steve's eyes immediately darted to her. He tried to hide the worry the noise elicited. Before he had a chance to really study her, her eyes met his. Not wanting her to see how concerned he was, he averted his eyes. Instead, he looked into the bowl. She hadn't even eaten half of it. "Mads, you gotta eat more than that." He sighed, looking back at her. She wasn't looking at him anymore, so he took her in. Somehow, she'd gotten even paler. How that was even possible he didn't know. "You have a ton of pills you gotta take. I don't want them upsetting your stomach. That's the last thing you need right now."

She turned to look at him, her eyes half open. She looked miserable. "I can't eat anymore."

"Maddie, you have to," he argued. She was surprised at his tone. It wasn't forceful or angry, but instead gentle.

She sighed as she fought the tears that wanted to escape. "Stevie," her voice was thick with suppressed emotion. Something he heard. He immediately set his fork down on his plate and turned fully towards her, studying her. "I don't feel good."

Steve knew that for her to finally admit that to him, she had to feel absolutely awful. He could see the unshed tears in her eyes. "Okay, baby." He rubbed his hand lovingly up and down her upper left arm. "Okay." He slid his hand up and rested it on her left, burning hot cheek. "Damn, your fever's higher." Worry filled him. Her fever had been 104.2 when Doc had checked it less than an hour before. He could definitely tell it was higher. Not a ton, but higher all the same. He felt himself begin to slightly panic. _Calm down_, Steve thought to himself. _Freaking out will only make this worse. Just gotta focus on getting it down._

He forced himself to take a deep breath. "Lets get this Advil in you first. Get this fever down." He leaned forward and grabbed the Advil bottle from the table. He began reading the back to figure out the dosage.

Seeing this Maddie whispered, "Three."

Steve glanced back at her. "Three? You sure?" She nodded. "Okay then. Three it is." He quickly shook three pills into his hand, closed the bottle, and then set it back on the coffee table. He grabbed the glass of water Tina had set on the coffee table for Maddie before she left and handed it to her with the pills.

She sat up and took them. As she took another big gulp of water Steve looked at the remaining three bottles of pills and the one bottle of liquid cough syrup on the coffee table.

Suddenly the door opened and Pete walked in. "How are things going in here?" he asked.

Steve met his long time friend's eyes quickly. "Okay," he sighed. He glanced at Maddie's barely touched lunch before looking back at her. He was so hesitant to have her take all this medicine when she didn't really have much in her stomach. He'd noticed that each of the remaining medicines, including the cough syrup, said they needed to be taken with food.

"I see she didn't eat much," Pete said approaching them. He didn't have to see her abandoned food to know this. He could see it in Steve's face.

"Not hungry," Maddie mumbled. She coughed a couple times.

"Can you force yourself to eat a little bit more, Mads?" Steve asked. "I'm concernced these are gonna upset your stomach if you don't."

She wasn't trying to be difficult. She really just couldn't eat anymore. She was worried she might puke if she did. She just had absolutely no appetite and the thought of food made her stomach churn. She'd forced herself to eat as much as she could and that had been a battle in itself.

Maddie met Steve's worried, blue eyes and shook her head. She winced at the pain the movement caused in her head.

"Do you have a headache?" Steve asked, trying to hide the worry the idea caused. _She shouldn't still have a headache after 4 days_, he thought. However, he then remembered Doc telling him her concussion wasn't really any better than it had been on Sunday.

Maddie only met his eyes. She said nothing. However, the look she was giving him gave him his answer. She didn't need to say anything. He sighed loudly. It was becoming more and more obvious to him that she should not be performing that night. In fact, it was becoming more and more real to him that she very well might not be able to physically. The idea worried him, but also gave him a sense of relief. He didn't want her performing anyway. Not when she was in such bad shape.

Seeing Steve was only getting more concerned by the moment, Pete spoke up as he walked to the kitchen. "What's been working really well when she hasn't been eating with the medicine is a glass of this." He pulled a carton of fat free milk from the refrigerator. He grabbed a tall glass and poured the white liquid in it, nearly filling it to the top. "Doc says it coats her stomach and protects it from the meds," he explained as he walked back to the sitting area. He handed the glass to Steve. "I'll be right back, I'm just gonna go check on something." In all honesty, Pete had been worried about Tina and was hoping she was in Maddie's dressing room. He wanted to find her and make sure she was okay. After seeing her dizzy and sway on her feet, he wanted to be sure she wasn't passed out somewhere. Plus, he knew she was upset about something.

Steve barely acknowledged Pete with a quick nod of the head before he left the dressing room. He set the glass of milk on the coffee table for a second while grabbing the bottle of antibiotics for her foot. While he opened the bottle and shook two pills into his hand, he said, "Mads, with your foot so infected, Doc wants you to take two pills twice a day, instead of just one." Subconsciously licking his bottom lip, he handed Maddie the pills and then the milk. She quickly took them. When she started handing him back the milk he said, "Drink some more before you take the next pill."

She sighed and nodded before taking small sips of her milk while he poured the liquid cough syrup into the little cup Doc had left next to it. "Here Mads," he said, handing it to her. She quickly took it, making a face at the nasty taste, an expression reminding him of a little kid's reaction to taking medication. Steve couldn't help but smirk at suddenly had the urge to touch her in some way. Knowing she wasn't going to and hadn't believed him when he told her he didn't mean what he said on Sunday, he had decided that he would have to show her. So, instead of fighting the urge, he went with it. He placed his right hand on her left, uninjured knee and began lightly rubbing it.

Maddie tensed slightly as his hand made contact with her. She looked away, not wanting him to see the hurt she was trying so desperately to hide.

Steve did his best to ignore the twinge in his heart as she tensed. Instead, he told himself to just keep going and he moved his hand up her leggings clad leg. Her eyes met his as he lightly rubbed her thigh in a loving gesture. However, he was respectful and didn't go too high. He stopped just past her mid thigh before bringing his hand back to her knee. He repeated the motion, returning to her mid thigh. He could see the uncertainty and hurt in her exhausted blue eyes, making him feel even guiltier for hurting her. He really hadn't meant what he'd said the other day. It had come out of his mouth before he knew what was happening. He gave her a small, sexy smile before turning his gaze back to the coffee table.

Using his left hand, Steve grabbed the open bottle of antibiotics and put the cap back on. While he did this, his right hand remained on Maddie's left leg, continuing to rub the same path: from her knee to her mid thigh and back to her knee.

As Maddie continued to sip from the glass, she watched him, curious as to what was going on in his head. He was acting as if what he was doing was completely natural. As if it was something he'd always done with her. But it wasn't. This was new. Sure, they'd snuggle every so often, like if they were watching a move and she got cold, or if she was sick or upset and he was comforting her. But even then, it was more of a friendly snuggle.

There were times Steve would come up from behind and squeeze her shoulder in a sort of 'Hey, how ya doing?' manner. She'd do similar things to him as well. And of course, there was the way he'd kiss her head, forehead, and nose. He usually did it when she was upset or stressed out about something. At those times, she'd never say anything. Instead, she would keep it all bottled up, but somehow, he always knew. He'd trick her into talking about it, a secret power of his, and help her figure out a solution to whatever was going on. Or the times she refused to talk about whatever was bothering her, he'd give her a little pep talk, reminding her that she's one of the strongest people he knows and that whatever was going on would work itself out. Then he'd lean forward and kiss her forehead and/or nose.

Things were a little different when it came to him. Not only was he Steve, not someone who easily expressed his feelings, but he was a Navy Seal. Most of the time when something was bothering him, he couldn't talk about it, even if he wanted to, because it was classified. Maddie understood this. She understood him. At those times, she'd give him a big smile while usually rubbing his upper arm in a comforting and understanding way before leaning forward and ether kissing his forehead, nose, or cheek. She'd then snuggle into him and let him wrap his arms around her. Depending on what he needed, she'd distract him with a movie or a recent story from her life, while other times they'd just lay there quietly, enjoying one another's company.

In all the moments they'd shared, there were never any romantic undertones or intentions, on either end. It was always just about the two best friends being there for one another. Supporting each other. Just like it'd always been. Since they were four years old.

But with what Steve was doing now? No, it wasn't a normal "just friends" gesture. Now, the way he dished her medicine out to her and made sure she ate something? That was normal for him to do with her. He'd do this on the rare occasion he was with her when she was sick and she'd do the same thing when he was. But the way he was rubbing her leg? It was different.

Maddie continued to watch him as she thought about it all. _Maybe everyone __is__ right… Maybe he does have some sort of feelings for me_, she thought. But then she reminded herself the way he flirted with Lori in front of her. How he'd left her home after making out with her, so could go on a date with Lori, which resulted in them hooking up. She knew he'd told her they didn't, and hadn't, had sex, but she wasn't sure she believed him. She had when he'd told her that night, especially when he proceeded to kiss her right after, twice. But, with what he'd said the next morning? How he'd laughed at the idea of them ever being more than friends… she didn't believe him. And she wasn't even factoring in all the other things he'd said and tried to take back after the fact. Like how he told her he cared about her like a sister and then tried to take it back when it upset her.

As Maddie thought about it all, she unknowingly began to tense, something Steve noticed. As soon as he felt her begin to tense under his hand, he turned his head to look at her, wanting to know what had suddenly changed. He unconsciously licked his bottom lip out of habit as he studied her, his brow furrowed. She was staring at him, but she was somewhere else, as she hadn't even realized he was looking straight at her._ God, I wish I knew what she's thinking right now_, he thought. _Whatever it is it's upsetting her. _

Steve said nothing as he continued to observe Maddie. About a minute later her eyes suddenly cleared as she returned to the moment, no longer lost in her thoughts. She tensed as she realized they were staring at one another, and even more when she noticed he was no longer rubbing her leg. _When did he stop_, she wondered.

"You okay?" Steve asked as he started rubbing her leg again. The same way he'd been doing a minute before. The same way that sparked the train of thought she'd just gone down.

She only nodded, not trusting her voice to hide her broken heart and the sadness she was feeling. It was difficult, but she forced herself to keep from looking at his hand on her thigh, doing her best to pretend like it was completely normal for them.

"Where'd you go?" he questioned.

Maddie cleared her voice, hoping it would clear the raw emotion that seemed to be lodged in her throat. She was supposed to be acting normal, like her old self, and being broken hearted because her best friend didn't love her back was not normal. She forced a big smile on her face. "Somewhere truly awesome," she lied.

Steve was quiet for a second as he debated what to say. Once he decided, he took a deep breath, praying he wasn't about to make another mistake with her. "Really?" he asked. "Because it didn't look like you went to a very fun place."

Maddie froze; she was not expecting that response. Her body went rigid as her jaw clenched. _What do I say to that? _ she wondered. _Not the truth! I don't want to talk about this with him. Ever. It's already embarrassing enough… falling in love with your best friend when he doesn't feel the same. Only to have him make a fool out of you and think of you as a joke. I just want to pretend nothing ever happened._

"Mads," Steve said.

Maddie knew what was coming next. He was gonna bring it up. He was gonna try and talk to her about it. _No, this can't happen_, she thought as she began to panic. Beginning to squirm under his gaze, she started to move around, feeling anxious. "Ow! God damn!" she cursed, accidentally hitting the bottom of her right, cut up foot with her left. Her eyes squeezed shut as her face contorted in pain. She leaned her head back against the sofa. "Damn," she whispered, trying to do her best to keep from crying at the unimaginable pain she was experiencing.

As her face contorted in pain, Steve immediately abandoned the conversation he was going to try and have with her. He could tell she was in agony. Seeing her upper body wiggling about as she tried to handle the pain she was feeling, he pulled the glass of milk from her hand and set it on the coffee table. He was worried she was going to spill it all over herself and the couch.

Maddie started coughing from getting worked up and he began rubbing her leg again, hoping it would help her relax. "Take a deep breath, Mads," he instructed. "The pain will die down in a second."

As much as she wished it wasn't, his hand rubbing her thigh was helping her relax. Slowly her coughing began to lessen, followed by her breathing evening out. She sniffled as her muscles relaxed, causing her to sink further into the couch.

Steve met her eyes and smiled at her as he sighed, happy and relieved to see that he'd helped get her to calm down and relax. Reluctantly, he pulled his hand from her leg and brought his gaze back to the remaining two bottles of medication on the table. He wanted to get the rest of it in her as soon as possible. Their conversation would have to wait until after the show, once they were back at her house.

Maddie watched his entire body tense as he picked up one of the bottles. His jaw clenched. She immediately knew which one it was. "Steve, give it to me."

His hand tightened around the bottle as he tried to decide if he would give it to her or not.

"Steve," Maddie whispered, pushing away everything she'd been upset and thinking about a minute before. She sat forward and reached her left hand out, placing it on the right side of his upper back. She rubbed it slightly, however he could tell her touch was hesitant. _But hey_, he thought_, at least it's something. _He turned his head to look at her, the bottle still clenched in his right hand. Her eyes widened a bit in surprise, and nervousness, as she realized how close their faces now were. He turned his body towards her, causing her hand to slide from his upper back to his arm.

"Mads," Steve began, his voice uncharacteristically small for him. Before he could continue, Pete returned, entering the room. He walked across to the sitting area and plopped in the big, overstuffed armchair on Steve's left. He said nothing, his thoughts on Tina. He hadn't been able to find her. However, he knew she was around because members of Maddie's security team had seen her. He figured she'd be heading back to the dressing room soon, so he decided to wait for her there.

"Steve," Maddie gave him a little smile. "I'm okay this time, I promise." At his unbelieving and hesitant expression, Maddie looked behind him to Pete. "P, tell him it's fine."

Hearing his name, Pete was pulled from his thoughts. He looked to Maddie. "I don't know what we're talking about," he responded truthfully. He hadn't been paying attention to what was going on. He'd been too consumed with concern and confusion over what was going on with Tina.

"Prednisone," Maddie whispered. Suddenly a tickle hit her throat. She quickly turned her head to the right and covered her mouth with her free hand as she coughed.

"Ah, yes. Prednisone," Pete stated, now noticing the bottle clutched in Steve's hand. "I knew this one was gonna be an issue." He sighed. To be honest, he was on Steve's side when it came to this. He'd been her head of security for maybe six months when she'd gotten sick from it four years before, so he was there for it. He'd witnessed her reaction to the medication and it was scary. However, what was really frightening was that it wasn't a gradual thing. One minute she'd been fine and the next she wasn't and he'd rushed her to the hospital where they kept her for more than a week.

Pete sighed. "Mads, I agree that you shouldn't take that medication. But, unfortunately, you're already on it. However, Steve, Doc's kept an insanely close eye on her. She's right, she's okay right now."

Maddie reached her right hand forward to take the bottle from Steve, however he wouldn't release it. "Steve…" she whispered. He said nothing, only continued to stare at her as he clenched the small bottle in his hand. "You know how this medication works. You have to wean down off of it. I'm on a high dose, Steve. You can't just not give it to me. That will make me sick."

Steve sighed, knowing she was right. He shook his head, pulling the bottle in his hand away from hers. Just as she was about to protest he said, "I'll give it to you. Grab the milk."

Maddie could hear the concern and fear in his voice, something so foreign for him. Even if he was feeling those emotions, he would keep them hidden, never showing them.

She leaned forward and grabbed her glass of milk with her right hand before straightening. She sat waiting for him to give her the pills. She watched as he shook two from the bottle. When he stopped she hesitantly said, "Four," and prepared herself for his reaction.

Steve's head shot up before quickly turning towards her. His eyes were wide, shocked. "Four?!"

She nodded.

"Are you kidding me?!" His voice had risen. "That's more than you've ever been on!" He paused. "No, I'm not giving you four," he said adamantly.

"Steve," Maddie began. She tried to stay as calm as possible, reminding herself that he was just scared. That that's why he was being so overprotective and controlling. "You need to give me four pills. Before I go to bed it will be three, as well as in the morning. Tomorrow afternoon and night it will be two pills each. And then Friday I will take one pill twice a day. Saturday and Sunday, it will go down to one pill." She gave him a minute to process the information she'd given him. When he still hadn't moved to give her the medication, she said, "Steve…" Her tone was slightly warning this time.

Steve clenched his jaw even more. So much so that she knew it had to be painful. He was fighting an internal battle as he tried to decide if he'd give her the medication or not. However, in the end, he knew it really wasn't his decision. And he knew she'd been kind up to this point and not reminded him of that fact. However, he knew her well enough to know that if he waited any longer to give it to her she would remind him that this wasn't his call and he had no right whatsoever to tell her what she could and couldn't do. Steve inwardly sighed, closing his eyes briefly. As he opened them he sighed loudly and shook two more pills into his hand. He set the bottle down on the coffee table and then slowly, and reluctantly, handed them to Maddie.

As he outstretched his hand to her, she realized that her left hand had remained on his right arm the entire time and she hadn't even noticed. Maddie visibly tensed at the realization. She was annoyed with herself that she'd once again gotten so caught up with him that she'd let her walls come down. _Damn it_, she inwardly cursed. She pulled her hand away quickly as if Steve's arm had burnt her. He smirked as he thought happily_, I might still have a chance to fix things after all_.

Maddie took the pills from his hand, avoiding looking at him as she did so. She quickly swallowed them before he had a chance to change his mind and further fight her on the issue.

Steve tensed significantly as she took the Prednisone. He was beyond concerned she was not only taking the medication, but was on such high dosages of it. And, he knew he'd be worried until she was completely off of it.

Maddie pulled the glass of milk from her mouth and he immediately smiled. "What?" she asked, her voice small.

Pete started laughing and she suddenly became incredibly self-conscious. Her eyes darted between the two men's smiling faces. "What?" she asked again.

"You look hot with a mustache, Mads," Steve grinned.

It took her a second to realize what he was referring to. Once she did, she grabbed the napkin next to her abandoned plate and wiped her "milk moustache" from her face. She shook her head slightly at the two Navy Seals, trying to keep from smiling at them. Especially Steve. He was so handsome when he smiled. Even when his face was stitched up and bruised. But then again, Pete's face was no better, except he hadn't needed stitches after their fight at the barbeque.

Maddie bent forward, even though it caused a ton of pain in her injured tailbone, and placed the napkin back on the table. As she did so she accidentally bumped her plate, which barely grazed her elevated foot. "Ow," she mumbled, her face squinting in pain. "Not again! Damn it!"

"You okay?" Steve asked, his hand coming to rest on her upper back. He could feel that she was holding her breath, waiting for the surge of pain to dissipate. Just before he was about to tell her to take a breath, she did so. She sat up, straightening her back and taking the pressure off her injured tailbone. Steve removed his hand from her back and studied her face. "That foot is really painful, isn't it?"

She met his eyes, pausing before answering. Her instinct was to lie to him, tell him it wasn't that bad. That it was nothing she couldn't handle, but she was trying to act like the old Maddie, especially when it came to the two of them. Plus, she didn't see the point in lying to him on this one. It was obvious the infected lacerations on her foot were excruciatingly painful.

Slightly nibbling the right side of her bottom lip, she nodded. "Yeah."

Steve sighed. He had no idea how she was going to be able to walk, let alone dance and perform, on her infected foot. He looked back to the coffee table and grabbed the last remaining prescription bottle, reading the directions on the front of it. He popped the top off and shook two pills into his hand. "Here baby," Steve said, his tone soft. "This will help a lot with the pain."

Maddie held out her left hand and he dropped the pills in her palm, doing her best to ignore the way the pet name made her insides tingle while also making her heart ache. She looked up at him questioningly, her brows furrowed. "Two?" she asked. "I can't take two."

"Yes you can, Mads. It says so on the bottle," Steve replied, giving her a small smile.

"No, I mean, I can't take two because they go straight to my head. I have to perform later. I can't be all loopy and out of it during my show."

"Mads, take them both. You're in a ton of pain. You'll be fine by the time you have to perform. They'll wear off way before show time. I promise," he said.

Maddie looked between the pills in her palm and Steve's face while she tried to decide whether to take both or not. However, he was right. She was in agony. Just slightly wiggling her toes caused incredible pain in her foot. And it wasn't just her foot that was hurting either. It was her tailbone and her knee too, not to mention her pounding head and aching body.

Making up her mind she threw both pain pills in her mouth and washed them down with the rest of the glass of milk.

Steve smiled, happy she'd taken both pills without any kind of real battle or arguing. Unfortunately, that only confirmed that she was in terrible amounts of pain.

Now that she had taken all her medication, Maddie leaned back, sinking into the overstuffed couch. Once she got comfortable, her eyes fluttered closed as she continued to fight exhaustion. Steve had noticed that every so often her eyes would close for a few seconds before she'd force them back open. However, now the intervals were getting closer together, which he hoped meant she'd fall asleep soon.

Feeling the empty glass leave her right hand, Maddie slowly opened her eyes. She watched as Steve set the glass on the table before turning back to her. She then watched as he pulled at the bottom ends of the fuzzy blanket, making sure her legs and feet were covered. Well, except for her infected right foot since Doc wanted it to get some air. However, he covered as much of it as he could knowing her feet got cold easily.

Since the blanket had fallen down to her waist while she'd eaten, he pulled it back up to her neck, so it covered her arms and chest. It was then that he realized her eyes were back open and she was staring at him. His face pinked a bit; slightly embarrassed she'd caught him.

Although she knew she shouldn't be thinking it, Maddie thought it was so sweet how he'd carefully taken the empty glass from her hand, thinking she'd fallen asleep. To make it cuter, he'd then covered her up, something she knew he'd done before. However, it was different this time. It was the way he did it. She saw how careful and gentle he was. _Maybe he was telling the truth? _she found herself wondering as he continued covering her with the blanket. _Maybe he didn't mean what he said on Sunday? _When she saw the way his face began to flush when he realized she'd caught him covering her, she couldn't believe it. Steve wasn't one to blush. In fact, she couldn't remember ever really seeing him blush before. _Maybe he does have feelings for me_, she thought. _Wait, no. Maddie, don't go there, _she told herself. _You know what? Just stop over thinking everything. _She was driving herself crazy. _Just act normal with him and stop over analyzing. _

Steve's instinct was to pull away and pretend nothing had happened once she caught him, but instead he reminded himself what was at stake. He gave her a small smile before leaning forward and kissing her burning hot forehead. His eyes slightly widened when he realized she'd leaned her head into his lips. He debated maybe kissing her nose and then trying to kiss her quickly on the lips, but then again, he didn't want to push her. Not with what she had going on. And especially when it looked like she might finally surrender and get some sleep. The last thing he wanted to do was upset her because he knew she'd force herself to rehearse and then she'd never get any sleep before the show. So, instead, he kissed her forehead again, inwardly smiling at the fact she leaned her head even more into him.

Steve hesitantly pulled away. As he did he made eye contact with her. He couldn't help himself as his eyes flitted to her mouth and then back to her eyes as he licked his lips in yearning. Maddie's heart began to race. She wanted him to kiss her so badly, but at the same time she didn't. She was afraid she'd get hurt again. However, her fear and hesitancy didn't keep her eyes from falling to his lips as he licked them.

Seeing her eye his mouth, Steve found himself wondering if maybe he should go for it. As he debated it, a man's sigh pulled him from his thoughts. He turned to see Pete sitting in the armchair, staring off into space. A deep indentation had formed in between his eyebrows. It was obvious he was somewhere else, completely lost in thought.

Steve turned back to Maddie. Even though Pete was there, he could go for it and he wouldn't even notice. However, as much as he wanted to kiss her, he wanted to be able to have a conversation about what happened on Sunday and that just wasn't going to happen. It was obvious she wasn't going to lit it. So, reluctantly he pulled the rest of the way away and turned to the coffee table. He dared a glance back at Maddie and could see she had a funny look in her eyes.

_See, that's exactly what you're protecting yourself from_, Maddie told herself. _One minute he looks like he wants to kiss you, the next it's gone. He's just playing you Madeline. Let him go. He thinks you're pathetic. That you can't take care of yourself. That you're a mess. A pathetic joke. _

Steve watched her stare straight ahead, obviously lost in thought. His brows furrowed as he saw her eyes begin to look watery from unshed tears. However, they were gone as quickly as they'd come. He noticed her begin to tense as each moment went on._ There she goes again! What the hell goes on in her head to make her react like that?_ he wondered. He watched her yawn, wiping at her face as she did so.

He could tell she was exhausted, but knowing her, she was going to keep trying to fight it. He thought back to when they were at her house. Every time she was snuggled into him, she had fallen asleep pretty quickly. He wondered if he could get her to do the same. He knew how badly she needed to sleep. And he knew she'd feel so much better if she did.

Knowing he needed to try, Steve stood, grabbing some dishes from the coffee table first. He knew he'd need to put his feet on it to try and get comfortable with her and right now, there was no room for that. Plus, he didn't like leaving a mess. It was all those years in the Navy.

He quickly walked to the kitchen and set the dishes on the counter before returning for the rest of them. Once they were all in the kitchen he began loading the dishwasher.

"Is my foot still bleeding?" Maddie suddenly asked Pete, effectively pulling him away from thinking about Tina.

He leaned forward in his chair to get a better look at her foot. He tried to keep from making a face at how gross and painful it looked. "No, it looks like it stopped."

"K," Maddie mumbled, sinking further into the comfy couch.

"No problemo, Shorty," he said, leaning back into the chair. He eyed her, taking her in. She was beyond pale. She looked exactly how he was pretty sure she felt: awful. "You ready to get some sleep?"

Her eyebrows furrowed as she shook her head twice.

"No?" he asked. "You look like you're gonna pass out at any second." He chuckled.

"No, I'm not! I'm fine," she whispered. "I'm not tired." Of course, as she said this her eyes fluttered closed, staying that way for at least 5 seconds before she had to force them open. At that point Steve was back from cleaning up and was taking a seat next to her on her left.

"Yeah, Shorty. I can really see you're not tired," Pete laughed.

"I'm not!" she claimed, her voice a bit louder than before, however it was still basically a whisper. The sudden volume to her voice caused her to cough a couple times. Once finished she groaned quietly. She was so sore from coughing. Plus, she was so achy. The two were not a fun combination.

Steve only rolled his eyes as he took a sip of the glass of water he'd brought himself._ She may not be herself, thanks to whatever she's trying to hide, but she definitely hasn't lost her stubbornness_, he thought.

"P?" Maddie asked.

"Yeah."

"Where is everyone?"

"Who's everyone? Five-0?" he questioned.

She nodded in response, coughing a few more times.

"They're with Ryan."

"Will you go get them?" she asked.

"Mads," Steve immediately said. He just wanted her to get some sleep, not hang out with everyone.

"Why don't you get some sleep first and then I'll go get them," Pete proposed, trying to help Steve and get her to compromise.

"No, we left them an hour ago. They must think I'm so rude."

"Maddie, they don't think that at all. They understand," Steve told her. "Pete's right. Sleep first and then have them come in."

Maddie shook her head. "No, now." Her tone was forceful; she wasn't going to back down.

Steve sighed, frustrated. However, he suddenly had an idea. He reached forward, grabbing the piece of bread off the coffee table. The one she hadn't eaten from lunch. When clearing the table, he'd left it behind in hopes he could get her to eat it. "They can come if you eat some of this." He held it up to her.

"Steve, I'm just not hungry," Maddie told him.

"I know, but humor me. Come on." He gave her a cute smile, hoping to weaken her resolve. "Just a few bites." He wiggled his eyebrows at her a bit, hoping to make her smile.

Maddie couldn't help but grin at the cute look he was giving her. _He just doesn't give up, does he? _she thought. "Fine." She reached her left hand out and took the bread, narrowing her eyes as she tried to give him an angry, annoyed look. However, he didn't buy it since she couldn't keep from smiling at the same time.

As Maddie took a bite of the bread, Steve looked towards his fellow Seal, meeting his eyes. The two had a silent conversation and after a second, Pete stood and headed towards the door. "I'll be right back with them, Shorty."

"Thanks P," she whispered, yawning as she took another small bite of the bread.

Still sitting on the edge of the couch, Steve looked over at her. He noticed the way her small body seemed to be disappearing into the over-sized, stuffed couch as she nibbled on the bread. Not only was she pale, but she had dark bags under her eyes, which were only about three quarters of the way open. Anyone who saw her, whether they knew hr or not, would immediately know she was exhausted. In fact, Steve was pretty sure that if he asked, Doc would tell him she was. That by the clinical definition and standards, she was suffering from exhaustion. And Steve knew that it took a lot for a doctor to declare someone exhausted.

He glanced at his watch. He and Pete both hoped she was going to pass out shortly. Not only was she obviously exhausted, but she'd taken two Vicodin. One of the reasons Steve had wanted her to take two was because he knew it would make her really sleepy and she hopefully, once they kicked in, wouldn't be able to fight and keep herself awake anymore. She'd taken the pills about fifteen minutes earlier, so he imagined they'd start working in the next fifteen to twenty minutes. Until then he'd just have to wait.

* * *

><p>A few minutes later Tina entered the dressing room. "Hey! How goes it in here?" she asked, walking across the room and taking a seat on the couch on Maddie's other side.<p>

"Good," Maddie whispered before taking another teeny tiny bite of bread.

"Mads, mice take bigger bites than you're taking right now," Steve joked from his spot next to her. Although he was sitting on the couch, he was more towards the front of the couch cushion, his back slightly against the armrest on his left. This way, he was able to see Maddie better.

She glanced at him. He raised his eyebrows at her, a cute smirk on his tanned, but cut up and bruised, handsome face.

"Well, I guess I'm done then," she said, her voice laced with a light, playful attitude. He shook his head at her, the smirk still in place. He knew she was giving him a hard time. "Well then, I guess I'll have to tell Ryan to keep everyone with him." She glared at him playfully before taking a very exaggerated tiny little bite from the bread. As she chewed she raised her eyebrows silently asking, 'happy?'

Steve grinned in victory as he chuckled quietly. Although he knew she was putting on an act, hoping that everyone, including him, would think she was back to her old self, there were moments, such as the one they'd just shared, that were more authentic, reminding him of how things used to be between them.

"I take it you didn't eat much," Tina surmised from their banter.

"Nope," Steve answered. Tina could see the worry that briefly flashed across his face. It was quick, but she saw it.

Remembering that she'd seemed off earlier, like she was upset, he looked to Tina, a look of concern on his face. "How's your head? You okay?"

She smiled at his concern for her. "I'm fine! Apparently it's made of cement. It's like it never happened," she lied. "Thanks for asking though."

Steve studied her as she answered. Although she seemed happy, he could tell there was something wrong. Something seemed to be on her mind. She seemed bothered and distracted. He was worried it was her head, that she'd really hurt herself when she fell. He made a mental note to ask Doc if he'd checked her out.

Apparently Maddie noticed too because she turned to him and said, "Can I get a glass of water? Would you mind?"

Steve understood what she was doing. He smiled at her. _Here she feels absolutely awful and she's more concerned with Tina and whether she's okay or not_, he thought, smiling at her. _She's a good friend. A good person. _"Of course, Mads." He stood up and walked to the kitchen, giving them a couple minutes to talk.

As soon as Steve was out of earshot, Maddie straightened and leaned to her right towards her longtime friend and assistant. "What's going on? You okay? Is it your head?"

Tina smiled sadly at the concern not only on her friend's face, but in her voice as well. "My head's fine," she lied. She felt awful lying to Maddie, and if the circumstances had been different, if there wasn't a huge show that night and she wasn't needed in such a huge capacity, she would've told her the truth. That her head was pounding and getting worse and more painful as time went by. But the circumstances were different.

"T, what is it?" Maddie whispered. "I know something's wrong."

Tina sighed loudly, a sadness coming over her face as she did so. Seeing this, Maddie's eyebrows furrowed in concern. Tina glanced to her left to the kitchen, wanting to make sure Steve couldn't hear them. She smiled as she saw him leaning against the kitchen counter, a glass of water for Maddie sat next to the sink. His legs were outstretched and crossed in front of him and his phone was in his hand. She guessed he was checking his emails or something, giving them time to talk. _He might put his foot in his mouth, but he's a good guy_, she thought.

"T?" Maddie whispered, pulling her back to the question at hand. She knew Pete would be back any minute with the Five-0 team; they didn't have a lot of time. "What's up?"

Tina sighed, trying to force a smile on her face. However, the more she tried to force it, the more she felt the emotions she'd been suppressing come bubbling up.

Maddie's face squinted in concern as she watched her friend's green eyes begin to well with tears. "Hey Steve?" Maddie said eyeing her friend before turning her head to the right to look over the back of the couch at Steve in the kitchen.

"Yeah?" he looked up from his phone and met her eyes. She silently told him he needed to leave and give them a few minutes. His eyes flitted to Tina's face. He couldn't really see it because she was looking straight ahead at Maddie, but he could tell by her rigid demeanor that something was definitely wrong.

"Can you go check on your team? Make sure everything's okay?" Maddie gave him a reassuring smile at his questioning and concerned look. He understood what she was really wanting. Of course she was saying they needed privacy, but she was also telling him to make sure Pete and the Five-0 team didn't come in yet.

"Yeah, sure," he smiled as he walked forward towards the back of the couch. "But, don't leave this room. Okay?"

"Okay," she smiled appreciatively at him. She knew he didn't want to leave her, but he was doing it because Tina needed him to.

"I have my phone," Steve said.

She nodded, reading between the lines. He was telling her to text him when he could come back in. "K," she nodded, inwardly smiling. They might've been in a weird place, but they were still incredibly close if their silent 'read between the lines' conversation had anything to say.

He leaned forward and kissed the top of her head. "I'll be back in a few." He pulled away, smirking at her. "Keep eating that bread. Don't think I won't check to see how much you ate when I come back." He smirked at the way she wrinkled her nose and shot him a look. Shaking his head, a smile on his face, he walked out of the room.

Maddie quickly glanced at the door to make sure it was closed and no one could hear before turning back to Tina. "What's going on, T? What's wrong?"

As hard as she tried, Tina couldn't hold back the tears anymore. As a few spilled down her tan cheeks, Maddie reached her right hand forward and took hold of her friend's hand, lacing their fingers together. She could count on one hand the amount of times she'd seen Tina cry. They were a lot a like. They weren't big criers. _Well, that is until I turned into a big cry baby the last week_, Maddie thought.

"I'm so stupid," Tina mumbled, sniffling as she tried to keep from crying further. However, her attempts were futile as more tears spilled from her green eyes.

"What? Why?" Maddie asked. She reached her left hand forward towards the coffee table and grabbed a box of tissues from it, groaning at the pain shooting out of her tailbone and into her legs. She pulled a tissue from the box and handed it to her sad friend.

Using her right hand, her left still laced with Maddie's, Tina dabbed at her eyes. "Pete…" she mumbled. Her voice was so soft that Maddie almost missed it.

"What happened?" Maddie asked, confused. "I thought things were good between you guys! I saw you two have a few moments over the last few days."

"Okay, so you picked up on that too?" Tina asked, her voice rising slightly at the question. Maddie nodded. "Me too!"

"So what happened?" She asked again.

"It was when I went to get you lunch," Tina began. Maddie nodded, letting her know she was listening and following along. "Well, as I walked down one of the hallways I saw Pete at the other end. His back was to me and he was on the phone." Tina paused, taking a second to wipe at some more tears that were falling down her face. She cleared her voice, sniffling before continuing. "I just figured he was talking to someone about your security or something business oriented, but-" Tina's voice caught in her throat as she remembered what she'd overheard.

"T? Who was he talking to? Could you tell?"

Tina shook her head, her lips pursed as a couple more tears fell from her eyes. She sniffled, taking a deep breath. "No, I don't know who he was talking to, but I heard him say, 'It was good to see you too. Sorry it wasn't for very long.'"

_Crap_, Maddie thought. She knew who Pete was talking to. _It was that stupid woman he met last time we were here in Hawaii_. _The one he met with the other night when Steve called him back so he could go out with Lori._

She'd debated telling Tina about it. However, she didn't think it was anything serious. But she had decided that if it did seem like it was heading that way, then she would. _Looks like I have to tell her now_, she thought, not looking forward to the conversation. Before she could say anything on the subject, Tina continued.

"Then I heard him say that tomorrow night was good and that it was a date." Tina bit her bottom lip, trying to keep herself from crying harder and Maddie immediately knew there was more. She squeezed her long time friend's hand, encouraging her to continue. "Then he said he missed her too."

"What? Really?" Maddie asked, her jaw dropped in shock. _Maybe it is getting serious? _she wondered. _But how could that be? They've seen each other only two or three times, and from what I know they haven't been talking very often. Maybe here and there, but nothing consistent or serious. _Maddie was shocked. Dumbfounded. Hearing this and seeing how upset Tina was she felt guilty, like a terrible friend. _I should have told her before she found out like this. _"What happened after that?" she asked, pulling another tissue from the box and handing it to her.

"I turned around to try and get out of there before he saw me. I was upset. I couldn't let him see me like that." Tina wiped at her face, tears still falling from her eyes.

"So he didn't see you?"

"No, he did!" Tina's shoulders slumped in defeat.

"Uh oh. What happened? What did he say?" Maddie asked, her words coming out quickly, showing how anxious she was to hear the rest of the story.

"He saw me once I started walking away. He hung up quickly and called out to me. I couldn't ignore him or else he'd know something was wrong, so I had to stop and turn around." Tina said, shrugging as she raised her right hand, her palm facing up in a gesture saying, 'what could I do?'. "He asked me what I was up to and I told him I was getting food for you guys, but of course I was so flustered I wasn't thinking and he immediately called me out on the fact that I was walking in the wrong direction."

Maddie smirked. "Stupid Navy Seals."

Tina laughed. "Seriously." She took a deep breath, sniffling, before continuing. "Even though I was trying to act like nothing was wrong, he knew something was up." She shook her head, annoyed at herself. "I'm just not as good at that as you." She shrugged her shoulders.

"It's hard T. I've just had a lot of practice from when I was a kid," Maddie honestly told her. This time it was Tina who squeezed Maddie's hand in comfort. "So, what happened?"

"He walked with me to Craft Services. He was watching me though. I could feel him studying me. I gotta tell you, I don't know how you've been able to handle it as well as you have. It's unnerving." Tina paused, giving Maddie a look as she shook her head. Maddie just smiled and shrugged. "Anyway, he made small talk with me while I waited for your food…. And then-" Tina stopped, suddenly realizing she couldn't tell Maddie the entire story. She couldn't tell her how she'd gotten dizzy and Pete had grabbed her.

"Then what, T?" Maddie asked, her brows furrowed, confused at why she'd suddenly stopped.

"Just that, he followed me out once I had the food. He asked me if everything was okay and I told him it was." She sighed. "Of course, he didn't believe me, and when he asked again I was stupid. I let my emotions get the best of me." Tina shook her head, annoyed at herself.

"Oh no, I've been there. What did you say?" Maddie asked, biting her bottom lip in preparation.

"I told him that I wasn't his to worry about…and," Tina paused, placing her right hand over her eyes as she remembered what she'd said.

"What?" Maddie questioned, squeezing her friend's hand, still in her own, in support.

"I called him Peter," Tina admitted, spreading apart the fingers that were over her eyes so she could peek out at Maddie.

"What is it about us? When we're upset with them, we use their whole name, completely giving it away when we don't want them to know?!" The two giggled for a second. Maddie didn't want to say anything to Tina and interrupt her, but she'd begun to feel the affects of the Vicodin. It wasn't too bad, but it was definitely kicking in. She knew it was only a matter of time before she got really loopy. She'd always been very sensitive to medication and their side effects.

"Seriously?! God, I can't believe I said that to him!" Tina groaned, throwing her head back and closing her eyes.

"You know, this is totally fixable, T," Maddie said confidently.

"Yeah?" she asked, her voice filled with hope.

"Definitely," she smiled reassuringly. "I mean, you're exhausted. We all are."

"Hold up! Did you just admit that you're exhausted?!" Tina interrupted, a huge smirk on her face.

Maddie laughed, causing her to cough. Once it passed, she said, "Ha ha. Yes. Does that make you happy?!"

"Yes! It does!" Tina laughed.

"Good! But, just, keep it to yourself! I'll deny, deny, deny if you tell anyone!"

"Sure thing boss. You're secret's safe with me!" Tina saluted, joking. "Safe along with all the other ones." She rolled her eyes as Maddie smirked, shrugging her shoulders. "Anyway, so, I'm exhausted….continue."

"Right. Okay, so when Pete asks. Because he's going to ask. There's no if about it." Tina threw her head back and closed her eyes, groaning at the thought of having to talk to Pete about her little outburst. "So, when he asks, just say, 'Sorry Pete. I don't know what got into me. I'm just exhausted. My bad!' Leave it at that. He might doubt you, but if you make sure you're acting like your usual self, then he'll eventually let it go. Trust me."

"But Mads," Tina said, her voice and face appearing incredibly serious. "I don't know if I can act normal with him right now."

"T, you've been in love with him for four years and he hasn't figured it out. You're better at hiding your feelings than you think," Maddie pointed out.

"Yeah, I guess you're right. I never thought about it like that." Tina was quiet for a minute as she thought it all through. She wiped at the last remnants of tears that were no longer falling from her gorgeous green eyes. "I don't know. I just… I need some time to digest this information and then I'll be fine. Then I'll be able to act like my old self. But until I do, I just don't think I can."

"I get that, T. I really do," Maddie said, her voice sad as she thought about her own situation with Steve. "Well, just avoid him for now. I'll help you. After today you don't need to see him much anyway. I think he leaves Saturday and you leave Monday…so, that's really not that much time."

"True. Good point." Tina sighed. And not in a sad way, but in a sort of relieved way. She was definitely feeling better after talking it through with Maddie. "I just can't believe he has someone in his life. I dunno. I'm being so stupid. I don't know why I'm so upset about this. It's not like I really ever thought we'd get together, but it still hurts when the man you love is interested in someone else."

Maddie's eyes welled up with tears with Tina's statements hitting close to home. Especially after Steve had been taking care of her and the way he'd been touching her the last hour. It was like she'd get a taste of how it could be with him, but then she'd remember that he didn't feel the same way. That he thought of her as a sister. "I get it, T. It sucks."

Tina glanced at Maddie. "I'm sorry, Mads." She squeezed her friend and boss' hand.

Maddie shook her head trying to force the tears, that wanted so badly to be released, back inside. She quickly swiped at her right eye before a tear could spill out. "It is what it is, T. Oh well. I can't make him fall in love with me." She shrugged her shoulders. Wanting, and needing, to change the subject, she said, "You never know T. Pete could have feelings for you. He said something to Steve when we came back to the dressing room after he went Navy Seal on George." Maddie rolled her eyes at the memory of Steve scaring the crap out of her tour manager.

"What'd he say?" Tina asked, her interest piqued.

"He told Steve you'd be coming in and he asked if he could please try and convince you to get some sleep." Maddie paused, thinking back. "But the way he said it. I dunno, it wasn't just him being a good friend….Oh and he was in here for a few minutes before you showed up and he was acting really weird. His mind was somewhere else big time. He was probably thinking about you and what you said to him."

"Nah, there's no way. I'm sure he hasn't thought twice about it," Tina replied. "He was probably thinking about the mystery woman." She nibbled on her bottom lip. "I wonder what she looks like? Or what she's like? I wonder when he met her."

Not hearing Maddie say anything she looked up at her friend. Seeing the guilt on her face, Tina asked, "What? What is it? Do you know something?"

"T," Maddie began.

Suddenly Tina understood Maddie's apprehension. "Are you kidding me? You knew there was someone and you didn't give me the heads up?! What the hell Madeline?!" Tina pulled her hand from Maddie's and jumped up. However, she had to stand for a second as she willed the dizzy feeling to go away. She couldn't let Maddie see she'd hurt her head when she fell. Not with a big show that night.

"T, hold up. Give me a second to explain," Maddie said, reaching for her arm, but she shook her off.

Even though the dizzy feeling hadn't passed, she walked to the other room, looking for her purse. She needed to get out for a while, go for a drive. She just needed some space. However, Maddie wasn't going to let her leave without making sure she got to explain herself.

Desperate, Maddie leaned forward and unhooked her knee brace from the ice water tank. Pain immediately shot through her legs from her tailbone. _Leaning forward seems to always do that_, she thought. _Son of a bitch, that hurts._ However, she couldn't focus on it. She needed to catch Tina before she walked out. Using her hands she quickly lowered her elevated leg onto the floor. She hissed at the pain the movement caused in her foot. She squeezed her eyes shut, preparing for the intense pain she knew she'd feel in her right foot and knee. With her hands she pushed against the couch cushion, trying to take as much weight off her right leg as possible. "Oh fuck," Maddie mumbled as she made it to her feet. The pain was worse than she had been expecting, but that wasn't her biggest problem. The problem was that thanks to the two Vicodin Steve had had her take, her head felt fuzzy causing the room to move around slightly. "Woah," Maddie mumbled as she looked around the room.

"What the hell are you doing? Are you crazy?!" Tina asked as she stopped dead in her tracks inside the doorway to the adjoining room, the bedroom as they called it.

"Huh?" Maddie asked as she tried to turn and face her. She nearly fell on the coffee table as she did. "Woah." _Come on Maddie, focus on what's going on. That's Tina. She's upset_, she told herself, trying to talk herself through the fuzz in her head and the moving of the room._ I was feeling it a bit sitting down, but standing…wow it all went to my head now_, she thought. She began walking towards her, something that would have been incredibly difficult if she hadn't been doped up on pain medicine. She couldn't bend her right leg, thanks to the humongous brace on it, and she couldn't really put weight on her right foot thanks to the painful, infected gashes on the bottom of it. She wobbled back and forth as she tried getting to Tina.

"Shit Maddie. Stop walking. Don't move. You're gonna hurt yourself!" Tina exclaimed.

"Wait, T! Listen…let me…explain," Maddie said, ignoring her instructions and taking another couple steps towards her.

Tina began walking past her, crossing the living room area and heading towards the door. She knew she couldn't help Maddie get back to the couch. She needed Steve or Pete or whomever was stationed at the door. And she needed them fast. "Maddie, stay there!" she cried. "I'll let you explain as soon as I get Steve or someone. Don't move!"

"I'm completely fine," Maddie slurred turning around and passing the coffee table, trying to get to Tina. "Oh fuck!" she cursed. She hopped on her left, uninjured foot for a second as she wait for the pain in her right foot to go away. She must have stepped just right, putting too much weight on the biggest laceration on the bottom of her foot. She assumed it was the area Doc had been digging in trying to get the glass out. "Fuckity doodle."

Tina felt bad, but she laughed as she reached out for Maddie and wrapped her arms around her waist. "You can't hop on one foot when you're in a huge knee brace and doped up on meds! You're gonna fall. Lean on me," Tina instructed. She just hoped that if Maddie did fall that she fell on top of her. She didn't want her hurting herself even more. She could break her fall. Maddie was tiny.

Maddie did as she was told and wrapped her arms around Tina. "By the way…what the hell is a fuckity doodle?" Tina asked laughing.

"I have no idea," Maddie answered, giggling as she did so. Feeling like she could put a little weight on her right foot, she pulled away from Tina. "T, I'm sorry. I really didn't think it was anything serious. From…" Maddie paused as her head moved around, the moving room was tripping her out. "what I know, he'd seen her like, two times. I was gonna mention it to you if he saw her again. If I'd known it had gotten to-" Maddie paused, swallowing hard before continuing. "-'miss you' " she said in a girly voice. "and 'miss you too'" she said in a low voice Tina assumed was supposed to be her imitation of Pete. "Then I would have told you right away."

Tina was still laughing at Maddie's imitations of Pete and his mystery woman. "I know, I'm sorry. I'm just upset and not at you. I just took it out on you. Everything's okay." She smiled at her completely loopy friend. Maddie returned it, giving her a big toothy grin.

"I love you Tina." Maddie reached forward and hugged her, unintentionally putting most of her weight on her.

"Love you too Maddie," Tina responded, hugging her back as she tried to keep them both upright. "But, you gotta let go or we're both gonna fall."

Maddie laughed and did as she asked. "Sorry!"

Once she felt Maddie was as steady as she could be, Tina began walking away. "Stay there. Don't move. Let me get someone to help you back to the couch."

Just as Tina was almost to the door, Maddie replied, "It's okay. I don't need help. I'll go back to the couch."

"No! Madeline Lily, don't you dare move!" Tina said, but it was too late. Maddie had begun trying to walk back. The combination of the brace not letting her bend her right leg, not being able to really put any weight on her right foot, and the fact she was completely loopy from the pain medicine, she fell.

"Oof", she mumbled, landing on her left side. She rolled to her back.

"Shit Maddie! You okay?" Tina asked, rushing to kneel beside her.

Maddie's only answer was laughter as she started cracking up.

"I'm gonna take that as a yes. Just stay there," she said, shaking her head as she tried hard to keep from laughing herself. She popped up and hurried to the door, quickly opening it. To her relief, Steve was across the hall leaning against the wall as he spoke to Josh, who was still guarding Maddie's dressing room. The two immediately quieted as they took in her rosy cheeks, the slightly guilty look on her face, and the fact she was a bit out of breath.

Steve pushed off the wall and took a step forward. "Wha-" he stopped mid word, a smirk appearing on his face as he heard Maddie's laughter coming from inside the room. "I take it the pain medication hit her," he said, walking towards the door.

"Yeah, but uh…" Tina wasn't sure what to say, however she didn't need to say a word.

As he walked through the door he looked to the couch expecting to see Maddie where he'd left her. _What the_, he thought, a crease forming in his forehead. Still hearing the laughter, he followed it. He found her to the right of the couch and coffee table area lying on her back on the floor. He walked calmly towards her. He wasn't panicked or worried since she was obviously fine. Well, if her hysterical laughing was anything to go by.

Steve stopped, standing on her right near her lower stomach. He looked down at her laughing, smiling face. As hard as he was trying to appear mad, he just couldn't pull it off. Not when she was laying on the floor, her eyes closed and her leg in a humongous knee brace, laughing so hard tears were rolling down the sides of her face. He hadn't heard her laugh like that in forever. He almost hated interrupting her.

"What is going on?" he heard Danny's voice behind him.

Steve glanced over his shoulder to see Danny and Chin entering the room. _Better get her off the floor_, he thought, trying so hard not to laugh along with her.

"Whatcha doin Mads?" Steve asked.

At the sound of his voice, Maddie opened her eyes. Steve immediately came into view. He was standing next to her, looking down at her, a handsome grin on his face. _He doesn't look mad,_ she thought, surprised. She quickly wiped at the few tears on her face. "Stevie, I've fallen and I can't get up," she answered. The second the sentence was out of her mouth she broke out into hysterics again. Steve couldn't help but chuckle a bit with her.

"What did you do to her Steve?" Danny asked, laughing as he came to stand to the left of his partner.

"I resent that question. I've taken amazing care of her over the last hour," Steve replied, narrowing his eyes slightly at him.

"I can see that, babe," Danny quipped, staring down at Maddie lying on the floor.

"Sorry, I went in the other room for just a second and I came back and she was on her feet," Tina explained, coming to stand on Steve's other side, his right side.

"I didn't want you to go," Maddie said, her laughter disappearing as she looked up at her assistant and longtime friend.

Steve glanced at Tina, studying her quickly. Her eyes were a bit red, obviously from crying and she seemed sad and upset. He immediately knew there was more to what happened than Tina said. As much as he wanted to know what was going on, he reminded himself that it wasn't any of his business and as long as Maddie didn't get hurt, he would let it go.

He squatted down. "You hurt yourself?" he asked her.

Maddie smiled at him, shaking her head.

"Okay," Steve smiled back. "Let's get you back on the couch." He reached for her hands, which she immediately gave him. _No hesitation_, he thought. _Thank God. _He assumed the pain medicine had relaxed her, forcing her to bring down a few of the invisible walls she'd built to keep him out.

He looked up to his left at his partner. "Danno, would you help? I don't want her to do any of the work. It'll aggravate her tailbone injury." Steve had had a minor tailbone injury back when he had first joined the Navy. He hadn't jumped out of a plane before and he and the guys in his unit were learning the proper way to land. They were jumping off a mini tower that was about five to six feet high and as each man jumped they would have to sort of tuck and roll once they landed. Their commanding officer had them practice this over and over wanting to make sure that the landing became automatic without them even thinking about it before they jumped out of a plane for the first time.

The two guys behind him in line started arguing. Eventually it escalated and just as it was Steve's turn to jump the two started fighting. As they did so, they accidentally pushed Steve and he fell off the tower. Because it wasn't by choice he fell slightly on his tailbone. Luckily he didn't fall completely on it, but it was still so painful. He soon realized how much you use the muscles surrounding your tailbone and found that the most mundane tasks were nearly impossible because of the pain. Sitting up and leaning forward was one movement he remembered causing a lot of pain.

"Sure, what do you want me to do?" Danny asked, eager to help in any way he could.

"Get behind her and place your hands under her back. When I pull her hands, you help push her up. I don't want her to do any work."

"Got it," Danny said, squatting by her head.

"Helllllloooo," Maddie said, laughing as she looked up at Danny so close to her head. She would have been loud if she could've, but because she had nearly no voice, it came out as no more than a whisper. A raspy whisper.

"Hey there, Mads," Danny smiled down on her. "Ready?"

"Why yes, I am."

The two partners shared a quick smirk.

Still holding her hands, Steve smiled at her as he said, "Okay Danno. Go." Gently, he tugged on her hands as Danny pushed her back up until she was sitting up.

"Fuckity doodle," she groaned, feeling pain in her tailbone.

"Sorry baby, we did the best we could," Steve apologized, feeling guilty for causing her pain.

Maddie smiled at him. _I shouldn't love when he calls me baby so much_, she thought, hating that it literally made her insides melt every time he used the pet name. Although it also made her heart hurt because hearing him call her 'baby' made her want him more even though it would never happen. "S'okay," she whispered, yawning. She repositioned their hands so their fingers were laced together. It was more intimate and a gesture that gave him some hope.

Seeing her eyes flutter closed after she yawned, Steve said, "I'm gonna pick you up now."

"It's okay, I can walk back to the couch," she mumbled. Now that the adrenaline from her laughing attack had worn off, she was suddenly feeling really sleepy.

Reluctantly letting go of her hands, he disregarded her declaration. He quickly placed his right arm around just below the middle of her back, and his stitched up and bandaged left arm under her knees. Before she even realized what he was doing he was standing and holding her.

As soon as she was in his arms, Maddie laid her head against his right shoulder, her hair tickling his chin and neck. Steve couldn't help himself and dropped a quick kiss to the top of her head as he walked the short distance to the couch. He carefully set her back down in the middle of the couch. "Thanks for the ride Stevie," Maddie mumbled, smirking at him as she realized that it could be taken dirty.

_I know she's loopy from the pain meds, but go with it_, he told himself. "Anytime, Mads. Anytime," he answered, his voice quiet while he gave her a slightly mischievous smirk. She could see he wasn't just talking about carrying her. That he was insinuating more.

"Oh yeah?" she whispered, her eyebrows arched in a questioning, flirty manner. She wasn't completely sure what made her flirt back, but she guessed it was Vicodin that had helped loosen her up.

Steve nodded at her, as they stared into one another's eyes, longing and want in both. Steve could see it in hers, but Maddie couldn't see it in his since she was still convinced he didn't want her. That he thought of her as a joke. However, in that moment, she wasn't thinking any of that. She was too loopy.

Knowing he needed to break their moment or he couldn't be held responsible for what he might do, such as kiss her, he grabbed the small hose that connected the tank to her knee brace. The one she'd unplugged when she'd gotten up. Luckily, the device was made to automatically shut down if the hose ever got detached without the tank getting turned off, that way ice water wouldn't spill out of the hose, making a mess. Resetting it, he turned the device off and then back on, and it immediately started up again.

"No, do I have to?" Maddie asked him, leaning back into the big, comfortable, overstuffed couch as she yawned.

"Yeah, sorry, Mads," he replied, sitting next to her.

As the ice water entered the brace, she shivered. She reached to her right for the blanket and began covering herself with it. Steve grabbed the bottom and pulled it down her legs, helping her.

Now all cozy again, Maddie looked around, spotting Danny and Chin. "Hi guys!" she smiled.

"Hey kiddo," Chin greeted. "Feeling any better?"

"I felt fine before and I feel fine now too," she responded, covering her mouth and coughing.

"Good to hear," Chin smirked, knowing she was lying.

"Take a seat, make yourselves comfy comfy!" She wrinkled her nose giggling.

Now that they weren't alone, Steve made sure to hide the fact that her cute expression got to him. Knowing that everyone would be watching their every move and throwing their two cents in, he decided he'd hold back a bit when it came to touching her or trying to show her he had feelings for her. At least while all their friends and his co-workers were there.

Danny and Chin took a seat. Chin in the armchair to Maddie's right and Danny on the other couch opposite her and Steve.

"Where's Kono?" Maddie asked, realizing she wasn't with them.

"Restroom," Chin responded.

Maddie nodded in understanding.

"Lori with her?" Steve asked.

Maddie tensed a bit at his question. It served as a reminder that he had feelings for another woman. A woman he'd started a relationship with. She might've been loopy and feeling silly from the Vicodin. And it might have made her relax enough to put some of her walls down, but it wasn't enough to keep her from forgetting what was going on. In fact, Steve asking where Lori was caused her to throw the few walls she'd brought down back up.

_Stupid_, Danny thought. _Why'd he just ask about Lori? Of course Maddie is going to read into that even though there was no deeper reason to him asking. _He shot his partner a look.

Maddie scooted a bit to her right, away from Steve and towards Tina, who had taken a seat next to her. _Damn_, Steve thought, noticing the tiny bit of distance she'd just added between them. _Putting your foot in your mouth again_.

"Your foot okay Mads?" Chin suddenly asked.

"Yeah, why?"

"I think it's bleeding?" he stated.

"What?" Steve asked, scooting to the edge of the couch and leaning forward to get a look at the bottom of Maddie's elevated, right foot. "Damn," he muttered, seeing that Chin was right. "You must've aggravated it when you walked on it." He sighed. "Mads, you have to stay off this foot until the show tonight. That means no more walking without crutches."

Maddie didn't say anything to him. In fact, she wasn't really listening. Her thoughts were on Lori instead.

"Did you know there's a little blood on the floor?" Kono asked as she entered the room, plopping down on the couch next to Danny.

"Is that from her foot?" Pete asked, taking a seat in the armchair on Steve's left.

"Yeah, she got up and walked around a few minutes ago. Something she was not supposed to do," Steve replied. He glanced at Maddie out of the corner of his eyes. He was hoping the fact she'd suddenly gone quiet meant that she'd fallen asleep, but instead he saw her deep in thought as she stared off into space.

Lori stopped just beside Pete, looking around for a place to sit. There was really only one choice and that was on the couch with Kono and Danny. Unfortunately, that wasn't anywhere near Steve. _Damn_, she thought. To make matters worse she noticed he was sitting next to Maddie. _Great. _Although unhappy about it, she sat next to Kono, a smile plastered on her face.

"I love your dressing room, Mads," Kono said, hoping to pull her friend from her thoughts. She had a feeling that whatever she was thinking about had something to do with Steve. And, she could tell that it was upsetting her by the way she scooted and leaned away from Steve to her right every minute or so.

Steve leaned back into the couch, trying to hide how much the growing physical distance between he and Maddie was bothering him. Just as she was about to scoot away from him the littlest bit more, he inconspicuously used his fourth and pinky fingers from his right hand and rubbed against her left hand, which was under the blanket so no one noticed.

Maddie's heart ached as his fingers touched hers. Although her head told her to move her hand away from his, her heart wouldn't let her. The gesture had its desired effect and she stopped putting distance between them.

Thankful that she hadn't pulled her hand away from his, he continued the gesture under the blanket as she answered Kono. "Thanks, it works perfect for what we need while rehearsing and touring."

Before the pain medicine had made her feel silly. Now, it was making it incredibly hard to keep her eyes open. They were just so heavy. She'd close them for a minute, unable to keep them open any longer. Not wanting to fall asleep, she'd force them back open before she could. Steve watched her do this out of the corner of his eye and knew it was only a matter of time before she lost the battle.

As he continued to lightly rub his fingers against hers, she unknowingly began leaning back in his direction.

Pete caught his attention as the group chatted back and forth, well everyone except Maddie, who chose to listen instead. He motioned to her with his eyes, silently making sure Steve knew she was almost asleep. He nodded in acknowledgement.

Knowing Maddie was going to pass out at any moment, Steve began to reposition himself. He knew exactly what was going to happen and wanted to be ready for it. He carefully pulled his right hand out from under the blanket and set it behind Maddie, but on top of the couch, so it wasn't touching her. He toed his boots off and set his sock clad feet on the coffee table as he leaned back into the couch, making sure he was as comfortable as possible. Once he was, he glanced out of the corner of his eyes at her. She was still fighting to try and stay awake, but he knew it wasn't a battle she was going to win.

"What'd you guys do?" Steve asked, wanting to keep the conversation going. He knew if there was suddenly a lull and it got quiet, Maddie would notice and worry that no one was having a good time. He knew that she'd then try and stay awake to act as a good host.

"Ryan took us and showed us a couple of the different rooms," Lori answered, wanting to pull some of his attention from Maddie and onto herself. "Their dressing room is awesome."

"He also took us to this cool room where they have games set up. They have Wii, Xbox 360. They have an air hockey table as well as a ping pong table," Danny relayed. "It's pretty sick!"

Suddenly Maddie's body fell against Steve's as she passed out. Relief filled him as he smiled. Wanting to make sure she was as comfortable as possible so she'd sleep longer, he brought his right arm down from the back of the cough and wrapped it around her back, pulling her tight against him. Tina rose slightly, taking the large blanket and covering her best friend better. In fact, now it was also halfway on Steve.

"Thank God," Pete said. It was incredibly obvious he meant every word as his eyes closed and his head dropped forward a bit. After a few seconds, he looked up and met his fellow Navy Seal's eyes. He silently thanked Steve for getting her to get some rest. Steve nodded, understanding how badly she needed the rest.

Maddie wiggled around against him trying to get comfortable. She rubbed her head against his chest until she found the perfect spot. What no one could see because the blanket covered it, was that while her left hand was tucked against the left side of her body, the side that was against Steve, her right hand was placed directly below the middle of his stomach. Finally getting comfortable and finding the perfect spot in her sleep, Maddie sighed contently and made a couple clicking noises in her throat as her right hand unconsciously rubbed his stomach a few times before stopping. He knew right away how his body was going to react to her touch. _Think about anything other than her touching you_, he told himself as he felt his manhood begin to stir. He forced himself to think about what the press was saying about Maddie and that did the trick. Luckily her hand stilled as she fell further into a deep sleep.

He glanced down at her sound asleep on him. _Even though she's so pale, there's just something about her when she's asleep like this, _he thought_. _Although he was doing his best to keep the smile from his face, it peaked through his tough exterior. Something the entire team noticed, including Lori.

While everyone continued talking, Steve turned his head to the right and laid a quick kiss on the top of her head. Then he bent his head even closer to hers and whispered, "Sleep tight, baby." Of course it was so quiet no one heard it. However, even though she was asleep, Maddie must have heard him because she snuggled closer to him, sighing happily. He smiled slightly, unable to keep it from his face as he rubbed her back under the blanket with his right hand.

Lori watched the way he was with her and couldn't help the aching she felt in her heart. She wished he'd be that sweet with her. _Someday soon, Lori_, she told herself. She'd make sure of it.

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><p>Thank you guys so so so much for taking the time to read my fic! I hope you enjoyed this chapter!<p>

Please, PLEASE, **PLEASE**, **PLEASE** leave a **REVIEW**!

xoxo


	36. Chapter 36, Part 1

**DISCLAIMER:** I do not own the TV show "Hawaii Five-0" or any of its characters. I do, however, own Maddie, Pete, Tina, Doc, Ryan, Kendall, Mo, Josh, etc.

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><p><strong><span>AUTHOR'S NOTE:<span>** Okay, so. It took longer than I thought to put it up. It's been an insane few months for me. My cousin got married a couple weekends ago and I was one of the maids of honor. She sort of had two. It's a long story. lol. A month ago I rescued a puppy who had a really hard start to her little life. She wants me to hold her and play with her every moment, so it's been difficult to get a lot done on my story unless she's asleep.

I shot the music video for my next single in Connecticut. It was a really elaborate video and I ended up having to go home to LA and fly back to Connecticut to finish the shoot a week later because they didn't make the green screen set big enough. Plus, during the first trip to Connecticut, it was soooo hot and humid there. We filmed in an old lace factory and the air wasn't really working. It was unbelievably hot! OMG! I was so focused on the video and making sure it came out how I wanted that I wasn't really drinking enough water or eating enough food. Plus, they were 16-18 hour days with an hour long drive to and from the set. By the time I'd get back to where I was staying, get into my pajamas and get in bed, I was only going to get MAYBE 4 hours of sleep. Because of all this, I ended up getting really sick the day after we finished shooting during the first trip. I ended up being taken to the hospital for exhaustion and dehydration. It was awful! I share this story because it's sooo easy to get into a state that Maddie is in in this story. When you're so passionate about something you just lose yourself in it. The life she leads is a very hard and grueling one. She is never in the same place for very long. She is always traveling, which I know you guys would agree can be exhausting in its own. I know when I have a travel day it can wipe me out. Imagine traveling and the second you land you go right to work for 14 hours only to get on another plane at the end of the 14 hours and fly somewhere else to do it all again. Hard life!

ANYWAY, like I mentioned in the update note I posted a couple weeks ago (which I am posting this chapter in its spot), Chapter 36 is LONG! I really really had wanted to post it in just 1 update, but it's just too long to be one post. It's more than 200 pages and not quite done, but almost! So, I am going to post it in numerous parts and label it as "Chapter 36 Part 1", "Chapter 36 Part 2", and so on and so on. A lot happens in Chapter 36! It is what happens up until show time. Also, Maddie's stalker appears a lot in Ch. 36. There are some serious creepy moments! I think you guys will like! Chapter 37 will be the show. Chapter 38 will be when Steve takes Maddie home after the show and what happens when he finds out what's been going on. Once Tina, Ryan, Pete, and the rest of the security team leave Maddie in Hawaii with Steve, time will start to move faster. I won't write what happens every moment of every day. Time will skip forward a bit, which will be good and fitting for what will be happening!

Chapter 36 Part 1, which is this post, is the first 38 pages of Chapter 36. I gave you a couple fun, teasing moments between Steve and Maddie. I know you are all DYING to see them get together and that you're tired of them fighting, but I promise, it will come soon enough. They just need to get through the show. I also know you're all anxious to see the real Maddie, which I promise you will start to see once she is alone with Steve. She starts to let her guard down and feel safe without even realizing it.

Anyway, enough rambling! As always, thoughts are in _italics_.

Also, the next few Parts of Chapter 36 are done and ready to go up. The more reviews I get on this post, the faster I'll put the next Part up. I won't post two in one day, but I'll put it up tomorrow if I get enough reviews. Now that I am home for a while and I no longer have a roommate, I will be able to actually write more often and will be going back to posting frequently. Right now, I am ahead, so that should also help the frequency of posts. You guys have been sooo patient and I really appreciate it! You are all the best! Thank you so much for all the reviews! I hope you enjoy this!

xoxo

Laura

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><p><strong>CHAPTER 36<strong>

"You know, there's a good chance she'll freak when she wakes up like that," Pete told Steve. Although he was trying to keep his anger in check, it slipped a little into his voice.

Steve looked at his fellow Navy Seal, irritation in his eyes, and said nothing. He knew, he didn't need Pete to point it out.

The two stared at one another, both sets of eyes fiery. Pete was mad at Steve for hurting Maddie, which caused her to run herself ragged while rehearsing for the show. And Steve was angry that he hadn't kept him informed. He shouldn't have agreed to not tell him she was sick. Who knows what else happened that he didn't know about? Plus, he was pissed he kept bringing up the fact she was upset with him in front of everyone. It wasn't really anyone's business what was going on between he and Maddie. Hell, he didn't even know what was going on between them!

The rest of the room began growing uncomfortable as the two just continued to stare one another down. They were all thankful a sleeping Maddie was tucked against Steve or else they were sure there would've been a repeat of Saturday's fight at the barbeque.

"How's it bleeding again? What'd you do Mads?" Doc asked as he entered the dressing room. The entire room exhaled a sigh of relief, thankful Tina had texted him once Maddie fell asleep, knowing that her foot should probably be cleaned again after her little walk around the room. The two Navy Seals reluctantly looked away from one another.

Doc smiled, relief appearing on his face as he saw her sound asleep against Steve. "Oh thank God." He met Steve's eyes. "Nice job."

Steve nodded in acknowledgement as he smiled lightly. Seeing Doc reminded him of how high Maddie's fever had been. Curious as to whether it had gone down, he reached his left hand up and gently laid the back of his hand on right side of her forehead, the side that was accessible and wasn't against his chest. _Feels like it's gone down_, he thought. However, wanting to be sure he placed the palm of the same hand against her right cheek. _Definitely has gone down._ He exhaled a sigh of relief. He'd been really worried about how high her fever was. _Thank God for Advil_.

Noticing Steve feeling Maddie for a fever, Doc asks, "Any better?"

"Yeah, it actually is," Steve answered, his eyes still on Maddie's face as well as his palm on her cheek. "Thank God." As he brought his hand off her face, he gently and very lovingly caressed her soft, pale cheek, his fingertips lingering.

Doc fought a smile. _God, he's so in love with her! How does he not realize?! _"How'd you get her to agree to sleep?" he asked, walking around the coffee table to the other side. He slipped by Tina so Steve wouldn't need to put his legs down causing him to unintentionally move Maddie around. He sat on the edge of the coffee table next to Maddie's feet.

"Judging by her behavior before she fell asleep, I'd say Rambo drugged her," Danny quipped, smirking at how gentle his partner was with Maddie. It was a side of him he and the rest of Five-0 had never seen. _She really does bring out a completely different side of him_, he thought happily. It was nice to know Steve was human after all.

"You make it sound devious," Steve said, unconsciously rubbing Maddie's back lightly under the blanket as he glared at Danny across the coffee table. "She was in pain, so I gave her some pain pills."

"Some pain pills? As in plural?" Danny asked. He took Steve's silence as confirmation. "Have you seen her? Look how little she is! You knocked her on her ass!"

Chin laughed from his spot in one of the arm chairs. "She was pretty loopy, brah."

"Hey! I just gave her two! Plus, you're all happy she's asleep, so why should it matter how she got that way?" Steve retorted, annoyed at the insinuation that he would do anything that could possibly hurt or be harmful to Maddie. "Plus, you didn't see her. She was in a lot of pain."

"He was right to give her two," Doc chimed in, sticking up for him. He looked to Steve before picking up her foot. "How long has she been asleep? I don't want to wake her up…"

"About five minutes." Seeing Doc's hesitation, worried that he'd wake her if he started messing with her foot, he added, "She's out. Trust me. She's dead to the world."

"Okay." Doc gently picked up her right foot. He didn't worry or think to question Steve. He knew that if there was the slightest chance his actions would wake Maddie, Steve wouldn't let him proceed. Before he set her foot down, he realized he needed to put something on his lap. He barely had a chance to register this fact when a white towel was being handed to him. He looked up to see Tina waiting for him to take the object. "Thanks, T." She smiled as she leaned back in her spot on the overstuffed couch.

"Yeah, she definitely aggravated it," he mumbled, shaking his head as he inspected her foot. "Damn, it's bleeding again." He sighed as he carefully cleaned it.

While Doc tended to Maddie, Pete kept his eyes on Tina. The second he'd entered the room he'd searched for her. He'd felt a sense of relief seeing her safe. Seeing her waver on her feet, obviously feeling dizzy, had freaked him out far more than he felt it should have. He refused to think about why. Instead, he decided to focus on the moment and figure out what was going on.

With Steve there, Pete didn't feel like he was skirting his duties if he focused on Tina a bit more than usual. Plus, Maddie was fine. She was asleep, completely safe in Steve's arms. Tina, on the other hand, he wasn't so sure. She was acting weird, very unlike herself.

As everyone chatted, making small talk and laughing, Pete continued to eye Tina. He'd been trying to catch her eye since he, Kono, and Lori had walked in, but she either hadn't picked up on it or she was ignoring him, not wanting to acknowledge his presence. He really hoped it wasn't the latter. That the reason she hadn't felt his eyes on her was because she was so tired. _That's probably what it is_, he told himself. _I mean, she looks beat. _

However, that wasn't the reason. Tina had felt his eyes boring into her for the last ten minutes, but she just couldn't bring herself to look at him. She was hurt, even though she knew she had no right to be. They were friends. Nothing more, nothing less. However, she couldn't help the way she felt. She just needed time to digest what she'd learned. And she knew that once she had, she'd be fine. However, him staring at her not stop was not helping. _Why's he being like this?_ she wondered, feeling unnerved by his constant staring.

Tina didn't acknowledge Pete because she was worried he would pick up on the fact that she'd cried a bit. She'd made sure that she didn't look in his general direction so he wouldn't be able to get a good glimpse of her entire face. In all honesty, she'd tried to keep anyone from really noticing her face. She wouldn't look in any of their directions long enough for them to take her in. And it wasn't coming across as odd to anyone, well except Pete, and Steve of course since he'd already noticed she'd been crying before anyone came in the room. No one, again, except Pete and Steve, seemed to even pick up on the fact she wasn't taking part in their conversations because she'd made sure to laugh or not at the appropriate times. For all they knew, she was listening and just didn't have anything to add for the time being. However, she wasn't listening. She just couldn't stop thinking about Pete having a girlfriend. _If she doesn't have that title yet, it's only a matter of time_, Tina thought, recalling Pete's side of his phone conversation. It was as if she had a one-track mind.

Finally, Pete had had enough. He hadn't even been able to get a good look at her face. Wanting, and needing, to engage Tina to see how she'd react, Pete said, "Hey T?"

Hearing him call her name, she froze. _Damn_, she thought. As much as she wished she could pretend she hadn't heard him, she knew she couldn't. Everyone had heard him and they'd know something was wrong if she refused to respond. _Just do what Maddie said. Act normal. It's not like it's just the two of you, so he's not going to bring anything up about what happened earlier. At least not in front of everyone._ She paused, hoping to refocus her mind._ Just breathe…_

Following her own advice, Tina took a deep breath before glancing over to Pete. Reluctantly she met his eyes. Although he was trying to hide it, the Navy Seal in him trained to bury his feelings, she could see the concern peaking through. "Hm?" she asked.

Finally able to get a good look at Tina's face, Pete had to force himself to keep from squinting in disbelief at what he saw. _She __was__ crying_, he realized. _She never cries. Why was she crying? What the hell is going on?_

"Yeah, Pete?" Tina asked when he said nothing.

He was so lost in thought as he tried to think of anything she could be upset about when he heard her say his name. He forced his thoughts and concerns from his head and focused on the moment. "Has anything else been moved around in the schedule today? Soundcheck and the meet and greet are both still at the usual time, right?"

"Yes," Tina nodded before instantly looking away. Although it was quick, she made it sure it appeared natural. No one noticed except Pete and Steve. The two men exchanged a fleeting, knowing look. The first look they'd shared that was anger free on Pete's part. A look that subconsciously reminded both of their long, deep seeded friendship.

_It really seems like whatever she's upset about has to do with me,_ Pete thought. _Did I say something? _He was filled with guilt at the mere idea that he could have upset Tina enough to make her cry. _I gotta figure this out_.

Before Pete could ask her anything more, a noise caused all their heads to whirl in the direction of Steve and Maddie.

"Was that?" Danny asked, laughing.

Steve couldn't keep the large smirk from his face. He nodded, afraid that if he spoke he'd start laughing. An action he knew would jiggle Maddie's head around and possibly disturb her much needed rest.

They all laughed, including Tina. "Is she actually snoring?" Kono asked in between giggles. In fact, they had a difficult time understanding her because she was laughing so hard.

Steve only nodded, still afraid to speak in case he'd crack up. He ignored the fact his shirt was beginning to feel slightly damp. He assumed she was starting to drool and knew if he looked to verify, he'd start laughing.

Tina wanted nothing more than to get up and remove herself from the situation, but she couldn't. Although, with the distraction of Maddie snoring, it would have been a perfect time to excuse herself. However, Doc was still sitting on the coffee table in front of her as he took care of Maddie's foot. She knew she'd feel a bit dizzy when she stood up and she didn't want to risk Doc noticing. There'd be a big to-do if he did and she would be forced to rest. In fact, she'd most likely be sent back to Maddie's house with Kendall to watch her. And there was no way she was going to let that happen. She couldn't. Maddie needed her to help her get through this show. Plus, she refused to be alone with Kendall, let alone allow her "take care" of her.

"All done," Doc stated as he carefully set Maddie's clean foot on the coffee table. "Don't let her stand on this again barefoot. In fact…you know what?" Doc glanced at his watch. "Let it get a little more air and then I'll come back and wrap it up in about an hour or so."

"Okay," Steve said. "Thank you." He glanced out of the corner of his eyes at her as she sniffled and coughed. She was definitely having a difficult time breathing through her nose he noted. He knew it was the reason she was sleeping with her mouth open, something she normally never did. He fought back a smile seeing the small bit where his cornflower blue crew neck t-shirt, the one he was wearing under his pale cornflower blue, long-sleeved button up shirt, was now a midnight blue thanks to Maddie's drool.

"Not a problem." Doc smiled at Maddie sleeping peacefully against Steve. "I'm just so glad you got her to get some sleep." Just then Maddie let out a slightly loud snore, causing everyone to roar with laughter.

Steve couldn't help it. Not after that one. He laughed. Although it was a mild version of his laugh, it must have jiggled her head around enough that she began to stir. He froze, his laughing ceased the second he felt her begin to snuggle and move against him as she tried to get comfortable again. After all, her "pillow" had just unintentionally jerked her around.

"Poor thing can barely breath she's so congested," Doc snickered.

As Maddie shifted against Steve, trying to get comfortable again, her right hand, the one that had been placed on his stomach, moved. In her sleep it slid down. Now, it laid flat against his lower abdomen, an inch away from the top of his khaki cargos. She rubbed her head against his chest once more, coughing a few times as she tucked herself closer against his body, sliding her legs next to his.

Once she seemed to have them in a comfortable spot, Doc took the towel from his lap and placed it on a puffy, full pillow. Carefully he lifted both Maddie's feet with his right hand while his left placed the towel-covered pillow on the coffee table. Satisfied at its placement, he gently lowered her feet onto the puffy object. This elevated her legs, which he hoped would help reduce the swelling in both her right foot and knee, or at least keep it from worsening. Finished, he straightened out the blanket, making sure she was warm enough, but, at the same time, not allowing it to cover her injured foot. He really wanted it to get some air, to let it breath. Especially because she'd be on it for at least three hours during the show, where it'd be confined in shoes, getting hot and sweaty.

Steve nodded and smiled at Doc, silently thanking him. The doctor returned the smile, his eyes and face filled with understanding, before packing up the items he pulled from his bag. As he did so, he glanced at Tina. He wanted to ask her how she was feeling, but he knew that she didn't want it known she'd fallen and hit her head. Unable to get her attention with just a look, he used his foot to gently tap against hers.

Feeling his foot lightly touch hers, Tina glanced over at him, meeting his eyes with a forced smile. She knew what he wanted without even having to look. She could see the question in his eyes, wanting to know how she was feeling. Knowing she couldn't tell the truth, that her headache was getting worse, she nodded subtly as she continued to smile at him.

Just because Tina wasn't looking at him didn't mean Pete wasn't still watching her. He was. And he picked up on the quick, but strange, silent interaction between her and Doc. _What is going on?_ he wondered, for what felt like the hundredth time in the last hour.

Satisfied that Tina was okay, Doc grinned as he stood. "I'll be back in an hour to wrap Maddie's foot up," he announced as he grabbed his bag and headed towards the exit.

"Thanks," Steve said, trying to calm himself. While Doc had packed his bag up, Maddie had begun rubbing his lower abdomen in her sleep. Similar to how she'd rubbed his stomach when she'd first dozed off. However, her hand was now only an inch from the top of his pants, which meant that it wasn't too far from a specific body part that seemed to be reacting over the littlest things Maddie did. And this time was no different.

As soon as she'd begun lightly rubbing his skin through his shirt, Steve had felt his body begin to react. _God! It takes the slightest thing from her,_ he thought, frustrated. This was completely out of character for him. He felt like a damn teenager. He was trying to think of anything he could to divert his attention and hopefully keep his hardening penis from getting harder. Thankfully Doc leaving was just the distraction he needed. He tried to focus on the man and ignore Maddie's hand. He silently sent a prayer up when he felt her delicate hand still and her movements stop. Of course her hand was still in the same place, but he could deal with that. It was the rubbing that was sending him over the edge.

"No problem," Doc replied. "If you need me for anything, just text or call," he added. However, instead of looking at Steve, he was looking at Tina, something Pete found incredibly odd.

_Maybe Tina went and told Doc about feeling dizzy_, he thought. The more he thought about it, the more he was convinced that was exactly what had happened. He suddenly felt as if a weight had been lifted off his shoulders at the idea that she had been checked out by a doctor. He knew that she wouldn't be there with them if Doc hadn't deemed her healthy. Sure, the weight lifted was a small one, but it was better than nothing,

Tina was doing her best to keep it together in front of everyone, especially Pete. She just needed some time alone to digest everything and deal with it. Pete constantly staring at her was only making things a thousand times harder for her. Needing to get away, she racked her brain for a natural way she could excuse herself. A way that wouldn't look weird. Feeling exhausted, more so in the last ten minutes, she yawned. Suddenly a solution to her current predicament popped into her head. One she couldn't believe she hadn't thought of before. She waited another minute before yawning again. As she did so she positioned her elbow on the arm of the couch and leaned her head slightly into her hand. She waited yet another minute before yawning again, being sure to exaggerate so everyone would notice.

Pete watched her. She looked exhausted. Not to mention a bit pale. He wanted more than anything to speak up and suggest she get some rest, but he was unsure if he should. He wasn't sure what was going on with Tina, but as much as he tried to ignore it, his gut was telling him it had to do with him.

Tina glanced over at a passed out Maddie and then at her watch, pretending to check the time. "Since Maddie's asleep, I've got some time. I'm gonna take a quick power nap," she stated as she prepared to stand. _Please don't get dizzy. Please don't get dizzy_, she repeated over and over in her head, hoping it would help as she slowly began to stand. _Damn_, she thought, feeling the strange sensation in her head. _Just ignore it. It's not that far of a walk to the bed. _

She paused a beat, trying to give the sensation a second to dissipate, before turning to her right and walking the six or seven feet to the adjoining room they'd been using as a bedroom. Sure, she was still dizzy, but it was so slight that she knew it wouldn't be a problem. She knew she wasn't going to faint or waver like she had earlier.

Pete tensed as she stood, the memory of her dizzy spell still fresh in his mind. However, he was relieved when she seemed to have no problem this time. _Maybe she was telling the truth. Maybe she did just stand up too fast, _he thought. _Especially since she's really tired. That could definitely do it._ He suddenly felt another weight lifted from his shoulders. She just needed some sleep, simple as that.

Although he now wasn't as concerned about her health, Pete knew she was still upset. Deciding it was as good an opportunity as he was going to get, at least over the next several hours, until Maddie's show was over, he waited a few minutes before standing and following her to the door. "I just need to double check something about the schedule with her," he lied before knocking quietly on the door. Hearing a soft "come in" he turned the knob and entered the room, disappearing behind the closed door.

* * *

><p>As the door closed behind her, Tina's eyes drifted closed, relief washing over her at the fact she was now alone and could take some time to process things. She sighed, her shoulders drooping forward as she began to relax. As she slowly opened her eyes, they were no longer clear, but filled with the tears she'd been holding back for the last hour.<p>

She sighed heavily as she walked the five feet to the bed, a couple tears spilling over and making their way down her slightly tanned face. She rubbed at her aching head as she sat on the edge of the bed and toed off her shoes. She couldn't help it, a couple more tears escaped her green eyes. "Damn it," she whispered to herself. "Why am I getting so upset about this? It's not like there was any hope for us? What is wrong with me?" However, Tina knew the answer. She was exhausted. She didn't feel good. And then learning Pete was dating someone. It was just too much all at once.

Feeling sleepy, Tina laid down on the surprisingly comfortable pull out bed. She sunk into the soft mattress as she flipped over so she was lying on her left side. She closed her eyes as the tears began to fall faster and more freely, only frustrating her further. "Just take a breath and go to sleep, T," she whispered to herself, hoping it would help her calm down. "You just need some sleep. This will all seem like no big deal when you wake up. It'll just be a distant memory." Plus, she hoped if she got some rest it would help her growing headache.

Suddenly her thoughts were interrupted by a knocking on the door. "Come in." Preoccupied, she wasn't thinking about who it could be until it was too late. As the door began to open she inwardly cursed herself. She knew who it was. At least she had an inkling. She quickly, and as subtly as she could, wiped at her tear-streaked face as she silently willed her body not to create or release any more. While she waited for the person to say something, she bent her knees slightly and with her left hand, hugged the pillow her head was laying on tighter.

Her visitor said nothing as they entered. The door shut and she heard them sigh quietly, a very familiar sigh. _Yep, Pete_, she thought as she squeezed her eyes shut. _Too late to pretend you're asleep since you already told him he could come in. Stupid…why didn't you think before answering. Of course it was him! The way he was staring the entire time…Crap._

Pete took her in as he closed the door behind him, giving them privacy. She laid on her left side, but he couldn't see her face because her back was to him. Her shoes were discarded on the floor next to the bed and her cell phone laid on the mattress behind her. "T?" he quietly said, taking a step closer to the bed.

A few more tears escaped her closed eyes at the concern and uncertainty she heard in his deep voice. _Calm down. He absolutely __cannot__ know you're crying_, she thought to herself. "Yeah?" she answered, her voice quiet as she tried to swallow the cry forming her tightened throat.

Although she was doing her best to try and sound like her normal self, she didn't. He squinted at her voice. He could hear the emotion she was trying to suppress. _Is she crying?_ he wondered, praying to God she wasn't. He took a few more steps towards the bed, her back still to him. He watched it closely, hoping her breathing would clue him in as to whether she was crying or not.

"You okay?" Pete asked. He noticed her back move with her irregular breathing as she tried to stifle her tears. He shook his head slightly as he inaudibly sighed, confused.

"Yeah, just tired," Tina managed, but not without sniffling once. _Crap_, she cursed herself.

His eyes fluttered closed as he heard the quiet sniffle escape her. _Damn, she __is__ crying_.

"You can talk to me you know," he said. "I mean, we're friends after all." As he waited for her to respond, he sat at the edge of the bed.

Knowing if she thought about what he'd just said, the reminder that they were friend, just friends, she'd lose it, she forced herself to ignore his comment by distancing her mind and heart from the situation. She wiped her face as she felt herself begin to calm down. "I know, everything's fine. I'm just tired. But thanks."

Pete sighed. He knew she was lying. It was obvious. He debated getting up and walking around to the other side of the bed forcing her to look at him, but he didn't think she'd react well to that. "You feel okay?"

Tina casually wiped the last remnants of tears from her damp face. She knew he wasn't going to leave unless she looked at him. That thought alone helped keep her from crying anymore. "Yeah."

He paused. "What happened earlier, T?"

She swallowed hard as she reminded herself what Maddie had suggested she say. "I told you…"

"There a reason you won't look at me?" he asked, his voice gentle as he interrupted her.

Tina sighed as she made sure her face was dry. _I wasn't crying too long, so hopefully my eyes aren't red and puffy...or my face splotchy,_ she thought. Slowly she turned over so she was now lying on her right side. She was immediately surprised at how close he was. "I just stood up too fast," she answered, refusing to meet his eyes. She ignored his other question.

"You tell Doc about what happened?" Pete asked, the silent interaction between the doctor and her still fresh in his mind. He had hoped she'd gone to him after her little dizzy spell, but he wanted to be sure.

Tina looked at him, meeting his eyes for the first time. Even though he knew she'd been crying, seeing her slightly red eyes made it more real. He became even more concerned. He could count on one hand how many times he'd seen her cry. It was the same with Maddie, well until last week. "I'm fine P. Don't worry. I really just stood up too fast. And, I'm so tired. The two combined apparently don't mix well." She gave him what she hoped was a reassuring smile.

"So, is that a no, you didn't go see Doc?" Pete pushed.

_Of course he didn't let it go_, she thought, irritated. "It's a 'it's none of your business if I went to see Doc or not'," she replied. She tried to keep her voice as light as possible, but it was true. It was none of his business.

He was quiet as he let her words sink in. Ever since he'd run into her in the hall an hour earlier, she seemed to suddenly be pushing him away. She'd never been like this with him before. He didn't understand the sudden change in her. They'd always been close friends. "Is that the same as 'I'm not yours to worry about?'" he asked, repeating her words from earlier with a nod of his head. His eyebrows arched as he waited for a response.

Tina had no idea what to say to him. She didn't want to talk to him about this. However, she knew he'd ask her about it. Maddie had even warned her he would. She stared at him as she wracked her brain for some kind of answer she could give him. One that would end the conversation. Forever.

After a minute of the two staring at one another, Tina couldn't handle anymore and looked away under the guise of trying to get comfortable. She lifted her head and plumped up her pillow before lying back down. She slipped her right hand underneath it while she tucked her left hand in the crook of her neck.

When it became apparent that she wasn't going to respond, Pete briefly looked down at the comforter while he tried to think of another approach he could take with her. One that would hopefully get her to talk to him. "Speaking of which, what was with your little freak out on me in the hall?" Pete asked, his tone calm as he fixed his gaze back to her.

She forced a slight laugh as she met his eyes once again. "I did not freak out on you."

"Uh, yeah. You did," he replied, a slight smile tugging at his lips before quickly disappearing. A more serious look took its place. "What was that about? You upset with me about something?" In the lighting of the room his hazel eyes appeared green. She loved it when they did that. Plus, he had this sweet, hesitant look that reminded her how much she loved him. Thinking about it made her eyes begin to moisten. _Crap! Don't go there T! At least not until he's left_, she told herself.

Pete slightly squinted as he noticed her suddenly shiny eyes. _Well, there's my answer. She __is__ upset with me_, he thought. The problem was he had no idea what he'd done.

"No, not at all." Tina paused. "I don't know what got into me. I'm just exhausted," she lied, saying exactly what Maddie had advised her to. "I'm really sorry, Pete."

Pete paused, knowing she was lying. He wasn't sure what to do. Did he try and push her on the subject or just wait and see what happened after the show? Maybe it would blow over. _Hopefully_, he thought.

After a minute, he decided he should probably just wait and see what happened. "Okay," he replied, not knowing what else to say to her.

"No worries, Pete. We're all good. Sorry I freaked out on you," Tina said.

"It's fine. Just please get some rest okay?" He paused, debating whether or not he should continue. "You scared me earlier." At her furrowed brow he elaborated. "You nearly fainted on me, T. Out of nowhere." Both his face and voice were serious and somber.

Although her heart was aching at his concern for her, making her wonder even more what it would be like to be with him, she forced herself to roll her eyes and smile. "I'm completely fine. I promise. I'm just tired and stood up too quickly." She met his questioning eyes. "I promise, Pete. I'm okay. We're okay… Really" Although she tried to stifle it, she yawned as her blinking slowed down. Suddenly she was finding it incredibly hard to keep her eyes open.

"Get some rest, Tina," Pete said. He wanted to reach out and lightly rub her arm or leg in some way, but he didn't. For some reason he refused let himself go there. Instead, he stood and grabbed the thin, eggplant purple colored micro fleece blanket folded at the bottom of the bed, opened it, and placed it on her.

"Thanks, Pete," Tina mumbled as she yawned again, her eyes closing.

He smiled down at her sadly before heading to the door and opening it. Before leaving he turned around and glanced at her once more, wishing she'd tell him what she was upset about. _Maddie… and now her_, he thought. _Both of them hiding things… Not what I need right now. _He watched her snuggle into the blanket before turning and walking through the door, gently closing it behind him.

With Maddie still sound asleep against him, Steve glanced at his long time friend. "Everything okay?"

Pete pursed his lips as he debated the question. Finally, he sighed. "I have no idea."

"She wouldn't tell you?"

"Nope," he answered.

"Something wrong with Tina?" Kono asked, concern in her voice as her eyes darted between the two Navy Seals.

Pete shook his head, frustrated. He looked at Kono as he walked to the chair he'd been sitting in minutes before. "Don't drink the water here. There must be something in it that's making woman act weird."

Steve, Pete, Chin, and Danny snickered a bit. However, they stopped the second they saw the annoyed looks Kono and Lori shot them.

"Sorry," Pete mumbled, a sheepish look on his face as he sat down.

* * *

><p>Tina had been asleep maybe fifteen to twenty minutes when her phone rang. Without opening her eyes she reached her left hand in front of her and grabbed the ringing object from the bed, groaning in annoyance. "Hello," she mumbled, her voice laced with sleep.<p>

"Tina, where are you?" asked a very annoyed and not to mention loud George.

It took her a second to understand what he was asking as she tried to shake the hazy remnants of sleep from her head. "Huh?" She rubbed at her pounding head. It seemed to have gotten worse in the short time she'd been asleep. Plus, George's loud and abrasive voice wasn't helping matters.

"Where. Are. You?" he questioned, his voice a bit louder as he enunciated each word in a condescending manner.

Tina squinted her eyes at the spike of pain his voice caused in her head. After a second she opened them, although the rest of her face was still scrunched in pain. She shook her head slightly, careful not to cause herself any more discomfort, hoping it would help shake the last bits of sleep that seemed to be lingering. "Uh….I'm…"

"Tina!" George cried, irritated. "It isn't a hard question. Where are you?"

Thankfully, she finally realized what he was asking. "I'm in… Maddie's dressing room. Why?" she answered. Although she was a bit more awake, at least enough to answer his question, her voice was still gruff from sleep.

"I need your help," George stated. Normally he would have gone to the dressing room to get her instead of calling, but he was hesitant to. Steve had made himself very clear. He was to go nowhere near Maddie. Although he was afraid of him, he was furious. The Navy Seal had embarrassed and belittled him in front of his staff and, more importantly, Maddie.

"What for?" Tina asked.

"Does it matter?" George snapped. "If I tell you to jump, your response should be, 'how high?'"

She was too tired to deal with this, not to mention she felt like crap. However, for the time being, she knew it was better to just go along with it. She wanted to try and keep him away from Maddie. If that meant putting up with him, then she would. Her job was to help make Maddie's life easier and currently, this was a way to do that. Plus, after the show she wouldn't be seeing him for a few months. She clenched her jaw before responding. "Okay."

"Meet me in the main room," he ground out. "And hurry!" He didn't give her a chance to respond before he hung up.

"Awesome…" Tina mumbled as she shook her head, placing the phone back on the mattress. Using the fingers from her right hand, she rubbed the back of her head at the spot that had hit the table. "How is it getting worse?" she whispered to herself.

Sighing, she pushed the blanket Pete had so gently placed over her and scooted to the edge of the bed. She slipped her boots on. Before she stood she sat there, her eyes drifting closed. She was even more tired than she had been when she'd laid down. _Maybe a nap was a bad idea_, she thought.

Tina sat there, willing herself to stand, but she was finding it incredibly difficult. She was just so tired. Suddenly her phone dinged, signaling a new text message. She grabbed it off the mattress next to her and quickly glanced at it. **Where are you?**

"Ugh, George…." she groaned, reading his text. She quickly typed back that she was on her way before forcing herself to stand up. "Woah," she whispered, slightly bending and placing a hand on the bed to steady herself. The dizzy feeling she was experiencing was a bit worse than it had been earlier. It still wasn't terrible; it had just taken her by surprise. She took a deep breath, exhaling loudly, as she waited for the feeling to pass, which, thankfully, didn't take long. She was grateful that the dizzy spells she was having seemed to be very short and quite mild, at least in comparison to the ones she'd seen Maddie experience after her head injury.

Tina slid her iPhone into her back pocket and walked to the door and opened it. As she stepped through, closing the door behind her, all faces turned and stared at her, including Pete's. She rubbed her face, hoping to wake up a bit more, as she began walking across the room, ignoring the staring faces. As she did so she bumped into the side of the couch. She did her best to play it off, pretend it hadn't happened as she continued walking.

Pete stared at her, concerned she'd just walked into furniture. "T?" he said, wanting to catch her before she walked out. "Where are you going?"

"Duty calls," she answered back. Just as she finished, her phone dinged again. She stopped, rolled her eyes, and pulled it from her back pocket.

Since she was stopped right behind the couch Kono, Danny, and Lori were sitting on, Pete was able to get a good look at her. She looked even more tired than she had when he'd left her in the other room. And a bit paler too, he noticed. His concern immediately grew.

Tina began cursing and mumbling quietly under her breath as she read the new message from George. "Stupid…son of a…I'm gonna kick his…"

Pete began standing. "T, whatever you have to do, let me take care of it." He held out his hand, his palm facing up. "Give me your phone and go back in the other room."

She looked up from her phone, a confused look on her face as she just stared at him. _Why is he being so weird with me? _she wondered. _Almost overprotective…. Maybe I was right…there is something different in our interactions lately._

The fact that she was just staring at him and not saying a word was worrying him. "T?" he asked. "You okay?"

Realizing she'd gotten caught up in her thoughts and was just staring at him, Tina shook her head slightly as she came back to reality. "I'm fine."

"Here, let me go take care of whatever it is," Pete said again, taking a step towards her, his hand still outstretched for her phone.

She shook her head. "No, I got it. This is my job. I'm back now, you don't need to do it."

Her response confused him. It was so unlike her. But then again, she'd made similar comments to him the last hour. "But you're tired. I don't mind." He paused. "What do you have to do anyway?"

Her phone dinged again. She didn't have to look at it to know it was another message from George wondering where the hell she was. And she was almost a hundred percent sure that his language was a lot more colorful than that. She shook her head at the thought of the weasel of a man. "I gotta go. I'll be back in a bit." With that she turned and rushed to the door. She was so tired she sort of ran into it.

"T! The door!" Pete called.

"Right," Tina forced a laugh, embarrassed she'd walked into it. "I meant to do that." She turned and flashed them a cute smile, her cheeks slightly flushed. She pulled the door open and smiled at Josh standing on the other side. Before she let the door shut behind her she called back over her shoulder. "Let me know when Mads wakes up!" And with that she was gone.

Pete stood near the spot she'd been standing in behind the couch, completely and utterly confused. Not to mention worried. She was acting so weird. It wasn't her strange behavior towards him that had him the most concerned. It was the fact she was exhausted and had just walked into the couch and door. And of course, he hadn't forgotten how wobbly she'd been on her feet earlier.

Shaking his head, he pulled the walkie-talkie from his belt and brought it to his mouth. "Continue to keep an eye on Tina." He waited a beat before he heard his team come back with 'yes sir's'. Satisfied, he returned the device to his belt and sat back down in the big armchair.

Seeing the look on his face, Chin smiled. "Anxious for the day to be over?"

"You have absolutely no idea," Pete mumbled as he closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead with the fingers from his left hand. It had been a long four days.

* * *

><p>Pete and the Five-0 team had been hanging out and talking in Maddie's dressing room. Only a few people had come in to ask Maddie something, but as soon as they saw she was fast asleep on Steve they'd leave, a knowing smile on their faces.<p>

Pete was only contacted a few times since Tina left. His team was doing everything he'd instructed, constantly checking, double-checking, and even triple-checking the premises, especially the stage. He had four security members on the stage alone. He didn't want to risk something being tampered with. Of course everyone rotated around, so there would always be a pair of fresh eyes at each post.

It had been almost a half hour since Tina had left in a sleep-hazed rush when there was a soft knock on the door before it opened.

Pete, Steve, and the rest of the Five-0 team turned to see who was there. Both Josh and Mo smiled as they met all six pairs of eyes.

"We're switching now," Mo said, meeting Pete's eyes.

"Great," Pete nodded. "Thanks for the heads up."

"See you guys later," Josh said, waving to them.

There was a mixture of "bye's" and "later's", before he disappeared down the hall.

When Mo continued to lean against the door, holding it open, Pete glanced at him, a questioning look in his eyes. "What's up?"

"Just wanted to give you a heads up on Tina," Mo responded.

"Okay," Pete said. His attention had definitely been grabbed.

"King George has Tina running around taking care of stuff. She's keeping busy."

Although Pete shook his head angrily at the information, he couldn't help but smirk at Mo's nickname for the awful man. "So that's where she was headed off to in a hurry," he mumbled. He wanted more than anything to ask how she seemed, but again, he refused to let himself go there. "Thanks Mo."

"No problem," he replied before stepping away from the door and disappearing behind it as it closed.

Maddie moved her right hand in her sleep. _Oh crap_, Steve thought as her hand dropped further down his body. _Don't think about it. Don't think about it…. Think about anything else_, he told himself as her hand grabbed the waistband of his cargos. All her fingers, except for her thumb, were now slightly tucked around the top of his pants, making it so her fingertips were in his pants. Barely, but they were. The base of her palm was lower than his waistband. It was sitting towards the bottom of his zipper. In other words, the bottom of her hand was basically on his penis.

No matter how many times he told himself not to think about it, it didn't work. He immediately began to get hard. _Come on_, he inwardly yelled at his body. He was annoyed that Maddie had such an affect on him. He was trained to be able to conquer anything with his mind. Mind over matter. He should have no problem ignoring where her hand was, but for some reason he couldn't. Something very apparent as he felt himself harden even more.

Desperate for something to distract him, he tried focusing on what Pete and Mo had been saying. _George. George. Think about George_, he told himself. "Who is George?" Steve asked, his obvious disdain for the man evident by not only the anger and disgust in his voice, but the look on his face. "I've never met him or heard of him." The distraction was helping a bit, not a lot, but at least it was some. _Beggars can't be choosers_, he thought.

"He is her current tour manager," Pete answered, his dislike for the man obvious.

"What happened to Barry?" Steve asked as he listened to Maddie's quiet little snore, hoping it would be another distraction to where her hand was. Because she was so stuffed up she couldn't breath through her nose causing her to not only snore, but drool on him. Not a ton, just a little bit. Most guys would have found it disgusting, but it didn't bother him. Maybe he was weird, but he found it kind of cute. "And Johnny? Usually Johnny's on tour quite a bit with her."

It wasn't helping. Steve needed to do something; he was beginning to panic. _What if she wakes up and she can feel me hard underneath her hand? _he asked himself. _That won't be weird at all, _he thought sarcastically.

Carefully he moved the littlest bit, leaning to his right. He was hoping her hand would slide off that general area. He was disappointed when it didn't budge. _If she wasn't holding onto my pants it would've worked_, he thought, partly disappointed, but also partly happy. Even though they were awkward circumstances, he loved the feel of her hand grabbing the top of his pants. He couldn't help it, but it made his mind wander. Wander to images of her moving that hand further inside. Of course she was awake in these fantasies. _Oh crap! Stop! _he ordered himself as he felt his "problem" worsen.

What Steve didn't realize was that by moving, his body was now putting pressure on Maddie's filled bladder.

"Yeah, he is," Pete sighed, his face dropping a bit. "But his wife has cancer and it's not looking good, so he wasn't able to be on this tour at all."

Steve's eyes closed as he heard the news. "Damn. That's awful." He unconsciously pulled Maddie closer as he began rubbing her back with his right arm, the one that was behind her back and holding her to him. "How's Mads handling that? Karen's been like a mom to her."

Johnny had become Maddie's manager when she was fifteen, right before she signed her record deal. Since she was emancipated as a young teenager, she actually lived with Johnny and his wife, Karen, for a few years, once she moved to the mainland to record her record and start touring. When she was off the road, that was her home. That is until she bought her first place, the one in Los Angeles. However, she still stayed with them quite often. They were close to parents, though not as much as Steve's mom and dad had been, since she was already basically an adult when she met Johnny and Karen.

"It's been hard," Pete answered honestly. "It's actually been kind of a rollercoaster of a year for her."

This made Steve feel even worse for not reaching out to her until four months before. He'd been so consumed with finding the Hess brothers. _However, she always knew that she could call me, _he thought. Even when he was out on missions, he always kept a special, untraceable phone on him. One that was a secure line. He kept it off and would turn it on whenever he could to check messages or have the time to make a call. She had the number. It was a way she knew she could always get in contact with him no matter where he was. Over the last year and a half he'd checked it like he usually did, but she'd never called, so he figured everything was fine. _Of course she wouldn't call. She doesn't like to worry me…. I should've called her and checked in. _Hearing all this only made him feel guiltier. Like he'd let her down even more.

When Steve said nothing more Pete continued. "Barry had a sudden conflict and wasn't able to do the first leg of the tour. George was a last minute, desperate hire. However, hopefully Barry will be back for the second leg of the tour."

Steve nodded, still digesting all the new information, as he continued to gently rub Maddie's back. However, little did he know she was awake.

Maddie had begun waking a couple minutes before when the pressure against her bladder finally became too much. She wasn't sure how long she'd been asleep, but she knew she could've continued on for hours. She was so tired. Plus, she was so comfortable tucked safely against Steve, a fact that irritated the hell out of her.

Although she was awake, she pretended to still be asleep. She wasn't ready to pull away from him; something she knew she'd have to do the second she woke up. She loved being in his arms and she knew this would be the last time she'd sleep curled into him. Although she loved it, she couldn't let it happen again. It was too painful for her.

So, as she laid there against him, her head on his chest, Maddie tried to memorize everything about him. The way he smelled. A mixture of the fresh Hawaiian air mixed with his soap and his natural manly smell, which, unlike most men, smelled amazing. The way his perfectly sculpted chest felt underneath her head. She would have thought that it would be make for an uncomfortable pillow because he was so "ripped", but it was the complete opposite. It was the most comfortable "pillow" she'd ever used. The way his arm was wrapped protectively around her body, as if protecting her from not only the entire world, but from all her worries and fears. And somehow it felt as if he managed to achieve it. She felt so safe tucked against him. Even with everything going on. She memorized the way his hand felt against her back as he gently rubbed it, something he'd started doing when Pete told him about Karen's cancer. She'd been listening. Well, sort of. In all honesty, she'd been checking in and out of their conversation, as her mind wandered.

As she continued to make mental notes of everything about him, she noticed that her right hand was no longer resting on the middle of his stomach. Even though she'd been asleep before she even fell into him, she knew that that's where she would have rested her hand. Instead, it was much lower. It was gripping the waistband of his cargos. _How the hell did that happen?_ she asked herself, embarrassed she'd grabbed his pants in her sleep. _Great! If I wasn't already a joke to him, I definitely am now. He's probably thinking, "wow, she's so pathetic she's trying to get in my pants while she's asleep"._

As she began to wake up a bit more, she realized something she couldn't believe she hadn't immediately noticed. _Is he…_Maddie wondered, feeling something against the bottom of her hand. _No…he wouldn't be. No way! He made his feelings for me on a romantic level completely clear. She remembered his comment to Carl Sunday morning. _

Just like in her home movie theatre, she couldn't help the curiosity. She wanted, no needed, to figure out if he was turned on even though she knew it was a bad idea. Since he thought she was still asleep she had to be careful. Carefully she moved the bottom of her hand the tiniest bit while supplying the littlest bit of pressure. She froze as she felt him.

_Oh no_, Steve thought, feeling her hand slightly move. The small amount his penis had relaxed during the conversation about Maddie's management staff no longer mattered. He unintentionally held his breath as he waited to see if her hand was going to move again. To his relief, it didn't. _Just take a breath. Calm down. Distract yourself. Think of something else besides her. _

She was shocked that he'd reacted that way to her hand on him. Shocked and confused. As she felt herself feel a trace of not only happiness, but hope, at his reaction, she began to panic. She absolutely count not let herself go there. Happiness was bad enough. But hope? That was incredibly dangerous! Dangerous to her heart. So, refusing to think about why he'd gotten turned on by the placement of her hand, Maddie knew she needed to move it, and fast. The problem was, she wasn't sure how she should go about it. _Just do it. Just move it_, she told herself. Quickly she held her breath and pretended to move in her sleep. Not just her hand, but her entire body. She wiggled her head against his chest getting comfortable as she slid her hand back up to his stomach. Because she was pretending to still be asleep she slid it slowly. Maybe a little too slowly because Steve made a tiny moan like sound as he pulled her closer while rubbing his hand up and down her back. However, it wasn't like before, but with more pressure, almost a need to touch her. The moan was nearly inaudible, but she heard it. In fact, she nearly froze at the noise, but thankfully reminded herself she was supposed to be asleep. She reminded herself that if she were asleep she wouldn't have heard it or reacted to it.

The way her hand had slid up his body had turned him on far more than he thought it could. Plus, it had taken him by surprise. It was that reason that Steve wasn't able to keep from softly moaning. _Thank God she's asleep_, he thought. His eyes flitted between his coworkers and friends as he tried to discern whether they had heard the soft noise she'd unintentionally elicited from him. From the looks of it they hadn't. He exhaled a breath of relief, silently offering a "thanks" up to God.

"You okay, babe?" Danny asked at the strange look Steve had suddenly gotten.

"Mm hmm. Yeah," Steve answered, his voice sounding tight and slightly uncomfortable. Danny eyed him suspiciously. Steve offered his partner a small, quick smile hoping it would ease his suspicious mind and he'd drop the subject.

Knowing it was time to "wake up", Maddie moved her head again. Instead of the side of her head against Steve's chest, her face was. She made sure to make some of her "little noises", as Steve called them, as she hid in his chest. Her actions pulled everyone's attention on her, something Steve was grateful for. His right hand automatically moved up and down her back gently as she moved around, hoping it would soothe her and she'd settle and continue to sleep.

"She waking up?" Lori asked, hoping to God she was. She'd had a very difficult time watching the two friends cuddled together over the last hour. How she managed to act normal, like everything was fine, was beyond her. She'd just discovered a talent she'd never known she had. Acting. _If law enforcement doesn't work out_, she thought sarcastically.

"Yep," Steve mumbled regretfully as he looked down, eyeing his best friend. He didn't want her waking up yet. Not only did he want her to get more than an hour of sleep, because he knew how desperately her body needed it, but he wasn't ready to let her go. He knew when she woke she'd pull away from him and he wasn't sure if she'd ever let him hold her again. The thought of her never being in his arms again, of never getting to hold her, upset him more than he could analyze or think about at the moment. In fact, he didn't want to.

Knowing she had to make it look real, Maddie snuggled even further into Steve. As she did so, he wrapped his arm tighter around her, which only proved to confuse her. _Don't think about it_, she ordered herself. _Don't even go there. It means nothing_. For her own sanity and emotional wellbeing, she knew she had to wake up and fast. She absolutely had to get out of his arms.

Slowly she opened her eyes. As the light hit them she closed them again. Just because she'd been pretending to be asleep for the last five minutes, didn't mean she was completely awake. Plus, she was still exhausted, not to mention still a bit loopy from the pain pills. Her head felt slightly cloudy and slow. If it hadn't been for having to use the restroom she would have continued sleeping. _Probably for the better_, she thought, as she forced her eyes open again.

"Hey Mads," Kono greeted as their eyes met.

Maddie smiled at her before yawning loudly. Sighing she began to sit up, trying to be casual about pulling out of Steve's arms.

_Damn, _he thought as she began to pull away.

"Sleep well?" Danny asked as she leaned back into the couch. She readjusted the blanket that had been over her, and a lot of Steve, pulling it to her shoulders as she cuddled into it.

Maddie shrugged, yawning again. She sighed heavily before asking, "How long was I asleep?"

"About an hour," Steve answered from his spot next to her.

She briefly made eye contact with him, having a difficult time after having her hand nearly in his pants while she was asleep. She couldn't help it, she blushed slightly, embarrassed by what she'd done. That and he'd been turned on. She wished she hadn't ever realized. It only confused her.

Steve eyed her as he took in her flushing cheeks. _Why's she blushing?_ he wondered. _Wait…does she know what happened? _Suddenly he started wondering if maybe she hadn't just woken up. _Well, if that's the case, maybe it's a good sign that she rubbed against me and applied more pressure. Maybe that means I have a chance of fixing this. _Deciding to go with the thought that she'd been awake, his eyes dropped to her mouth as he licked his lips. Bringing his eyes back up to hers, he flashed her a quick, flirty smirk. He was subtle, so no one noticed except Maddie.

_What the hell?_ Maddie wondered. She couldn't help blushing more.

_Look away! Don't get sucked in! _her conscience yelled at her. She coughed as she looked away, bringing her right hand up to cover her mouth. She looked straight ahead as she cleared her throat.

"Uh, Maddie?" Danny said, doing everything he could to keep from hysterically laughing.

Hearing the suppressed laughter in his voice, not to mention a bit of mischief, she hesitantly looked to him, still incredibly sleepy and exhausted. "Yeah?"

"You must've been having some amazing dreams." His lips twitched as he fought to keep from smiling.

She looked at him confused, her brow furrowed.

Knowing what his partner was getting at, Steve licked his bottom lip as a small smile appeared on his handsome, beat-up face.

"Were they some steamy ones about yours truly over there?" Danny asked, the smirk finally breaking through as he pointed to Steve. The laughter that they had all been trying to hold back erupted, making her nervous. She didn't know what was so funny and she hated being the only person who didn't get a joke.

Maddie tensed. As she hesitantly turned to look at the man she loved, a dark spot on his blue t-shirt caught her eyes. As everyone roared with laughter, she nervously squinted trying to figure out what it was. "Oh my God!" she whispered, her cheeks flushing as it suddenly dawned on her. "Oh my God!" she repeated. She placed her left hand over her eyes in embarrassment while everyone continued to laugh hysterically. Well, everyone except Steve. He only smiled sexily at her and chuckled. She peered through the slits between her fingers and nibbled her bottom lip, something Steve found incredibly cute. In fact, he felt the intense urge to pull her to him and kiss her.

She slid her hand to her head and threaded her fingers in her hair. "I am so gross!" Maddie exclaimed, an embarrassed smile on her face as she looked from the drool on his shirt to Steve's eyes and back again. "I'm so sorry Steve!"

"Mads, it's fine!" Steve laughed.

"Oh my God! How gross!" Her hand returned to her eyes, hiding her face. "I am such a spazz!"

Remembering how he didn't say anything when Kendall had called her that earlier, Steve decided to make it up to her. Plus, he didn't like her putting herself down. She'd never been one to do it before. He knew that with him hurting her and whoever was stalking and scaring the crap out of her, she wasn't feeling like her usual confident self. "Hey!" he began as he leaned towards her. He reached his hand out and tugged at the hand she had covering her face. He pulled it down, lacing his fingers with hers. "I don't care about the drool. In fact-" His smile turned flirty as well as the look in his eyes. "I find it pretty cute!"

Shocked, Maddie's face dropped as her eyebrows arched. However, once she had a second to process what he'd said, she gently began to pull her hand from his. "Make fun of me! I actually drooled. I should most definitely be laughed at and made fun of for it. Who drools on someone else while they sleep?! What a spazzy thing to do."

Although the smile was still on his face, his eyes turned serious. "You're not a spazz." Seeing her about to open her mouth to argue, he said, "Don't say it again." His voice was quiet so only Maddie heard. However, it wouldn't have mattered because everyone was cracking jokes and laughing so hard and loud that they couldn't hear them anyway.

Maddie stared at him, eyes wide, surprised by what he said. She wasn't sure what to say to him. He'd never said something like this to her before. _What do you say back to that?_ she wondered, nervous. All she could think of to do was to apologize again. "I'm so sorry, Steve! I really am!" She forced herself to laugh. "How gross!"

"Maddie…it's fine! It's no big deal!" He smiled at her as he watched her cheeks pink even more. "And I do really think it's cute that you drooled all over me," he told her again, giving her that half smile, half smirk he was so good at. The one that caused butterflies to flit around inside her stomach.

She coughed and sniffled, trying to buy herself time to figure out what to say. She was completely out of her element at the moment. Something she partially blamed on Steve, but also on the fact she'd just woken up and was still under the influence of pain medication. However, she lucked out and was saved.

"Hey!" Doc greeted the many people chuckling and joking around. Seeing Maddie was awake, he said, "Hey there, sleepyhead!"

Maddie leaned back into the couch and smiled at him as he walked in, thankful for the save. However, the smile immediately fell from her face as Kendall appeared behind him. _Great. Stupid bitch_, she thought, anger bubbling up inside her as she remembered what she'd done, "anonymously" going to press and shamelessly flirting with Steve knowing how she felt about him. She knew Kendall was just trying to rub her face in it.

Doc took his place on the coffee table in front of Maddie. "Let's wrap this up," he smiled at her as he gently placed the towel-covered pillow, with her legs on top of it, onto his lap. Wanting to give him space to do his job, she placed her uninjured left leg down on the floor.

"How long have you been awake?" Doc asked as he began wrapping her infected foot.

Before Maddie could answer, Steve said, "A few minutes. Maybe five to seven." He wanted to see her reaction. It was his way of checking to see if she'd been pretending to be asleep the last little bit and had not just woken up a minute or two before.

Before she had time to process that he was testing her, Maddie's head jerked to her left and met his eyes. He smirked at her, having his answer. Her face grew beet red as she looked away. She couldn't look at him now that he knew she'd been awake. That she had felt him turned on. That he knew she had tested to be sure he really was. _Great. That's not weird at all_, she thought sarcastically. If she'd taken a second to think before she'd reacted, she would have realized that he was now testing her. If she hadn't reacted, he never would have known she'd been awake. _Stupid Vicodin_, she inwardly cursed, blaming her screw up on the pain medicine that was still in her system, making her feel a bit out of it and fuzzy-minded.

Noticing that Maddie's face was now bright red, Danny glanced at his partner's smirking face. _What am I missing? _he asked himself. _Something definitely happened between them in the last five minutes. Probably why he had gotten that funny look on his face all of a sudden_.

Danny hated not knowing something. He knew it was going to bug him. However, he'd try and get it out of Steve later, once they were alone. HE knew it's be nearly impossible, but he hoped if he badgered and annoyed his partner long enough he might have a chance. If not, he figured he'd try Maddie. He'd already planned on building a strong friendship with her. After all, she was the future wife of his grumpy and insane ninja of a partner and best friend. Danny smiled at the thought of Steve settling down with Maddie. He loved the idea and was anxious for it to happen. He hoped that having a wife, and hopefully children, to go home to would chill Steve out a bit. That he wouldn't take as many crazy chances, which would mean Danny wouldn't get shot at as often. Oh yes, he loved the idea of Steve and Maddie figuring things out and getting together!

"Alright, there you go," Doc said, pulling everyone from their thoughts as he finished wrapping her foot. "Do you want your sock on?"

Maddie nodded. Her foot was freezing; her toes felt like ice. It was so cold that it was making her foot hurt worse. Her feet had always gotten cold easily. Ever since she was a child.

"Okay, don't move. Let me do the work," he instructed. She nodded and he carefully began guiding her sock over the heavily wrapped foot. She thought it was going to be incredibly painful, but to her surprise it wasn't. Something she was beyond thankful for.

Once he was finished he set the pillow, with her foot still on it, back on the coffee table. "I put major antibiotic ointment all over the wounds under the first layer of gauze. Then I put a layer of gauze wrap, followed by two layers of thick bandage wrap. So, it's fairly protected, but if you bump it it's still going to be quite painful. It's at least protected from germs and keeps you from getting it dirty, both of which would cause the infection to worsen. I'll change the wrap before you go on stage tonight," he informed her as he took a seat next to her on the couch. "However, if for some reason you get it wet before then, let me know immediately because I'll need to change it."

"Thanks Doc," Maddie whispered, the state of her voice not any better than it had been before she fell asleep. She let go of the blanket, letting it pool around her waist, and scooted forward. She really had to use the restroom.

"Where you going, Mads?" Steve asked, leaning forward a bit in preparation to help her.

"I need to use-," she answered, scooting forward. However, she was interrupted by Tina bursting through the door, her cell phone against her ear as she spoke to someone. Maddie stopped, immediately picking up on Tina's rush movements.

"Yeah, I'm in her dressing room," Tina said to the person on the phone as she met Maddie's eyes. "Yes, she's up." There was a pause as she listened to whomever she was speaking with. "Okay, what channel? ….Okay. We'll watch it and call you back." With that said, she hung up and slipped her phone into her back pocket. Tina walked to the coffee table, picked up the remote, and turned the TV on.

As her assistant, and best friend, flipped through the stations, Maddie straightened. "What's up?" She had a bad feeling given Tina's tense movements and behavior, not to mention the look she'd had on her face as she met Maddie's eyes during the phone call.

Tina glanced quickly at Maddie, wordlessly telling her by the way the muscles were tight in her face as she clenched her jaw that something had happened. Something bad.

_Great, now what? _she wondered. Part of her wished that it was just Tina and her in the room instead of Pete, Doc, Kendall, Steve, and the rest of the Five-0 team.

"That was Stephenie," Tina began, still searching for the correct station.

"Do I even want to know?" Maddie asked, trying to keep from getting upset. It had already been a bad day in terms of press. What more could possibly go wrong?

"Who's Stephenie?" Lori asked, curious.

"Publicist," Pete answered also taking in Tina's rigid and rushed, bordering on panicked, behavior.

Finally Tina stopped flipping through the stations and settled on one. Not wanting to stand and block anyone's view, she walked around the couch, stopping right behind Maddie. If it was as bad as it sounded from Stephenie's call, she wanted to be able to give her some kind of moral support.

They all quieted as they watched the TV. A Hilton commercial was ending. Suddenly a woman appeared behind a news desk. "Footage of multiple Grammy winner and Queen of Pop Madeline Lily came in to our station just a little while ago. Footage that only adds to the evidence that all is not right in the superstar's world."

Maddie immediately stiffened as the footage came on the screen. _Crap_, she thought. It was of her little adventure to the beach the other morning, when she'd climbed out the bathroom window of her dressing room and slipped through the outer fence. She felt Steve briefly glance at her out of the corner of his eye before returning his attention to the screen. His back straightened as he crossed his arms firmly.

They all watched the TV, the footage showing Maddie limping down to the beach. Once she found a spot, she plopped down and immediately removed her shoes and socks as she basked in the beautiful Hawaiian sunrise before her. Although the screen stayed on Maddie at the beach, the newswoman once again began speaking as the cameraman zoomed in from his hidden location, getting a shot of her face as the tears began streaming down her face. "Although the Hawaii native seemed to be enjoying the beautiful sunrise, being home couldn't keep her spirits up."

Maddie tried her best to keep from acting unfazed and unbothered by the footage, but as she watched herself cry onscreen, she just couldn't watch anymore. She closed her eyes. She'd already lived through the moment once; she didn't need to watch it after the fact. Now not only was the entire world seeing it, but so was Steve. _I can't have a fucking minute to myself_, she thought, trying to keep her anger and irritation from showing. Not to mention her embarrassment. _Not one single moment. _

While he watched tears roll down her face as she sat on the beach, Steve's stomach sunk, the guilt he was feeling suffocating. _Did I do that? _he asked himself, his eyes glued to the screen even though it was painful to watch. _Is she crying because of me? Because of what I said?_

Although all day she'd been trying, and succeeding a lot of the time, to act like her old self, like everything was fine between them, he knew better. She couldn't fool him. He knew her too well. Others? Sure, most were fooled by her façade. But not him.

Knowing what was coming next, Maddie looked down at her lap.

Everyone remained quiet as they watched her head fall against her knees as what started off as simple tears turned into sobs. The sobs wracked her body in the gorgeous early morning light.

Maddie didn't have to look up to know that every so often everyone was glancing in her direction, curious as to her reaction to the footage. To the huge invasion of her privacy.

Steve thought seeing tears rolling down her face upset him. However, when she began sobbing hysterically he found it extremely difficult to continue to keep his mask in place and internalize his emotions. He struggled to keep his emotions from his face. He clenched his jaw tightly hoping it trapped them inside. It wasn't just the fact she'd been so upset that was getting to him. It was that she had been alone. The two combined made his stomach churn. He felt awful. And guilty. _Why do you feel guilty? _he asked himself. _She might not be crying because of you. _Although he tried to tell himself that he wasn't the reason she'd been so upset, deep down he knew he was. Or at least was a big part of it. His eyes shut; watching the footage was just too painful. However, he knew it was now ingrained in his mind. He'd never forget the way her tiny body nearly convulsed as sobs wracked her body. As the sadness she feeling oozed from her body. He'd never forget the image of her alone. Broken and alone, sitting on the beach.

Maddie wished they would cut back to the newswoman and stop showing her falling apart, but it just seemed to go on and on. _Of course, I'm rarely an emotional mess and the one time I am, it gets caught on camera and shown to the entire world_, she thought. However, it wasn't the whole world seeing it that was making her so angry and embarrassed. It was that Steve was seeing it. Feeling insanely uncomfortable, her hands began to fidget underneath the blanket.

Steve needed to do something. He felt awful that not only had he not been there for her, but he also worried he was the reason she'd been crying. He wanted more than anything to pull her against him, kiss her repeatedly, and tell her everything was going to be okay. That he was so sorry and that they'd figure things out between them. That he and his team would find whomever was stalking her. But, they weren't alone, so he didn't do any of that. However, he had to do something. Out of the corner of his eyes, he glanced over at her. Noticing the way the blanket was positioned on her lap, and a bit on his, he decided to take a chance.

Slowly, as not to be obvious about it, Steve slid his right hand under the blanket and over to her left hand. As he took her hand in his, linking his fingers with hers, he felt her tense. He clenched his jaw as he felt a twinge in his chest. He'd really hurt her, and he hated himself for it.

As his fingers intertwined with hers, Maddie couldn't help but tense. It was painful for her. A reminder that he'd broken her heart. That he considered the idea of them together a joke. As much as she wished she wasn't, she'd picked up on the fact that nearly every time he'd touched her since he'd gotten to the arena she'd tensed or stiffened. A few times she'd almost flinched, but luckily she'd caught herself just in time. However, she knew her reactions to his touch were almost imperceptible, so she hoped he hadn't picked up on them. But, if she was being honest with herself, she knew he had. He was Steve. He was a Navy Seal. And, he knew her. Knew her better than anyone.

Steve squeezed her hand, gently rubbing his thumb against her soft skin, as the woman came back on screen, replacing the footage of Maddie sobbing on the beach. "Although Madeline Lily has claimed everything is fine and that she is ending the first leg of her World tour early to take an impromptu break so she can get some rest and get an old knee injury under control, this footage suggests that maybe the recent reports that something is not right are in fact true. To top it off, this morning a source close to the star, wishing to remain anonymous, came forward claiming she is suffering from an untreated eating disorder and that her team is hoping they can get her the help she needs during this time off. Although she has been busy over the last four days rehearsing in Honolulu for the last minute concert tonight, which will air live on HBO, reviews of her last few shows have been dismal. After more than fifteen years of being in the public eye and touring the world, it looks like it's finally getting to her. Our thoughts and prayers are with her during what appears to be a challenging time in her life."

An uncomfortable silence descended over the room as the broadcast ended. No one knew what to say. Some glanced around at each other nervously while others looked at their hands.

Lori was hoping she could use this moment to her advantage, she just wasn't sure how to go about it. As she racked her brain, thinking back to everything she knew about Maddie, it suddenly dawned on her. She forced herself to keep from smiling as she broke the silence, something everyone was grateful for. They just wanted it to be over, they didn't care who said what.

"That was at the beach a couple miles down the road, right?" Lori asked. "I recognized the life guard tower in the distance."

Maddie was doing her best to act unfazed by Lori's question. She knew she was up to no good, she just didn't know exactly what her angle was. "Yeah," she answered, her voice even and light, despite the poor state it was in. How she managed to get it to sound like nothing was wrong, to keep the anger and embarrassment out of it, she had no idea.

"D-." Lori began to say something, but then shook her head. "Nevermind."

Maddie knew she shouldn't say anything, that it was probably a trap, but she just couldn't help herself. "What?"

"No, at first I was going to ask how you walked there with your knee the way it is, but then I realized you didn't walk. Pete drove you," she responded.

Maddie tensed, something Steve felt even in her hand as he continued to hold it under the blanket. Up until that moment she hadn't been exactly sure what Lori was up to, but now she knew. _Crap_, she thought.

Steve's jaw clenched as anger filled him, realization dawning on him. "Maddie…"

"I really need to use the restroom," she said, ignoring Steve's comment as she pulled her hand from his and scooted forward on the couch.

"Freeze," he stated, his voice hard as he tried to control the anger bubbling inside begging for release.

She pushed his buttons on purpose at times, not listening to him and doing things she knew would drive him crazy. However, this was not one of those times. Hearing his tone she did as he wanted.

"Look at me," he ordered, seeing she'd listened.

Maddie's eyes fluttered closed as she tried to prepare herself for what was to come. She opened them and slowly and hesitantly turned her head to the left to look at him. She began biting her bottom lip as she met his angry, fiery stare.

"Where was Pete?" Steve asked, hoping she was going to tell him that he'd been there and that the camera just hadn't gotten him. That his instinct was wrong and she hadn't taken off alone.

She thought about giving him some sort of smartass response, but she knew him well enough to know that it would only make him significantly angrier. And he was already pretty angry. Desperate for some help she glanced over at Pete. However, it was clear by the look on his face that he wasn't going to come to her aid this time. She'd scared the hell out of him that morning. He'd really been worried that she hadn't left voluntarily. Before she'd shown up he'd been preparing himself for Steve's reaction when he called him. His reaction to the fact that he'd let someone get to her. The person he cared about the most in this world. The person he'd trusted him to take care of and keep safe. The love of his life and soul mate, even if he hadn't figured it out yet. He'd been so upset thinking that he'd let him down and failed him. So, no, he wasn't going to help her. She should never have taken off by herself, especially when she knew she had a stalker out there.

"Tell me Pete was with you," Steve said, his voice eerily level given how upset he was.

Maddie said nothing as she glanced down at her hands clasped in her lap. He was mad. Really mad. Even though he wasn't yelling, she knew it. She knew him. The only thing was, she didn't understand why this pissed him off more than when she'd taken off a few hours earlier that morning.

"What were you thinking?" he questioned, his voice slightly raised.

This wasn't fair. Sure, she shouldn't have taken off, but she needed some space. She needed some time to herself. She was never alone and with everything that had been going on and with what he'd said to her, she just had to have some time to herself. Some time to grieve and be upset about what he'd said to her; what he'd led her to believe only to take it back. To grieve for the friendship she knew was gone the second she realized she was in love with him. To grieve for him since she knew as soon as the three weeks were up she'd have to stay away from him to keep him safe. And she needed to do it when people weren't around watching her every move. _However, if I'd just stayed and gotten it out of my system here in the dressing room, then only a few people would have seen it instead of the entire world. And Steve definitely wouldn't have seen or found out about it_, she told herself. She still couldn't believe that she hadn't seen the paparazzi follow her. She was so good at recognizing when she was being followed, no matter how sneaky they were. It was almost as if she had a sixth sense about it. _Probably from having a best friend who was a Navy Seal that also spent time in Naval Intelligence._

The two best friends stared at one another while Steve waited for an answer. Finally she cleared her voice. "I just needed some time to myself."

She looked lost and confused, something he'd never seen before. Although her face didn't show it, her eyes did. The sound of her voice and the look in her eyes broke his heart, effectively calming him down. It wasn't just that he was mad she took off when someone was obviously after her, but that he was most likely the reason she was sobbing on that beach. He was mad at her, but he was madder at himself. She felt alone, like she couldn't go to him and that was what was making him the most upset, making him react the way he was.

From her spot at the kitchen chair she'd pulled up and placed between the armchair Chin was sitting in and the side of the couch Doc was seated at, Kendall smiled. "Of course, she couldn't just leave her shoes on."

_Fucking Kendall_, Maddie cursed. _Just as he was starting to calm down_. As soon as the opportunity presented itself, Maddie was going to kick that southern woman's ass. For so many reasons.

As Steve processed what Doc's nurse had said, Maddie stared at him. He could tell that whatever Kendall was hinting at was something Maddie didn't want to talk about by the way her eyes almost imperceptibly widened, even though she tried to keep from reacting so as not to tip him off. Suddenly it dawned on him as he put the pieces together. _Her infected foot…the glass and debris deep inside_, he thought. "Damn it Madeline!" Steve cursed, shaking his head as he closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead with the fingers from his left hand. "You're going to be the death of me, you know that?" he told her as he continued to shake his head, although his eyes were open again.

It was too late by the time he realized what he'd said. It was already out of his mouth. Maddie's eyes quickly grew wide at his comment. The threats she was receiving against his life and the vivid nightmares she'd been having for months immediately came to mind. She could feel the tears beginning to form, pushing against the backs of her eyes as her heart pounded. However, she refused to cry. She was done crying. Especially in front of him. Or anyone for that matter. Her whole life she had never been a crybaby and she wasn't about to start now (excluding the last week).

Maddie immediately put up the invisible walls she'd built to protect herself and her face went blank. All the emotion and fear Steve had seen there only a second before was now completely gone. _Damn it_, he cursed. He'd put his foot in his mouth yet again when it came to her. _Why does this keep happening to me? It isn't like me. I've never been this way, especially when it comes to her._

Maddie looked down and reached for the plug on her knee brace and quickly detached it from the ice machine. "I need to use the restroom," she said, her voice, though non-existent, had no sadness or anger as she used her hands to push herself up into a standing position. She stood still, not wanting to start walking since she was having a difficult time with her balance. It was hard whenever she first stood without the crutches when wearing a knee brace. Plus, the Vicodin was definitely still in her system making her head feel a bit loopy and fuzzy. She couldn't tell if the slight dizzy sensation she was experiencing was from her concussion and being exhausted or a side effect of the pain medicine. She hoped it was the latter even though her gut told her it was the first.

"Be careful, Mads," Steve said as he quickly stood and reached for her hand to help steady her.

Her instinct was to pull it away from him, but she reminded herself she was supposed to be acting like everything was fine between them, so she accepted his help without any kind of hesitation. "Thanks," she said.

Once Steve helped her get away from the couch Tina handed her her crutches, which she gratefully took. "Thanks T," she mumbled, placing them under her arms and leaning on them.

"You good?" Steve asked, hesitant to let go of her. He wanted to tell her he didn't mean it the way it came out, but they had a large audience. An audience that had kept him from doing and saying so many things to her that would've helped her realize he hadn't meant what he'd said. That he didn't think of her as a pathetic joke.

"Definitely," she smiled at him. Although she did her best to make it look genuine, he could tell it was forced. He could slightly see the fear and pain behind it. The fear and pain she was trying to hide from him, that she was pretending didn't exist.

Steve walked next to Maddie as she began crutching towards the restroom, wanting to be sure she was steady and wasn't going to fall. She hadn't said anything, but given that she'd only slept for an hour, she still had to be feeling some of the effects of the pain medicine. As she was behind the couch with only another twenty feet before the restroom, she paused and turned to her childhood best friend. "I'm good Steve. Thanks!" She smiled at him, but he could still see through it.

"Alright," he responded. However, before he stepped back he leaned forward bringing his face next to hers. She struggled and fought her instinct, which was to lean away, and waited to see what he was going to do. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that. They're just nightmares. That's all. Nothing's going to happen to me, okay?" He took a step back and met her eyes, hoping to see her understanding and forgiveness in them. Unfortunately, he didn't; they hadn't changed.

Maddie said nothing, only smiled before looking straight ahead and crutching the rest of the way to the bathroom.

Since the two were right behind him, Doc overheard Steve. _Nightmares,_ he thought. _So that's why she hasn't been sleeping. I wonder how long that's been going on? If it's the reason she's had difficulty sleeping the last four months or if it's more of a recent development. _Pieces to the puzzle were beginning to fall into place. Before he flew back home to Los Angeles, Doc wanted to grab a drink with Steve and talk. He made a mental note to bring up what he'd just heard, among other things. However, he knew he'd have to be careful, knowing Steve would ask him questions about Maddie's health he wouldn't be able to answer because of doctor-patient confidentiality.

Thinking of that, his mind ventured back to the news report they'd just watched. He hadn't been aware that an anonymous source, supposedly close to Maddie, had come forward claiming she had an eating disorder that she needed to receive treatment for. He was upset about that, not to mention confused. It was true, she'd a problem in the past, but it wasn't a problem now. And it was something he kept a close eye one, especially over the last four months with how unlike herself she'd been acting.

There were only two people that knew about it. Obviously, he was one of them, and Ryan was the other one. Pete and Tina didn't even know. _I know Ryan didn't come forward_, he thought. _He would never do that. And it sure as hell wasn't me. _He was worried that someone might have gotten into her chart. It was the only thing he could think of. However, he kept it safely with him at all times. He wouldn't even let Kendall see it or write in it. It was always him. _I've been meaning to make it a digital file; I think it's time to do that. Less chance of someone getting their hands on it and reading through her private medical history. _

Doc eyed Maddie, wishing they were alone so he could talk to her about how she was handling the incident. She'd always been adamant that Steve never find out about it, so, knowing her, he knew she was worried about it. Before he could think further on the subject, Kono's voice pulled him from his thoughts.

"Nice job boss," Kono said once Maddie disappeared into the restroom, her voice dripping with sarcasm and irritation. She was getting tired of him hurting Maddie. The two women were incredibly close, like sisters, and Kono was overprotective of her, wanting to kick the ass of anyone who hurt her, just as Maddie would get if the roles were reversed.

"Thanks Kono," Steve replied, his tone short and just as sarcastic.

"You must have a big mouth to constantly be fitting your foot in it," Danny quipped, frustrated with his partner's knack for consistently screwing up and hurting Maddie. If Steve continued like this for much longer, Danny knew he could kiss his dream of a chilled out partner goodbye. Maddie was bound to give up on him soon if this continued.

"Ha ha, Danno," Steve responded as he glared at his partner.

"How many times have I told you not to call me that?" Danny snapped.

Doc couldn't help but smirk at the co-workers. "Well, as much as I want to join in and give Steve a hard time, I don't know him well enough. Plus, we gotta head back to our room. Looks like a couple people on the crew might be coming down with what Maddie has. I'll be back in a couple hours to check on her. Let me know if she needs anything before then."

"Thank you, John," Steve said, his tone letting him know he really meant it, as well as his usage of Doc's first name. Steve wanted him to know how serious and heartfelt his gratitude was.

"Any time," the doctor smiled as he and Kendall stood and exited the room.

As Steve walked around the back of the couch to sit, his phone started to ring. Pulling it from his pocket, he glanced at the Caller ID. Seeing it was Joe, he said, "Excuse me, I gotta take this call. I'll be right outside." Everyone nodded as he placed the phone to his ear and walked towards the door. "Hello?" he answered just as he pulled the heavy door open and exited the dressing room.

Chin had noticed Pete had been eyeing Tina since she walked in. _Wonder what's going on there_, he thought. It was obvious that he was concerned about her, so he decided to help him out. "Tina, take a load off," he smiled at her as he pointed to the spot on the couch Doc had just vacated.

She glanced at her watch. She really needed to run out and take care of a few things for Maddie, including Pete's request that she have her cell number changed. However, she was so tired and her headache had gotten even worse while she'd been helping George. _I can sit for a few minutes_, she told herself. _Then I'll run the errands._

Before she sat, Tina returned the chair Kendall had pulled up to the kitchen. _Stupid Kendall_, she thought as she walked back to the couch, plopping down into the overstuffed plush. She leaned her head back against the couch and closed her eyes as she sighed happily, grateful to be off her feet.

"Happy?" Kono asked, smiling at Tina.

"Uh huh," she answered, not moving from her position. "Been a loooooonnngggg four days." She held out the word "long", hoping to get her point across.

"I can't even imagine," Danny answered, his eyebrows raised as he shook his head.

"Going pee with this thing on is not exactly the easiest thing to do. Then throw in the crutches," Maddie announced as she crutched out of the bathroom. "It's a miracle I didn't fall in." She immediately noticed that Steve was gone. She wouldn't admit it, even to herself, but when she walked into a room he was always the first person she looked for.

"I gotta be honest, I do not envy you right now, Mads," Danny told her, flashing her a sympathetic look.

Maddie couldn't help the warm feeling she got hearing him call her by her nickname. She was right; they were going to be fast, and good, friends. "I don't envy myself right now either," she laughed as she made her way back to the couch, casually glancing around for Steve. She'd ask after his whereabouts, but the old, "normal" Maddie wouldn't have done that, she wouldn't have cared, so she kept quiet on the subject.

"I have to say, I'd forgotten how awful and awkward it was to be in that brace," Kono said.

"That is until you saw clumsy 'ole me?" Maddie joked.

"Yes," Kono laughed. "Brings back horrible memories!"

"I gotta tell you guys, this is not a club I wish I was or had been a part of," Lori said to Kono and Maddie, referring to never having been in a knee brace. "Nor do I hope to be a future member!"

"It's a club I wish no one was a member of," Maddie stated.

"Except for maybe Kendall," Ryan said having just walked in and heard their conversation. He plopped down on the sofa next to Maddie, the spot Steve had been in.

"Ryan! That's so mean!" Maddie tried to chastise him, although she wasn't able to pull it off and began laughing. Tina and Ryan joined her, Tina's head still leaned back against the couch, her eyes closed.

"I think we're missing something," Chin stated, meeting Danny's eyes.

"Kendall's a bitch!" Ryan stated matter of factly, causing Maddie and Tina to continue to laugh. In fact, it was too much for Maddie and she began coughing. "Sorry Mads," Ryan said, as he began patting her on the back.

"I have to say, I just barely met her and I am not a fan," Lori said. She was trying to become closer to not only her team, but also Maddie. _Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer_, she thought to herself as she met Maddie's eyes. Plus, she knew making an effort with Maddie would win her points with Steve. It was beneficial to her on so many levels.

_I bet you weren't_, Ryan thought, remembering how Kendall had flirted shamelessly with Steve in front of them all.

"I think we're gonna be great friends," Maddie lied.

"I don't get why you guys dislike her so much," Pete said, finally joining the conversation.

"If you only knew," Ryan mumbled, effectively earning him a quick glare and a sharp elbow in the side from Maddie.

"That's because you're a guy," Tina stated, her tone unintentionally a bit harsh. "Put a hot girl in front of a guy and it doesn't matter whether she's a nice person or not, they're alllllllllll about her." She held the word 'all' in a slightly sing-song manner, emphasizing it. She raised her head from the back of the couch when she felt Maddie inconspicuously nudge her leg. _Crap, _she thought. _There you go letting your emotions get the better of you again._

Trying to cover up her slip, she met Pete's confused look. "I mean, you've seen her with the crew. The way they are with her."

Pete eyed her curiously. Her comment about hot girls and guys seemed a little off.

Knowing she needed to save Tina from digging herself an even bigger hole, she asked, "Did Stephenie want me to call her back or anything?"

Thankful for the change of subject, Tina turned to her friend and boss. "At first, yes. But she changed her mind. She just wanted you to see the broadcast so you know what to expect from the press on the red carpet tonight."

"Okay, thanks, T," Maddie said, giving her a sad smile as she arched her eyebrows. Her hand went to her mouth as she coughed several times, wincing at the pain it caused in her throat and in her sore back and chest muscles. When she was finished, she sniffled roughly, having an incredibly difficult time breathing through her nose.

"Stephenie has Heather and the rest of the PR team working on damage control. Before you do anymore press today, she'll brief you on how they think you should handle the questions."

"Sounds super fun," Maddie joked, sniffling in between sentences. "I can hardly wait."

"Happy to be getting a vacation?" Lori asked.

"That's a tough question," Maddie answered. "Yes and no. I'm excited, but also worried I won't know what to do with my self. I can't tell you the last time I had more than two weeks off."

"Have you ever had more than two weeks off?" Kono questioned.

Maddie thought back over the years. "You know, I don't think I have. Not since I signed my record deal at 16," she chuckled. "Is that sad?"

"Yes, it really is," Danny bluntly stated.

Maddie smiled at him. "You know, I like you. You're a good time." She paused. "And, I bet you drive Steve crazy at times!" She giggled at the thought, easily picturing it.

Chin, Kono, and Lori joined her laughter.

"At times?" Chin asked incredulously. "More like all the time." He rolled his eyes.

"I drive him crazy?" Danny cried. "He drives me crazy! Plus, I'm the one that gets shot at almost daily because of him."

Maddie tried, and succeeded, to pretend that his last statement didn't worry or bother her. _Well, that's not gonna help the nightmares_, she thought sarcastically. "It can be kind of fun to push his buttons and fluster him though, right?"

"I like you more and more, Madeline!" Danny smiled widely. "You and I are going to be great friends!"

"Why thank you, Daniel!" she grinned back.

Danny sighed, glancing at his watch. "Well, I hate to break up our conversation just as I feel we could begin to plot against Super Seal, but I have to get Rachel at the house and take her to her Dr.'s appointment. Then we'll pick Gracie up from school. Our plotting and bonding over driving Steve crazy will just have to wait a until later."

"Okay," Maddie smiled. She really did like Danny. She could tell they'd be great friends.

He stood. "I'll be back later with both. And let me just tell you, they could not be more excited. In fact, I think Rachel is more excited to see your show tonight than she was to marry me," he joked.

"I highly doubt that!" Maddie said. She didn't know what was going on between Danny and his ex-wife or what had happened, but given the brief, strange looks that both Kono and Chin got, she had a feeling there was something she was missing. She'd have to ask Steve about it later.

As Danny walked towards the door, she called out to him, "Please tell them I'm looking forward to seeing them!"

"Will do," he said as he stopped at the exit. "Be sure to keep Rambo on his toes while I'm gone, will ya?"

Maddie giggled, a genuine, gorgeous, dimply smile gracing her pale and tired face. "Now that I can do!"

"Good girl," he responded as he walked out of the dressing room.

"Well, on that note…I need to make a round of the arena, make sure everything's okay. Plus, I gotta make sure everyone's doing their jobs," Pete said, smiling, as he rose. "That no one's crashed out of exhaustion." He looked to Tina. "T, when you leave the arena, take someone from the security team with you."

Tina met his eyes and nodded. _That's weird_, she thought. _He's never insisted I do that before when I'm just running errands. _

"Good," he smiled at her before turning to look at Maddie, a serious expression on his face. "Stay put in this room. No shenanigans." He paused, his eyebrows arched as he continued giving her a stern look. "I mean it."

"Yes daddy," she mocked, a smirk present on her face.

He tried to keep from smiling as he shook his head slightly. "Call me if you need me. Mo's outside and you have three members of Hawaii's elite law enforcement team."

"I know the routine, P," Maddie said, sniffling ass she tried to breath though her congested nose. "Relax, I'll be fine." She chose not to give him too much grief since she knew he was really freaked out and worried her stalker would try something again.

"Okay. I'll be back in a little bit." With that he turned and left the dressing room, leaving behind Ryan, Tina, Chin, Lori, and Kono with Maddie.

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><p>I hope you guys enjoyed the first part of Chapter 36! Please, please, PLEASE don't forget to leave a review! The more I get the sooner I'll post Part 2, which is ready to go! :o)<p>

xoxo


	37. Chapter 36, Part 2

**DISCLAIMER****: **I do not own "Hawaii Five-0" or any of its characters. I do own Maddie, Pete, Tina, Ryan, Henry, Mo, Adam, Doc, etc.

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><p><span><strong>AUTHOR'S NOTE<strong>**: **

- Hi guys! Sorry it took me a week to post this update. I posted the last update, Ch.36 Part 1, while I was home in Northern CA visiting my mom. It was crazy because the next day caught on fire. My mom's house, the house I grew up in, is at the base of . I was really worried we were going to have to evacuate. My dad passed away when I was 15 and we were super close. I was a complete "Daddy's Little Girl". Anyway, all my memories of my dad are in that house along with thousands of pictures, none of which are on any kind of computer or hard drive because none of the pictures were taken on digital cameras. We didn't have them back then. I'm HUGE into pictures. I'm an avid scrapbooker and really big on memories and preserving both the pictures AND the stories. So, I was completely crazy worried that we were going to have to evacuate and I would lose the photos if the fire hit the house. So, I spent my nights packing the photos, as well as other things. Because the firefighters were having such a difficult time containing the fire, a special fire team that's only called in on really bad fires, was sent for. They arrived late the 2nd day of the fire and took command. They called for help throughout California. There were 700 firefighters fighting the fire when the special team got there and they increased it to 1,400 firefighters! Isn't that INSANE! They also increased the amount of helicopters from 4 to 11 and the helicopters that dump the fire retardent from 2 to 4. It was scary because we started to be able to see the flames from our house. Thankfully this team was called in because they were able to box it in and keep it from spreading, so my mom's house is safe! YAY! Anyway, that is why I didn't post this update the following day. I hope you all forgive me!

- I am posting the next 51 pages of Chapter 36. Originally this update was the next 33 pages and I was going to leave you with an awesome cliffhanger! BUT because it took me a little over a week to post Part 2, I added 18 more pages and didn't stop at the cliffhanger. I was going to end it where Steve realizes what Maddie is taking him to do in the main room, but where the reader doesn't realize it yet. However, you'll find out now and won't have to wait until the next update. Sorry, that's confusing, but you'll see what I'm talking about once you read this update.

- Okay, I just wanted to thank all the reviews I got. You guys rock! I don't know how to explain how much the reviews mean to the writers. They pump us up and make us want to do nothing but update. NO JOKE! So, seriously, the more I get, the faster I post. For example, there was a reviewer this time around that was logged in as "Guest", but they left me a review EVERY DAY asking me and begging me for the next part. They are a big reason why I stayed up all night to post this now that I'm back home in LA. Seriously! So THANK THEM!

The more reviews I get, seriously, the faster I'll update.

- Again, I want to make something clear. Yes, this story has 36 chapters so far, but 6 days have gone by! I know it seems like it's been forever that Maddie and Steve haven't been in an awkward place. That Maddie assumes the worst whenever he says or does something because she's so hurt, but it's only been a few days since he said the stupid thing. AND they've only seen one another for A COUPLE HOURS since that time. Please keep that in mind! I'm sorry, but I absolutely HATE when I'm reading a story and I get really into it and Steve meets a woman and the next day they are in love and the week after that they are having a baby. SUPER UNREALISTIC and it takes away the angst the reader feels when reading it. For me, it ruins the fic for me. But that's me. Everyone is different.

I know I go into A LOT of detail and write each chapter practically minute by minute. But that's my style of writing. I am super detail oriented. It's who I am. If you don't like it, don't read it. However, do know that once the show is over and they get back to the house, I will write it with gaps. It won't be so minute to minute. That is A PROMISE! In fact, once it's just Steve with Maddie, there will be times I'll skip ahead days in the fic and even weeks. I'm just building this elaborate back story, because technically, this story will probably be a Mini Series of 3. Anyway, it's not for sure, but it's what I'm thinking right now.

- Well enough chatting on my part...I'll let you get to it. Here are some things to keep in mind!

- Like always, thoughts are in _italics_. And in this update, words replaying in anyone's head are in **bold**.

- A little tidbit to keep in mind. You might already know this, but just in case... A squid is someone who is in the Navy and a Jarhead is someone in the Marines.

- The next Part IS done. HOWEVER, I want to read through it and edit it before I post, so it'll probably be a day or 2 before I post it. But, it is done, just needs to be edited. I'll do it as fast as I can!

- **IMPORTANT:** Okay, in this update, Chapter 36 Part 2, a couple things from past chapters are referenced. Because these chapters were quite a few back, I'm going to tell you which chapter it was in and copy and paste the excerpt from that chapter. However, if you still can't remember after reading it, I would go back to that chapter and refresh your memory.

The first one that gets mentioned is the image that flashed through Steve's mind of holding a pregnant Maddie carrying his child. It happens a few times in the Barbeque chapters and gets mentioned again in this chapter. Because it's from numerous chapters, I am not posting the excerpts. But I'm posting them for the next ones.

The second one that gets mentioned is from Chapter 16 when Maddie is going through her laundry from being on tour for months. Steve goes looking for her and ends up helping her. Joking around, she throws a pile of clothes at him and some stick to him. Here is the excerpt from that part...

... START OF EXCERPT...

Maddie grinned at him, her dimples showing. _Uh, I love those dimples! This is the first time I'm seeing them in 2 years. I didn't realize how much I missed them_, Steve thought as he stared at her still laughing. "Doing laundry silly!" she giggled rolling her eyes at him.

_She's in a cute mood_, he thought. "I gotta tell you Mads, I've never seen laundry done this way."

"That's because you're no fun. You're too serious!" She reached up and took his hand. "Come help!" She pulled him down in the pile, laughing hysterically.

Now closer to her he could see that she still looked tired, but she was having so much fun he didn't have the heart to ruin it and insist she get some rest. "Mads, what are all these clothes from?"

She rolled her eyes. "These are from the last 4 months. Been on tour a while. Technically for 6 months, but I was in Los Angeles and did some laundry then. This doesn't include my stage clothes."

"My God! Do you really need all these? I mean clothing store's don't even have this much!"

"Hey! You're so used to having one small duffel bag and packing light from the Navy that you forget how things really are! Plus, I'm a girl!" Maddie responded throwing some clothes at him.

"I resent that!" Steve laughed as the clothes she threw hit him. Most of the garments fell right off him, but something stuck to his shoulder. Reaching up he grabbed the offending object and held it up. His face immediately turned bright red causing Maddie to laugh hysterically. "Uh….here you go…I think…yeah…" he stumbled as he held the black lacey object out to her. She didn't take it at first because she was enjoying watching him squirm. "Just…here…" Steve shook his hand, the clothing swinging when he did so. Finally Maddie gave him a break and grabbed it.

"Steve…it's just a bra," she smiled at how embarrassed he was. In fact, she actually thought it was pretty cute. She knew he wasn't a prude or anything, but sometimes he did get uncomfortable talking about certain things. Not all the time though. However, this was one of those times. "I imagine…actually I hope, you've seen one before!"

Steve glared at her, shaking his head. "Of course I have…"

His face was still bright red. Maddie was enjoying this too much to let him off the hook quite yet. "In fact, I hope this wasn't your first time holding a bra Steven."

"Maddie…" Steve sighed. It wasn't that he was conservative or anything it was that this was her bra. And for some reason, the second he saw it he pictured it on her. _Thank God I'm sitting in this absurd amount of clothes because she can't see what thinking about her like that just did to me. I feel like a damn teenager going through puberty! I shouldn't get a boner just at the thought of her like that. Not at this age! What the hell is going on?_ he wondered, a bit panicked.

"Steve?...Steve?" Maddie called trying to get his attention. It's like he suddenly checked out completely, something she'd never seen him really do. Wanting to bring him back to earth and tease him some more, she threw the bra at him and yelled, "STEVEN!" Steve came to just as the bra landed on his head. He pretended to be mad, but couldn't hide his smile or the fact that his face became redder, something she didn't think was even possible.

"Maddie, knock it off! Would you stop doing that?" Steve said, throwing the bra back at her as if he was grossed out.

Maddie's chest tightened. _The thought of me like that is that disgusting to him?_ she wondered. Taking the bra and dropping it into the lingerie pile she'd started, she said, "It's just a bra, Steve…"

He could tell something had changed a little bit in her, but he wasn't sure why. He tried to catch her eye, but she refused as she sorted some clothes around her. "Yeah, but it's your bra Maddie."

She felt as if someone had just punched her square in the stomach. _Wow_, she thought. _I knew Pete was wrong…but man was he WRONG! _ _Whatever, it doesn't matter anyway._ Little did Maddie know, Steve didn't mean it the way she took it. "Yes, Steve, well I do have boobs, so, yes…I have bras…..Anyway, I got a lot of laundry to do. I'm sure there's something else you'd rather be doing right now."

...END OF EXCERPT...

* * *

><p><span><strong>IMPORTANT:<strong> The next moment that will be mentioned in this update is from Chapter 31 where Steve tells everyone the tradition his father started with Maddie. The one where he would give her a blue, glittery rose before every show. Here is the excerpt for that part of the chapter.

... START OF EXCERPT...

Chin's face grew serious as he met his boss' eyes. "She was with your mom and dad, Steve."

Steve's stomach sunk. He was silent as his eyes fluttered closed. Once open, he shook his head slightly and licked his bottom lip. "Of course." He paused. "Damn it." He sighed.

"What is it Steve?" Lori asked rubbing his shoulder once again. However this time instead of just letting it happen he subtly moved away from it, a nice way of shaking off. A lump formed in her throat at his behavior.

The team all knew what he was cursing about, well except Lori apparently. They knew he felt even worse for hurting her when she obviously was grieving. He'd been so consumed with worry over her that he hadn't thought about how she'd just found out about his dad, who was like a father to her. He knew she had to be feeling really alone to do what she did. To take off without security to go see his dad when someone was after her. And he knew it was his fault she was feeling so alone. "Damn it," Steve repeated.

"McGarrett," Chin began. "She'll be okay. She's just sad. I mean, you know that whenever she played here in Hawaii, he'd take the day off and spend it with her."

Steve smiled thinking about how close Maddie and his dad had been. "Yeah, and he'd always bring her a blue rose for good luck."

"A blue rose?" Kono asked, confused. "Why blue?"

"It goes back to when we were little." Steve smiled reminiscing. "It was her first little recital since her mom had passed the year before. Her dad was…well… not there." It was obvious that just the mere mention of her father sparked rage in Steve. "Anyway, she was having a hard time. In fact she said she didn't want to perform anymore, but after much convincing my mom finally got her to agree to at least do this last recital. Maddie was really upset right before she went on and I remember my dad kneeling in front of her and giving her a dyed blue rose with sparkles all over it. It seemed to do the trick and he gave her one at every performance he attended since then."

"Why not a red rose?" Kono questioned.

Steve smiled and shrugged. "I don't know, but there's a reason. I asked my dad every time he gave her one and he'd just smile this…" Steve paused, trying to figure out how to describe it. "…this…knowing smile. Like he had a really juicy secret or something. Anyway, he'd say, 'All in good time. You'll find out when it's time."

"You never found out?" Danny asked.

Steve shook his head. "No, never did. She knows though."

"There's no doubt in my mind that you'll get it out of her one day," Kono smiled. "And when you do…I wanna know." Steve laughed at this girly side of his team's rookie. A side they rarely ever saw.

...END OF EXCERPT...

* * *

><p>OKAY, so THERE YOU GO! Those are good refreshers for this next section of Chapter 36.<p>

That's all, so without further ado, here is Chapter 36, Part 2.

I really really hope you enjoy!

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE leave a review or feel free to send me a private message! I will answer!

xo

Laura

* * *

><p><strong><span>CHAPTER 36<span>**

**Part 2**

"So you found nothing?" Steve asked, his voice slightly raised as his mind began running a million miles an hour while he tried to think of another idea.

"Not in the last four months. Just like Pete mentioned Saturday, a lot of the threats were legit and the rest were harmless," Joe told him. He had been dreading giving Steve the bad news: that he hadn't found a lead for him to go on.

Steve sighed audibly. He was getting frustrated, and that was putting it mildly. He and his team continued to hit wall after wall of dead ends in Maddie's case. _Of all the cases_, he thought. _It had to be this one. It had to be Maddie's where we can't find anything to go on_. However, he wasn't going to give up. There was no way.

Desperate for some sort of lead, no matter how small, he said, "Let's go back further. Try the last year. See if there's anyone who repeatedly made threats, even if there was no way they could've gotten to her." He paused, squeezing his eyes shut as his left hand rubbed at his forehead just above his brows. "I need something. I need to find this guy and get him out of her life. And fast."

Joe could hear the frustration in Steve's voice. But that's not what surprised him. It was the desperation he heard that caught him off guard, as it was such a foreign emotion to hear out of him.

"Okay, I'll go back farther," Joe agreed, although he knew the search would turn up nothing but another dead end. Something he was fairly certain Steve knew as well, but he was desperate and grabbing at straws and even if it proved to be a waste of time, Joe would do it. Just like he'd do the next thing Steve asked. He'd keep helping and doing whatever he could until they found the S.O.B. stalking his "niece".

"Thank you." The muscles in Steve's face contracted as he clenched his jaw.

"How's she holding up?" Joe asked, changing the subject slightly.

Steve sighed again, his eyes looked up towards the ceiling as he shook his head. "Not good."

"Yeah?" That was not what Joe was hoping to hear, but at the same time, he couldn't say he was surprised. He had met Steve for lunch the day before (Tuesday) and the second he saw him he knew something had happened. It took Joe using his commanding officer voice, yelling, and finally ordering Steve to tell him what happened for him to fill him in. They'd talked it through, of course that was after he'd gotten upset with him for letting his fear of change take over yet again, and given him advice on how he recommended he should handle it.

He knew Maddie, and after he found out what Steve had said to Carl, he knew she'd throw herself into rehearsing. It was how she was and always had been. When she was upset, she would dive head first into something, utilizing it as a distraction. Of course, he had hoped he'd be wrong in this case.

"Yeah. She's…" Steve took a second. Just thinking about how rundown and sick Maddie was upset him. He took a deep breath trying to assuage his guilt. "Well, for one thing she's exhausted. Pete said she's gotten maybe six hours of sleep since I saw her Sunday. Total! Her knee's definitely worse. The lacerations on the bottom of her foot are incredibly infected." He chuckled, rolling his eyes as he ran his tongue along the edge of his teeth. "Oh, and she's really sick."

"Sick?" Joe asked, concerned. "What do you mean?"

Steve shook his head. He still couldn't believe she'd gotten so sick right before the show. He couldn't believe the bad timing. "Incredibly high fever. I mean, we're talking higher than 104. She's got a terrible sore throat. Can barely swallow spit let alone food." He groaned. "Getting lunch into her was a battle. Even the warm soup was painful for her." He paused, thinking through her symptoms. "And she's got a cough so bad that she needs an inhaler. Oh and the headache. She's still got a bad headache." He sighed. "So, yeah. She's really sick."

"Damn," Joe muttered. This was not good news. No wonder Steve sounded more stressed than the day before. He waited to see if Steve would mention how Maddie was handling things with him. When he didn't, he decided to simply ask. He wasn't a beat around the bush kind of guy. "And how are things between you two?"

Steve sighed loudly, almost as if he was trying to exhale every ounce of frustration, worry, and concern he was experiencing. "Weird. Things are weird."

"How so?" Joe casually asked.

"Well, it looks like she is going to pretend it never happened." He shook his head at the memory of her playing dumb when he'd tried to bring it up. "It came up in a sort of vague way and she told me she had no idea what I was talking about. I didn't push the matter because, like we talked about, it's not something that should happen until after the show. She's too stressed and has too much on her plate. I'm just trying to get her through the rest of the day. Then I'll force the topic."

"It's a good call, son," Joe told him, glad he was following the advice he'd given at lunch. "Besides that, how has she been?"

"She's not only pretending it didn't happen, but she's pretending that everything is fine and normal, but," Steve paused, unconsciously licking his bottom lip as he tried to gather his thoughts. "Let's just say, I can tell it's an act."

"She's in protection mode," Joe stated, more to himself than to Steve.

"Yeah….I just never thought she'd try and protect herself from me," Steve said, his voice eerily quiet. Although he was trying to hide it, Joe could hear the sadness in it.

"You guys will figure it out. I know you will," Joe encouraged. He wasn't just trying to raise Steve's spirits; he truly believed they'd figure it out.

"I hope so." Steve was quiet as he thought about the state of his relationship with Maddie. He wanted to figure things out with her, but did that mean if they did then they'd be together? As in dating? As much as he liked the idea, it also terrified him. A lot. However, he knew he couldn't focus on that fear since that was how he'd ended up in this mess of a situation to begin with. For that reason, he forced himself to abandon what could only be a destructive train of thought.

"Of course-" Steve puffed out a bit of air in a sort of chuckle before continuing. "She took off twice over the last four days. I don't know how she gets away from her security, Joe. There's sixteen of them and they're all either Navy Seals or military." Although he was exasperated and frustrated, he couldn't keep the smirk off his face.

Hearing this caused Joe to laugh out loud. "Does it really surprise you, Steve? I mean, you know her. She's a spitfire! She might not be acting completely like herself right now, but she's still Maddie. The same one you grew up with." The two men laughed.

Steve grinned, thinking about her. "Yeah, I know." He paused, his smile falling from his face. "I just wish she wouldn't pull that stuff right now. Whoever's after her…it's bad, Joe. This guy's good. He's not your normal run-of-the-mill stalker. And to be honest, whatever she knows about it, whatever she won't tell me…I think if I knew I'd discover he's even scarier and more dangerous than we realize. Maybe that's one of the reasons why she won't tell me? I don't know. I do know part of what's going on has something to do with me. That much is clear by her behavior and little things she's said. How much of it? Again, I don't know….I just wish she'd stop pretending like this isn't a big deal. What if she takes off and he gets to her?"

Joe could hear the fear and panic in his voice at the thought of the psycho getting his hands on Maddie. "Well, the items you asked me to have made for her will be done soon. Probably Thursday or Friday…I think you'll feel a little better once you give them to her."

"Yeah…I just hope she actually will keep them on her at all times."

Just then Danny exited the dressing room. He sent Steve a questioning look, wondering whom he was talking to.

"So, just go back further. Maybe we'll get lucky and you'll find something," Steve said, although his voice didn't sound hopeful.

"Sure thing, son," Joe responded. Steve's change of subject told him he was done opening up about Maddie, at least for the time being. "I'll see you in a few hours. Until then I'll start looking into it."

"Thanks, Joe," Steve responded, meeting his partner's eyes.

Danny nodded. Knowing his partner, he probably had Joe looking into something hoping to find a lead on Maddie's stalker.

"Take good care of her," Joe ordered.

Pete walked out of the dressing room and saw the partners about ten feet from the door where Mo was standing guard. Steve was on the phone while Danny was leaning against the wall, eavesdropping. He walked the few feet to them.

"I will," Steve smiled. He liked that Joe cared for her like a daughter or niece. She needed all the "family" she could get since she really didn't have any blood relatives of her own, or at least any that she was close to. Her family had fallen apart once her mother had lost her battle with cancer.

Pete met Danny's eyes, sending him a questioning look as he quickly glanced at Steve and then back.

"Joe," Danny whispered, understanding what he was silently questioning. Maddie's head of security nodded.

"Tell her I'm excited for the show and will see her soon," Joe added.

Steve's smile grew. "I'll definitely tell her. She'll be happy to know you're coming…Thanks Joe. See you later."

"Bye son." With that the two men hung up.

As Steve slid his phone in his pocket, Danny asked, "What was that about? Everything okay?"

"Yeah," Steve nodded, sighing slightly. "I had him looking into some of the threats that had been made against Maddie over the last four months, hoping it would lead to something. That whoever's stalking her also tried to threaten her. I don't know…" He paused, shrugged his shoulders. "At this point, I'm grasping at straws."

"Did he find anything?" Pete asked, trying to squash the feeling of guilt in the pit of his stomach. He hated the fact Maddie had asked him to keep the incidents a secret, especially when Steve could really use the leads. _Just a few more hours_, he reminded himself.

"No. Unfortunately not." Steve shook his head, disappointed. He was at his wits end. Nothing was panning out and he wasn't really sure what he could do without any leads. He felt like he was letting Maddie down. "I told him to go back further. Even if someone repeatedly made threats, whether they really were legit or not, you never know. Maybe it'll help."

"Can't hurt. Especially when we have nothing else to go on," Danny said, throwing a quick glimpse in Pete's direction. However, he knew that wasn't really the truth. There was other evidence that would hopefully lead to her stalker, or at least get them a step closer to finding him. The only problem was, Steve had no idea any evidence existed. Knowing he was going to completely lose it when he found out about the incidents and, to make it worse, that he and Chin knew about them, he hoped the fact that now they'd have more to work with would help soften the blow. _Let's hope_, Danny thought. _Better yet, let's pray._ And Danny was not the praying type. However, he made an exception in this case.

Pete used his training and kept his growing guilt from slipping through his tough façade at Danny's comment. He hated keeping the incidents from Steve, especially because it pertained to Maddie and her safety, but she'd asked him to keep it a secret for the time being. And as upset as he knew Steve was going to get, he understood why she'd decided not to tell him right away. In the end, it was for the better. Because he kept his promise and didn't say anything, Maddie had begun opening up to him about certain things, mainly her emotions. She'd been so withdrawn and secretive with him for the last four months, that he felt this was a step in the right direction. However, it didn't make him feel any less guilty for keeping Steve out of the loop. _I can't wait for this show to be over and get it all out in the open_, he thought.

"So what are you guys doing out here?" Steve asked, changing the subject.

"I gotta go pick up Rachel and take her to a Dr.'s appointment since her car is in the shop. Then we'll get Gracie and head over."

"Where's Step Stan?" Steve asked. He hadn't really spoken to Danny about how he was coping with Rachel and Stan's new baby. The baby he originally thought was his.

"Step Stan," Danny spat, his ex-wife's husband's name tasting bitter in his mouth, like poison. "Is out of town. Big surprise."

"I'm sorry Danny." Steve shook his head, shrugging his shoulders. "I don't know how you can do what you're doing. I wouldn't be able to if I was in your shoes. You're a bigger man than me, Daniel."

"You mean if Maddie, the love of your life, got pregnant by another man, you wouldn't be there for her?"

"Danno," Steve warned. He didn't want to go there. Not just her being pregnant by someone else, which caused an insane amount of anger and jealousy to surge at the mere thought, but also his partner's comment about her being the love of his life. He didn't want to think about it. Any of it.

"You gonna tell us you're just friends?" Danny asked, a smirk present on his face. _Maddie's right. It can be a lot of fun messing with Steve and flustering him_, Danny thought as he watched his partner fight to keep his emotions and feelings in check and appear unfazed.

At Steve's silence, although he was glaring, Pete added, a grin on his face. "Finally he's wised up!"

"It's a miracle!" Danny shouted exaggeratedly. "What did it take? Possibly losing her for good?"

Danny and Pete started chuckling.

"No, but really. Maddie is not going to get pregnant from another man because you're going to stop being an idiot and stop hurting that awesome woman in there," Danny said, pointing to the dressing room door. "You're going to beg and plead and be-" He paused, trying to find the right words as his hands circled the air in front of him. "Well, not your usual self, and get her to realize you didn't mean what you said. That in fact you think the complete opposite. Then you're going to marry her and do everything in your power to make her happy because she is your soul mate Steven. When she's around you're actually a human being, something I never thought was possible." He paused again, a smirk slowly growing on his face. "And don't worry, if you do all this, you'll be the one that gets her pregnant."

At the mention of Maddie pregnant, the image of him holding Maddie while carrying his child, his hand on her rounding belly, popped into Steve's head. The same image he'd seen several times the day of the barbeque. The image caused a warm feeling in his belly, but also scared the crap out of him.

Steve stared at his partner and best friend with arched eyebrows and slightly wide eyes. He really didn't know what to say.

"I know…'Shut up, Danno'," Danny said, beating Steve to the punch and impersonating him.

Ignoring him, although he couldn't keep the small smirk completely from his face, Steve turned to Pete. Before he could ask him what he was up to, Pete said, "I'm gonna make a round, make sure everything's alright. Can't be too careful right now."

"That's for sure," Steve mumbled, more to himself than Pete.

His comment caused Pete more guilt because he didn't know how the stalker had already gotten through security numerous times. Danny too felt awful, knowing that Steve should be made aware of what had been going on.

"Well, I'm gonna head back in there," Steve said, taking a few steps towards the door. "I'm hoping I can convince her to get some more sleep before it starts getting crazy and hectic."

"Yeah, that's a good call," Pete agreed. "I'll be back in a little bit."

"Yeah, me too," Danny added.

"Sounds good!"

With that, the three men went off in different directions. Pete walked down the hall toward the stage, Danny headed in the opposite direction to his car parked outside the outer door of the main room, while Steve passed Mo standing guard at the door and returned to Maddie's dressing room.

* * *

><p>As Steve walked in to her dressing room his eyes immediately went to Maddie. Without realizing he was even doing it, he looked her over from head to toe making sure she was okay. Once he was satisfied that she was no worse for wear than she'd been when he'd left the room, his eyes drifted to Ryan sitting to her left. Ryan was in his seat. Steve's eyes flitted to Maddie's other side, only to see Tina, who appeared to be asleep, her head thrown back against the couch.<p>

Steve looked to the chair Pete had been sitting in only to find Kono had moved to it and was now talking animatedly with Ryan. The two laughed at whatever she was saying. Chin was exactly where he'd been, in the other large armchair. His only option was to sit next to Lori on the other couch. He glanced again at Ryan and seriously debated asking him to move, but knew it wouldn't go over well. Not that Ryan would care, but Maddie would. She'd tell him he was being ridiculous and he could stare at her and worry just the same sitting on the other couch than if he was next to her. Reluctantly, although he didn't let it show, he took a seat on the couch next to Lori, consciously leaving a great deal of space between them, something Lori was not happy about.

As soon as Steve walked through the door, Maddie watched him out of the corner of her eye. She had thought that he might not like that Ryan was sitting in his spot, but it didn't look like he cared. _He probably wants to sit with Lori anyway_, she thought, trying to keep from looking disappointed or upset when he sat down on the other couch next to his female co-worker, the woman he was seeing. _It's better this way anyway_, she told herself. It just hurt too much to have him so close to her. When he touched her, even when his leg simply brushed up against hers, it was painful. Each touch, each worried look broke her heart a little more.

Maddie continued to watch Steve, noticing how much more tense and rigid he seemed since returning to the room. Even the muscles in his face were more defined thanks to the way he was clenching his jaw. _I wonder where he went_, she mused, assuming his uptight demeanor was related to his brief absence.

Once Steve sat down he looked across the coffee table to see Maddie staring at him. He immediately noticed the sadness in her eyes, however the second she realized he was staring back, the emotion was gone, replaced by nothing. He swallowed hard, trying to swallow the guilt that had crept up knowing he was to blame. _I'm such an ass_, he thought, hating how much he'd hurt his best friend.

As their eyes met, Steve flashed her a small sweet, but also sexy smile. One that caused a light blush to creep up her pale face. His smile grew in return.

Still convinced he thought her feelings for him were a laughing matter, she assumed he found it funny and pathetic that a mere smile from him would cause her to blush. She immediately grew uncomfortable, pulling the blanket on her lap higher to cover her upper body as she averted her eyes. She cleared her throat, almost as if trying to clear the incredible self-consciousness she was feeling.

Steve was confused. _What just happened? _he wondered, analyzing her weird behavior. There were so many times lately, this being one of them, that he wished he could be inside her head. Know what she was thinking. _If only I knew what goes on in her head when she withdraws and pulls away like that, then I could make sure whatever causes it doesn't happen. I could fix it._ Wanting to get her to look at him again he said, "Hey Mads?"

Although she didn't want to, she glanced up, meeting his eyes. However, she reminded herself she wanted him believing everything was fine, with them and in general, so she did her best to hide her real emotions.

"How ya feelin'? Any better?" he asked, his eyes showing her a teeny fraction of the concern he was feeling.

"Yeah, I'm good," she replied, giving him a smile. However, he could tell it was forced.

"I'm glad," Steve said, grinning at her.

Now that Steve was sitting next to her, Lori felt it was a great opportunity to pull his focus from Maddie. She had also noticed the change in his demeanor and decided to use that as her opening. She scooted towards him, placing her right hand on his upper back. "Everything okay? You seem really tense," she asked, pressing her fingers in a light squeezing manner against the tight muscles in his upper back.

Steve tensed more at her movements. "Yeah." He straightened and moved his back slightly away from her, hoping she'd get the message that he didn't want to be touched. His eyes quickly flew to Maddie, but thankfully she wasn't looking at him. She was listening to something Chin was quietly exhaled a sigh of relief, grateful she hadn't witnessed Lori's flirting. However, little did he know the second she saw Lori make contact with him she looked away, unable to watch. Although her heart was aching, she put on a believable and unfazed front, keeping her emotions hidden.

"Are you sure?" Lori asked, not letting the subject go. "The call you took, was it bad news?" Although she had a motive, to gain Steve's attention, she was genuinely interested and concerned. She knew he was stressed and frustrated with the lack of progress on Maddie's case and wanted to help how she could.

Although chatting with Chin, Maddie was also eavesdropping on Steve and Lori's conversation. She just couldn't help herself. Hearing what Lori had just said, Maddie immediately glanced to Steve, her brow furrowed in concern, something he noticed. Worried, she nibbled the inside of her bottom lip, hoping he'd answer Lori's question so she would know what was going on.

Steve met Maddie's concerned crystal blue eyes. He smiled at her, hoping to reassure her that everything was okay. "It was just Joe," he answered Lori. However, it was obvious he was really talking to Maddie by the way he was looking directly at her as he spoke. "He wanted me to tell you that he's excited to see the show tonight."

A huge dimply smile broke out on Maddie's face. "He's coming?" He could hear the genuine excitement and happiness in her voice reminding him of how she used to be. How she really was. If he was being honest with himself, he had taken it for granted, never even really noticing it. But now that it was such a rare sound, he reveled in it.

"Oh yeah," Steve replied, unable to keep the large grin from his face as he stared at her cute dimples. _God I want to kiss her_, he thought as he fought the urge to stand, walk towards her, and meld their mouths together. An urge so strong that he knew if they were alone, he'd be acting on it. "He'll be here a little later."

She nodded. He noticed there was no trace of the concern and worry that had been in her eyes or on her face a minute before. _Well, at least I was able to do something right_, he thought, happy that he'd been able to reassure her.

While the two friends smiled and stared at one another, unable to look away, Ryan's phone beeped, signaling he'd received a new text message. Although Ryan was pretty sure he knew who it was, he glanced at his phone anyway. Seeing that it was indeed the text he'd been expecting, he gently touched Maddie's left arm to get her attention before he leaned in and began whispering to her.

As she listened to Ryan, her eyes dropped from Steve's to the coffee table in front of her. Steve watched as the gorgeous, dimpled smile slowly slipped from her face and he immediately found he missed it. However, he noted she didn't appear sad or upset, she just wasn't smiling.

He watched closely as Ryan pulled his head away from Maddie. She looked at him, meeting his eyes. She nodded quickly before glancing around the room. It appeared she was looking for something. Not seeing the item in front of her, she began to twist around to look behind her, however the movement caused a sudden sharp pain to shoot from her injured tailbone down into her legs. Not expecting it, she cried out.

Steve was standing faster than he thought possible the second the sound was out of her mouth. "What's wrong?" he asked, fighting to keep the worry from his voice.

She turned back and faced him, her eyes wide with surprise. She wasn't expecting to see him standing. Although he was trying to keep his feelings from showing, she could see the concern slightly peaking through in his eyes. "I'm okay," she whispered, slightly wincing as she rubbed her lower back, the area she'd felt the sudden pain while Ryan rubbed her upper back comfortingly.

Steve continued to look at her. It was obvious he didn't believe her. He lightly licked his bottom lip as he watched her closely, waiting for her to say something. When she didn't, he asked, "What happened?"

Maddie pulled her hand away and placed it in her lap. "I must've twisted just right…and…" She paused as she made a face, obviously still feeling pain.

"And what, Mads?" Steve asked, worried about her.

"Just my tailbone. A pain shot through it." As she met his eyes again she could clearly see the significant amount of concern in them. Not wanting him to worry about her, she smiled at him. "I'm okay Stevie," purposely using the nickname she'd often called him since they were four. "It surprised me more than anything. Really, I'm alright."

He studied her, wanting to be sure she was telling the truth. Satisfied that she was indeed okay, he slowly sat back down. However, he never once took his eyes off her.

"Maddie," Ryan quietly said, reminding her of the conversation they'd had before the distraction.

Maddie looked at him and suddenly remembered what she'd been looking for. She slowly slid forward, preparing to stand.

"What do you need Mads?" Kono asked, realizing that there must be something she wanted. She'd obviously been searching the room for something when she'd aggravated the injury to her tailbone.

"My purse," she whispered, a sheepish look on her face as she slightly sucked her bottom lip into her mouth, biting it.

From his spot across the coffee table from her, Steve couldn't help but focus on her mouth. The way she was nibbling her lip was turning him on, making him wish he was the one sucking on it. _Get yourself together_, he told himself. He couldn't believe his hormones lately. It was as if he was going through puberty all over again. It was really starting to piss him off.

"It's in the other room. Next to your overnight bag," Tina suddenly spoke up, surprising everyone. They'd all assumed she was asleep by the way her head was leaned back and her eyes were closed. That and the fact she had said nothing since first sitting down. She lifted her head as she prepared to stand and get her friend and boss' purse.

"It's cool, I got it," Chin declared, standing.

"You sure?" Tina asked, squinting her eyes at him. For some reason the room suddenly seemed much brighter than it had. It was hurting her eyes a bit.

"Yeah," he replied. "I'm already up and I'm closer." He opened the door and walked into the adjoining room. He was only out of sight five seconds before reappearing with Maddie's black Balenciaga bag. He closed the door behind him and walked back to his chair. Before sitting down he leaned over and handed her her purse.

"Thank you so much, Chin!" Maddie exclaimed, flashing her pearly whites.

"No problem," Chin replied, as he sank back down in the armchair.

Steve watched as Maddie immediately began digging around in her purse. Finally her movements stopped and she pulled out what appeared to be a set of car keys and handed them to Ryan. With the keys in hand, he stood. "Thanks for doing this Ry," she told him.

Suddenly Steve noticed they were both trying to keep from smiling. He wouldn't have thought much of it if they had just smiled, but he thought it was odd they were trying to hold them back. He could see the muscles around their mouths twitching as they fought to keep from grinning at one another. _God, I hope they aren't up to no good. That she doesn't have something planned for tonight_, he prayed, remembering Ryan and her band hassling her at the barbeque about pulling pranks during the show, claiming it was tradition.

"Of course," Ryan replied. He desperately needed to look away. They'd been able to keep their plans hush-hush over the last few days and he didn't want to blow it now. He knew he had to be careful, well they both did, now that Steve was there watching every move Maddie made. He headed to the door, but before exiting stopped and turned back to Maddie. "I have my phone. I'll be back in a little bit." As he turned around to leave, he came face to face with Pete, who was eyeing him suspiciously. "Pete," Ryan greeted, doing his best to appear innocent and guilt-free as he walked around him and headed down the hall towards the main room.

Pete walked in, the door shutting behind him. "Where's Ryan going?"

"I need something from the store," Maddie answered, leaning forward slowly and carefully, as not to aggravate her tailbone, so she could set her purse on the coffee table. Before she got all the way forward, Kono reached out and grabbed the object, placing it on the table for her. "Thanks Kono."

Kono nodded, smiling at her friend.

"I would've gone for you," Pete assured.

Usually that was Tina's job, but Pete assumed she was asleep by the way her head was leaned against the back of the couch, her eyes closed. However, she wasn't. The only reason she didn't speak up and say anything was because she knew where Ryan was really going, and it wasn't to the store. She kept her eyes closed, knowing if Pete knew she was awake he would start to put the pieces together.

"Nah. It's okay, Ryan's got it covered," Maddie replied, leaning back against the couch. She was tired. Plus, she still felt awful. She definitely felt a lot better once the Advil and Vicodin had kicked in, but she still didn't feel great.

After all the whispering he'd witnessed between Maddie and Ryan over the last several days, Pete had to be sure they weren't up to something, so he continued his questioning. "Well, what do you need? Maybe they have it here at the arena. I could go ask someone. One of the arena/artist liasons."

"I doubt it," she answered, bringing the blanket up to her neck so she could snuggle into the soft material. She knew Pete was just suspicious and that was the reason for all the questions. However, she'd been prepared for them, so she was able to act as if nothing was out of the ordinary. As if she hadn't been plotting with Ryan for days.

"What do you need?" Pete asked again.

Luckily, Maddie was quick when it came to coming up with a lie. At least situations like this, where it was about small trivial things. Her childhood, along with having a Navy Seal as a best friend, helped hone her skills.

She sighed loudly, rolling her eyes as she turned to look at Pete. "Tampons," she answered bluntly, a dead-panned, serious look on her face. "Lots and lots of tampons. Like a couple boxes," she said slowly for effect. She made a face. A sort of "yikes" face. She knew talking about this kind of stuff made most guys uncomfortable, especially Pete, and she knew he'd drop the subject and stop his line of questioning.

Although he tried his best to hide it, Pete suddenly grew uncomfortable. He wasn't sure what to say to that, so he just stared at her.

Maddie stole a quick look at Steve, curious as to what his reaction was. She fought to keep from smiling as she noticed him fidgeting around on the couch, his face pinking just the teeniest bit. _Guys, _she thought, amused.

Enjoying making Pete squirm, Maddie couldn't help but take it one step further. "What can I say? It's one of those days." She moved her head from side to side as she shrugged her shoulders. "You know, now that I'm thinking about it, maybe I should talk to Doc. I hope something's not wrong with me." She wasn't sure how she was able to keep a straight face as she lied to him, she was just glad she was. However, she knew better than to look at Kono.

She figured since Kono knew her so well she'd realize she was not only lying, but why she was lying. She also knew Kono was probably having a difficult time not laughing herself and knew they'd both lose it if their eyes met.

Tina was so thankful no one was paying attention to her since they thought she was asleep. She was also grateful that her head was thrown back the way it was so no one noticed the small smirk on her face as Maddie messed with Pete. Although she could imagine the look on his face, she was disappointed she was missing it.

"Um, well…do you want me…" Pete began, stumbling through his words as his face turned an even brighter shade of red, if that was even possible. He furrowed his brow in confusion and frustration, not to mention embarrassment. "I uh could…"

Getting the gist of what he was trying to say, Maddie finally took pity on him and put him out of his misery. Not really for him, but more for herself. She knew she was about to start hysterically laughing and she couldn't do it with him there. "It's okay. I'll tell Doc when he comes in to check on me the next time," she told him seriously. Although she kept a smile from her face, she wasn't able to keep it out of her eyes. But luckily, Pete was too flustered to notice.

"Um, okay," Pete responded as he began to back up towards the door. "I gotta go check on…uh, the gate." He turned and hustled out of the dressing room without saying another word. The second the door closed Maddie, Kono, and Tina burst out laughing, unable to keep it in anymore.

Seeing the girls laugh, Lori joined in, not wanting to be left out. She was trying to bond with them. And not just to keep her enemies close, but also because she needed friends. Everybody needs friends.

"That was amazing, sistah," Kono managed to get out in between laughs.

"I wish I could've seen his face," Tina giggled, rolling her eyes.

Feeling Steve's eyes on her, Maddie looked across the coffee table and met them. He couldn't help but grin widely seeing the sparkle in her gorgeous blue eyes. A sparkle that used to always be there, but had been missing for months. _It's good to see her a little more like herself_, Steve thought. _Even for just a moment. _

"That was mean, Maddie," Chin said, although he too couldn't help but chuckle as he shook his head in amusement.

"Was any of that true?" Lori asked, still laughing lightly.

Knowing she couldn't admit that it had all been a lie because Steve, and she imagined Chin as well, would start questioning where Ryan had really gone and why she had had to lie about it to Pete. With everything going on she knew she had to keep their plans a secret.

"Yeah," Maddie lied, still laughing although it was dying down. She coughed a couple times, sniffling when she was done. "But I definitely exaggerated." A dimpled smile broke out on her face as she started cracking up again. The mere image of Pete's poor face was enough to send her into hysterics. "He probably thinks I'm hemorrhaging…" _Guys can be so clueless sometimes_, Maddie mused.

Her statement caused the other three women to break out into a fit of giggles again. In fact tears began running down Kono, Tina, and Maddie's faces they were laughing so hard. Lori was laughing, but it was more just her trying to fit in.

"Gross, Mads," Steve said, a look of disgust on his face.

She wasn't sure why, but his statement and the look on his face upset her. Reminding her of how he'd played her. Her chest ached at the memory. The memory of everything he'd said and done that hurt her since she'd arrived in Hawaii.

Steve watched the sparkle in her eye immediately disappear as her laughter rapidly dwindled until it was no more. _What just happened?_ he wondered.

Maddie was hurt. So hurt that she didn't realize what she'd said until it was too late. "Especially cause it's me, right? Just like my bra." She recalled the morning of the barbeque when she'd been sorting through her laundry when Steve walked in. Joking around, she threw some clothes on him, one of which was one of her lacy bras. It stuck to him and he'd gotten weird, disgusted by her bra because it was hers. At least that's what she thought. That's what she'd assumed, but wasn't really the case.

Steve's eyes widened as surprise and confusion appeared on his face. He'd kept his mouth shut so many other times either because he was waiting to talk to her at home or because they weren't alone, but what her comment insinuated, what he was worried she was thinking, he felt it shouldn't be ignored. "Wait, what?" he asked her. Tina and Kono immediately quieted as the air in the room thickened. Everyone, except Lori of course, wondered if they should excuse themselves to give the two privacy to talk.

_You're so stupid!_ Maddie cursed herself, beyond embarrassed by what she'd just said. _There you go letting your emotions get the best of you! Now what are you going to do? Now it's super awkward! Plus, it was gross what you said! Why the hell did his comment bother you so much?_

Knowing her friend needed help, Tina started laughing again and asked, "What did his face look like? I'm bummed I missed it! Wish we could've gotten the whole thing on video! Priceless!"

Maddie buried the hurt and embarrassment she was feeling and tried to act normal, focusing on Tina's question. "He blushed."

"And as she went further into it, it turned beet red," Kono added, also coming to her rescue.

_Of course. Women. They stick together, _Steve mused. He sighed, really needed to talk to her, to clear the air. The end of the day couldn't come fast enough for him.

As Tina slowly stopped laughing, mainly because it was making her headache worse, she glanced at her watch. She sighed. "As much fun as I'm having, I gotta head out and take care of some things. Will you be okay for maybe," Tina paused, trying to estimate how long she'd be gone. "Forty minutes or so? An hour tops."

"Yeah, definitely," Maddie said. "Thanks for running the errands."

"No problem," Tina answered as she slowly stood, hoping the slower she moved the more chance she wasn't dizzy once she was on her feet. However, her plan didn't work. She was definitely dizzy. Dizzier than she'd been earlier. However, it still wasn't enough that she felt she was going to pass out or anything. Thankful she was able to hide it, she walked to the kitchen as she waited for it to pass and grabbed her purse. As she rummaged around in it at the table looking for the SUV car keys she'd placed in it earlier, Steve stood and walked into the kitchen. He stopped next to her and bowed his head. "While you're out, would you mind doing me a favor?" he whispered.

Tina glanced at him, surprised by his request. "Sure, what is it?"

"I was gonna try and sneak away and do it myself, but…"He paused, turning his head to the left as he glanced at the back of Maddie's head as she sat on the couch.

"You don't want to leave her," Tina whispered, finishing the sentence he wouldn't.

Steve nodded, somewhat bashfully.

"I get it. What's the favor, Steve?" she asked again, trying to hide the big smile that wanted to emerge. She thought it was sweet he didn't want to leave her.

"I uh,….I special ordered the… blue glittery roses for Maddie," he shyly admitted. It was obvious he was a bit nervous about telling her by the way he paused throughout the admission.

Tina couldn't help it. A huge smile broke out on her face as she looked at him. "You did?" she asked. She had to restrain herself from saying "awwwww". She could already tell her reaction had embarrassed him a bit, and she didn't want to make it worse, but at the same time she was so happy and she wanted to be sure he knew. "Steve, that's so sweet!" she whispered. "She's going to absolutely love them."

"You think?" Steve asked, uncertainty in his voice and on his face, something that shocked Tina. He'd never let her see his more vulnerable, unsure side before. The only one who'd seen it was Maddie, at least she assumed, so it warmed her heart, making her realize he must really trust her if he was letting her see this hidden side of himself.

"Are you kidding me?" Tina asked, her eyes growing wide at his question. "Steve, it's gonna mean a lot to her. Seriously."

He smiled slightly at her words.

She couldn't hold it in anymore. She shrugged her shoulders and held them there as her smile grew wider. "You like her…" she whispered giddily. She couldn't help it; she had to tease him just a little bit. She was just so happy.

Steve pursed his lips, obviously uncomfortable. "Tina…" he mumbled. He had hoped she wasn't going to make a big deal out of this, but at the same time he wasn't surprised by her girly excitement.

"Oh come on! I've been waiting, we've all been waiting," she corrected, "years for you guys to figure out you cared for each other as more than friends. It's exciting!" she gushed quietly.

"Don't get too excited," Steve warned, feeling that ball of fear in the pit of his stomach at the mention of he and Maddie in a more-than-friends way. However, with the fear came a happiness and excitement at the idea. Seeing Tina's irritated expression to his comment, he immediately added, wanting to clarify, "Well, that is, if I didn't screw things up with her for good."

Tina sighed, worried by his flip-flopping and contradicting statements. _I'd hoped the last four days would have given him time to figure out his feelings_, she thought. _I really hope he's done with the back and forth with her. It hurts her too much. I don't know how much more she can take_. "I'll be straight with you Steve. She's really hurt. You have no idea what's going on in her head and what she's thinking…"

The muscles in his face tightened as he tried to keep his emotions in check. "I think I have an idea after her comment a minute ago. Is that what you wouldn't tell me the other day?" he asked, referring to the conversation they'd had in his office when she'd picked up Grace.

She gave him a sad, sympathetic smile. "It's just one of the many things going on in her head right now…but Steve?"

He looked at her, his eyebrows raised.

"This is a good first step. This is gonna help."

"You think?" Steve asked, exhaling a nervous breath.

Again, Tina found herself surprised at this unsure and vulnerable side of him. "I do. It's gonna mean a lot to her that you even remembered," she smiled at him. She couldn't have been happier that Steve was making the effort with Maddie, but she was still nervous and worried. She really hoped he was going to do his best to reach her and make her realize how he truly felt. "Anyway, where do I go to pick them up?"

"Oh, um…that specialty florist by the store close to Maddie's. You know which one I'm talking about?" Steve asked. "It's on the opposite side of the little shopping…area," he said, not knowing what to call it.

She smiled at his instructions, or lack thereof. _He's such a guy_.

"It's next to the Chinese restaurant," he added. He probably could have done a better job with the directions, but Maddie was pulling his focus a bit. He could hear her coughing every now and then.

Tina stared at him. His directions were not very good. There were no street names and he hadn't given her the name of the florist.

It was as if he could read her mind. "I know, I'm sorry," he murmured, a sheepish, apologetic look on his face.

She chuckled. "It's okay. By some miracle, I know exactly where you're talking about."

He smiled, relief appearing on his face. "Okay, good." He was just about to say something else when his attention was completely pulled. His eyes darted to the back of Maddie's head. She couldn't stop coughing. Before it was spread out. A cough here, a cough there. Now it was a full on attack.

Hearing Maddie, Tina immediately pulled out the inhaler from her bag and handed it to him. "Thanks," he mumbled before quickly pulling his wallet from his back pocket and taking out a credit card. He handed it to Tina. "Thanks, T." He quickly kissed her on the side of the head before taking large, slightly hurried strides to the couch. He sat down in the spot Ryan had vacated ten minutes before and positioned himself so he was facing Maddie. "You're okay," Steve softly told her as he shook her inhaler.

Unable to get a breath of air, Maddie was beginning to panic, which only made her coughing worsen. She moved her body so she was facing Steve. She looked at him, meeting his eyes as he shook her inhaler. He could see that not being able to get any air was scaring her. The fear was easy to spot in her eyes, which were watering from all the coughing. Using her left hand she took a hold of his right forearm while her right hand grabbed onto the middle of his right thigh. "I'm right here," he murmured, giving her a sweet smile. "You're fine. Just take a slow deep breath."

She tried her best to take his advice, but she couldn't. The coughing only worsened. She squeezed his arm and thigh as her panicking intensified.

Knowing that the more she got worked up the worse it would make it, he scooted towards her hoping to provide more comfort and reassurance. That it would calm her. And, if he was being honest, any excuse to get closer to her was fine with him.

Satisfied her inhaler was mixed enough, Steve pulled the top off and placed it against her lips all while she still held onto him. Once she had the mouthpiece in her mouth, he squeezed the top of the device and a puff of the medication flew into her mouth. He set the inhaler on his lap to free his left hand. "You're okay," he murmured as he placed his hand on her left thigh and soothingly began rubbing it.

Maddie did her best to hold her breath and keep from coughing out the medication. Thankfully having Steve close to her and comforting her was helping her to relax. Although she continued to cough, it was definitely lessening. She was able to get a bit of air in, although it wasn't much.

Without thinking, she let go of his forearm and thigh and fell against his chest. Steve couldn't have been happier as she leaned into him. That she was instigating contact. Instead of over thinking things, he immediately moved them so he could easily fit his arm around her shoulders and hold her lightly against him. (He didn't want to hold her too tightly in case it aggravated her breathing.) Once they were comfortable, he kissed the top of her head.

Seeing that all was okay, Tina headed to the door. She wanted to get out of there and get back before she felt any worse. She was so sleepy and her head was throbbing. It was significantly worse than it had been when Doc had looked her over. And now light seemed to be slightly bothering her eyes. _I guess I hit it a lot harder than originally thought_, she mused. Plus, she just didn't feel right. Her stomach felt a bit funny. Not like she had a stomachache or was nauseated. It just felt off.

Seeing as how she'd been feeling worse and worse over the last hour or so, she just wanted to get the errands done and over with. "I'm gonna head out. If you think of anything else, just call," she said to Maddie, who nodded against Steve's chest while coughing.

Maddie continued to calm as she sagged against Steve's chest and coughed, although it was definitely better. She was happy Tina was gone especially because Steve and Chin hadn't had a chance to question what exactly her errands were. She couldn't have them discovering her plans.

Her eyes fluttered closed as she further relaxed into the man she loved, her best friend. She rested her hand near her head on his chest. The way his right hand was gently rubbing up and down her back was calming her. It was just so soothing. She let herself melt into him, not thinking why she shouldn't be this close to him. That it would only cause more pain later. She only thought about how safe and calm it made her feel. His presence made her relax so much that her body began to give in to the exhaustion she was feeling. She'd only slept an hour, at most, earlier.

Steve glanced down at Maddie in his arms. As she calmed, so did the coughing. He watched as her eyes fluttered closed. _She's so tired_, he thought, trying to keep from smiling down at her. He loved the feel of her in his arms. He hated the circumstances, but he loved having her there. He glanced over at Chin. They'd all gotten silent as they worriedly watched Maddie struggle to breath.

He'd only heard her cough, he didn't know how it had started. If there even was a reason. Ever since giving her the cough syrup, the coughing had been significantly better. She'd only coughed here and there. He peaked at his watch, checking the time. It definitely wasn't time to give her more, although it was getting closer, so it should've still been working. "What happened?" Steve asked his co-worker.

"They started crackin' up again." Chin rolled his eyes and smirked. "I think all the laughing aggravated it."

Steve nodded. It made sense.

"It was funny," Maddie mumbled, her eyes closed as she breathed Steve in. Just thinking about it made her start to laugh a little, which immediately made her cough.

"Mads," Steve said, his tone slightly warning.

"What?" she asked, her eyes opening slightly as she tilted her up to look at him. Feeling her move he looked down and met her eyes.

He smiled at her. "Laughing makes you cough."

"You're no fun, you know that Commander?" she said to him, her eyes sparkling mischievously.

He smirked down on her as he debated whether to say what he wanted. He usually didn't talk like this in front of his team, but he felt if he was going to get Maddie to believe him he was going to have to take some chances. Even if they made him a bit uncomfortable. "Actually," he began, his voice low, only audible to her and suddenly slightly gruff, sexily so. He took a deep breath to calm his light nerves. "I can be pretty fun." He looked at her mischievously.

Although she really tried not to react, Maddie couldn't keep her eyes from widening in surprise. She understood what he was insinuating and it made her begin to blush. Suddenly the reality of the situation dawned on her. That she was in his arms. _Crap_, she thought. _I let it happen again._

The second Steve felt her tense, he tightened his hold on her, worried she was going to pull away. However, it didn't help. She pulled away anyway.

Carefully she extricated herself from him and sat up. She did her best to act normal and not uncomfortable and self-conscious like she was feeling. Especially since she could feel everyone's eyes on her. She leaned back into the couch, pulling the blanket up and snuggling into it. He had noticed that whenever she seemed to get uncomfortable she would do that. Almost as if hiding and covering herself with the blanket made her feel safe and less exposed.

Maddie glanced at him, meeting his eyes, although he could see the little bit of uncertainty and embarrassment in them. "Thanks for helping me," she murmured, giving him a small, but genuine smile.

"You don't have to thank me," he replied. "And, anytime, Mads. You know that."

* * *

><p>As Tina entered the main room, she rubbed at the back of her head. She winced at the pain that shot out of the spot that had hit the coffee table. She imagined that since she slightly hit the rounded edge of the table that that's why it was so painful. It had sort of jabbed into the back of her head. <em>And Maddie smacked her head on a marble floor<em>, she thought. _I don't know how she was able to function so soon. I wonder if her head is still killing her and she's just playing it off. _

As she made her way to the outer door of the main room, the one that led to the outside, to the area they'd been all parking in, she smiled, thinking how strong Maddie really was. There was a reason Steve was so concerned about her. He knew for her to act so completely unlike herself, that whatever was going on was really bad. She was the strongest person she knew. She could handle anything with grace and poise, so when she started acting so different it was definitely a shock. A worrisome one.

As Tina continued to think about her long time friend, she noticed a member of Maddie's security team speaking with a man. She wasn't close enough to be able to tell what exactly was going on, but it appeared that whoever the man was, the security member didn't want him to come in.

She furrowed her brow as she got closer. "Oh crap," she muttered, close enough to recognize the visitor. She slowed her pace, debating what she should do.

Knowing Maddie so well, she knew that she'd agree to see the man so she approached the security member, Adam.

Adam was a new member, one of the eight that Maddie had hired four months earlier. He wasn't a Navy Seal, but he was an ex-Marine. He had been out of the military for two years and had been so grateful when he'd been offered the job. He'd been having a difficult time since he'd left the military, but once he started working for her things began to look up for him. He was an incredibly hard worker and took his job incredibly seriously. In other words, he was someone that Pete could count on. He followed orders "to a T", showing that he'd been an asset to the military. The original eight men that Steve and Pete had vetted and hired were very fond of him, even though he wasn't a squid, but a jarhead.

"Hey," Tina greeted as she came up behind them.

"Hey T," Adam replied.

Since Adam was newer, he didn't know who the man was. This was the first time he was working for Maddie when she was in Hawaii. The original eight security personnel all knew who this man was, but none were around. They were all at their designated posts.

"What's going on?" she asked, although she already knew.

"He says he wants to see Maddie, that he knows her, but he doesn't have credentials," Adam replied. "I told him I can't let him in without them."

"Maddie knows him," Tina assured him. She glanced at the man and flashed him a tight, polite smile. "Keep him here. I'll go talk to her. I'll let you know whether she'll agree to see him."

"Okay," Adam replied, nodding. As Tina turned and headed back in the direction she'd come, he looked at the man. "While you wait, feel free to take a seat at that table. He pointed to a picnic style table right near them.

"Thank you," the man responded, smiling gratefully at Adam.

Although he remained at his post just inside the main room door leading outside, Adam kept a watchful eye on the man at the table. Whether Tina knew this man or not, he didn't and he refused to take any chances with Maddie's safety. At the moment, they couldn't afford to be lax with security. Not with what was going on. He didn't want anything happening to Maddie; they'd become good friends. Plus, he didn't want to let Pete down. He had come to respect and admire the Navy Seal, who was a few years older. He'd learned a lot from him, as well as the rest of the team.

* * *

><p>Lori hadn't moved from her spot on the other couch as she'd watched Steve with Maddie. It had killed her seeing how gentle he was with her. It was a side of him she'd never seen, although she always knew it was there. It made her ache as she longed for that same affection from him. <em>All in good time<em>, she thought. _I just need to get him away from her. _

Just as she was about to open her mouth, hoping to say something that would pull his attention from Maddie, Tina walked back in the dressing room. She stopped a few feet inside the door and met Maddie's eyes.

Silence took over as the members of Five-0 stopped their individual conversations and watched the two women wordlessly communicate with only their eyes.

After thirty straight seconds of the two staring at one another, Maddie grabbed Steve's left hand and pulled it to her, glancing at his watch. _Of course,_ she thought seeing that it was 2:30pm. _It's the right time of day. _She couldn't believe she'd forgotten. She had been so busy rehearsing over the last few days that she hadn't worried about it at all. She hadn't even thought about it. _That's a first_, she contemplated, thinking how it had never even crossed her mind. However, now that he was there, her stomach instantly knotted thanks to nerves.

She released Steve's arm and he brought it back to his body. "Everything okay?" he asked, noticing not only the look between Maddie and Tina, but also the way Maddie had begun to tense.

She turned to look at him doing her best to relax. "Of course!" she lied, and quite well, but he saw something flicker in her eyes, even though she was smiling. He couldn't quite place it as she was doing an excellent job of hiding her true emotions.

Her gaze returned to Tina, who raised her eyebrows in a questioning manner at her boss and friend. Maddie stared at her for a few seconds, trying to make up her mind. Finally she gave her a quick nod and Tina immediately began walking further into the room. As she walked behind the couch and into the adjoining room, she pulled her phone from her pocket and quickly sent Adam a text letting her know that Maddie had agreed to see the man and that she'd be there in a few minutes. She slipped the phone back into her pocket before leaning over and picking the pair of black Converse Chuck Taylor's up from the floor near Maddie's Louis Vuitton duffel bag.

As she quickly rose, she was hit with an intense dizzy feeling. In fact, it was so strong that she began to lose her balance as the whole room suddenly looked like she was staring into a crazy Funhouse mirror. She reached out, hoping to grab onto something she could use to steady herself, but with everything moving she couldn't tell exactly where the items were. Before she knew it she was falling.

"Damn," Tina mumbled as she fell into a small table that was near Maddie's bag. Her butt made contact with the floor first and although she tried to keep it from happening, her head smacked the edge of the small table. Tina squinted her eyes in pain. _Of course I had to hit the same part of my head_, she thought, her hand immediately going to the painful, sensitive spot at the back of her head. She hoped by rubbing it, it would help dull the pain, but she was wrong. It did nothing. As she felt the warm, sticky substance in her hair, she realized she must've broken open the small wound from her earlier fall. Tina pulled her hand away, bringing it back in front of her and glanced at it. Sure enough there was blood on her fingers. Not a lot, but more than when she'd hit it earlier. "Crap!"

Chin and Kono were talking, telling a funny story from their childhood when they all heard a crash coming from the other room. Steve straightened, concern apparent in his handsome features. "Tina?" he called out. No response. He glanced at Maddie. They shared a concerned look, her earlier fall immediately popping into their minds.

_Crap_, Tina thought, hearing Steve call out for her. She scurried to her feet. _I must've made a noise when I fell. _She didn't want them to know she'd fallen. She knew Steve would question her, wanting to know how it had happened. He'd know she was lying. First off because she wasn't a very good liar, but secondly, because he was a human lie detector. With his extensive training and time with Naval Intelligence, he could read people exceptionally well. In fact, she imagined his whole team could. That it was hard to get anything by them.

When Tina still didn't answer, Steve became worried she was unconscious and that it had something to do with hitting her head earlier. He immediately began to stand. However, Chin stopped him. "I'll check on her," he told his boss and friend. "I'm closer."

Before Steve could respond, Chin was on his feet and walking, almost jogging, ten feet to the open door. "Tina?" Chin asked as he rushed into the room. He swiftly looked around before spotting her to his right, on the other side of the room. "You okay?" he questioned as he took her in. She was standing, a pair of black low-top sneakers dangling from her delicate hands. _She seems fine_, he mused, although he noticed she was a bit flustered and slightly out of breath.

"Yeah," Tina smiled, her heart rapidly tapping against her ribs as if keep time to a fast tempoed song. "I just bumped into the table." She rolled her eyes at herself forcefully, trying her best to make light of the situation. "I must be hanging out with Maddie too much. Apparently, her clumsiness is contagious."

Chin watched as she used her free hand to straighten out her clothing, noticing that she continued to fidget with it long after. He eyed her suspiciously, slowly looking her over to make sure she was okay. Satisfied that all was well, as he didn't see anything wrong, he smiled at her. "Hopefully it doesn't rub off on me!" he joked, waiting for her before he left the room.

"Seriously," Tina smiled, beginning to walk towards him. Seeing this Chin turned his back on her and walked towards the door, Tina not too far behind him. Relieved his back was to her, she quickly reached out and wiped her slightly bloody fingers on the towel hanging on a hook near the door. The towel she'd used when she'd showered that morning.

As she walked through the door she shook her head, annoyed with herself that she'd forgotten to stand back up slowly. If she had just remembered she wouldn't have fallen and hit her head again. It wouldn't be bleeding and Steve and Chin wouldn't be worried. _What if they say something to Pete?_ she fretted. She wasn't sure why she was so adamant about him not finding out she'd hit her head, but she was.

"What happened?" Steve asked the second Tina appeared, pulling her from her thoughts. "What was that crash? Are you okay?"

Tina forced a to laugh. "I'm fine, Steve. I just bumped into the table." Steve eyed her suspiciously, much like Chin had done, but far worse and much more intense. She panicked a bit; she could tell he wasn't completely buying her story. Hoping to distract him, she smiled slightly flirtingly at him. "Commander…do you have a crush on me? Is that why you're so worried?"

A smirk broke out on his face at her question. "Damn, I thought I was being subtle about it. You caught me."

Everyone in the room smiled and chuckled, even Lori. However, she wasn't smiling over what they were saying, but instead over seeing this side of Steve. This more relaxed version of himself. Relaxed enough to banter flirtatiously. It was a version similar to the one she'd had dinner with the week before. Before Maddie had come into town and halted her progress with him on a romantic front.

With her friend's black, low top Chuck Taylor converse in her hand, Tina walked to the couch and sat at the edge of the coffee table next to Maddie's elevated feet. She glanced at Steve out of the corner of her eye, curious as to whether her distraction had worked. _Thank God_, she thought, seeing him leaning back relaxed against the couch. However, he was still watching her, but thankfully, not in the same intense way. Untying and loosening the laces on the first sneaker, the left one, she asked, "Want just one shoe or both?"

Maddie debated the question for a second before answering. "Both." She began to lean forward to grab the shoes. "You don't need to do this. I got it, T."

"It's okay, Mads. I got it. It'll be hard for you to lean forward with your busted ass," Tina smiled. The two lightly chuckled at her description of her injured tailbone. In fact, they weren't the only ones. Whomever, wasn't laughing lightly was at least smirking. However, it must have been too soon after her coughing spasm because Maddie immediately began coughing again. Luckily, it lasted no more than five seconds, but it was enough to wear her down even more. Every cough, let alone coughing attack, took significant energy she didn't have.

Steve watched her carefully, waiting to see if she'd need another puff of the inhaler. He was relieved when the coughing died down. However, he gave her a quick look, one she understood to mean be careful with the laughing.

Tina resumed putting her friend's shoes on once it was obvious she wasn't going to have a full-blown spasm.

Maddie felt guilty. Tina putting on her shoes was not in her job description. No matter how many years she'd been in the spotlight, she had never gotten used to people doing things for her. It made her feel bad and uncomfortable.

Steve watched as Tina helped Maddie, wondering what exactly was going on and why she suddenly needed shoes. Not only that, but he wondered why Tina had come back after she left, and to put Maddie's shoes on of all things. It seemed strange. However, as hard as it was for him, he decided to wait and see what happened before asking any questions.

With her left sneaker on, Maddie set her foot on the ground.

"Mads, I don't know if I'll be able to tie this shoe with your foot wrapped so much," Tina explained, referring to her right, injured and bandaged foot being so bulky.

"Just loosen the laces more. It's okay if you leave it untied," she responded. She was planning on using her crutches. Therefore her right foot wouldn't be touching the ground, so there was no risk of her tripping on the untied laces.

Tina nodded, very gently loosening the laces and tying her sneaker so as not to cause more pain for Maddie. "There you go." Finished, she stood and hurried to the kitchen where she opened the freezer and pulled out new ice packs before turning and walking back to the couch. On her way she grabbed Maddie's other knee brace where it was leaning against the wall next to the entrance of the other room.

While she was in the kitchen, Steve's curiosity got the best of him. He wanted to know what was going on and patience wasn't something he'd mastered. "What's going on?" he asked. "Are you going somewhere?"

Maddie looked at him, meeting his gorgeous blue eyes. "I just gotta go deal with something. I'll be back in a few minutes."

Tina set the brace on the coffee table and sat on the couch before quickly going to work and sliding the new ice packs in it.

Before Steve had a chance to ask her what exactly she needed to do, he realized that Maddie would have to change into the other brace. Deciding to help, plus he wanted to be the one to get Maddie out of her current brace as he knew he could do it without hurting her, Steve scooted towards her. He went to unhook the brace from the ice machine, but quickly realized it was still unplugged from when she'd gone to the restroom earlier. He glanced at her, shooting her a reprimanding look. With her eyes wide, she gave him a cute guilty little smile as she nibbled her bottom lip. He couldn't keep the disapproving look going when she looked at him like that. It was too cute. More than anything he wanted to reach out and grab the back of her head, pull it to his face, and kiss her passionately, but he controlled himself. Just like the other times he'd had the urge. How? He had no clue.

Steve shook his head, smiling, as he gently unhooked the many brace's straps, opening them completely as opposed to simply loosening them. Once they were open, he carefully pulled the brace straight down and set it on the floor. While he did this he glanced at Maddie's face out of the corner of his eye, wanting to make sure he wasn't causing any pain.

Now that she was out of the big, ice water brace, he looked at her. He raised his eyebrows and cocked his head in a questioning manner. Maddie shook her head and smiled. "Nope, it didn't hurt."

"Good," he responded as he focused his gorgeous blue eyes to her leggings clad right knee. He didn't need to see her bare skin to know that her knee was still incredibly swollen since he could clearly see it through her leggings. "Oh Mads, that has to hurt," he said as he lightly stroked her knee in a sweet and gentle gesture. One which made her smile.

Steve looked to her, his eyebrows raised in the same questioning way as a minute before. Again, she knew what he was asking although he said nothing. Wanting to know if his touch hurt her, she continued to smile and shook her head.

She was surprised when his hand didn't stop after he rubbed back up over her knee. Instead, it continued up her thigh, stopping in the middle of it.

Maddie was surprised that it didn't make her upset or uncomfortable. Instead, she liked it. There was something so, dare she say loving, about the way his hand was almost gliding up her thigh.

He stopped as he reached the middle of it, pulled his hand away, and reached over her leg so Tina could hand him the other brace.

Maddie immediately missed the contact. In fact, it had turned her on, making her want him even more than she already did. _Don't go there_, she told herself. _If by chance you did do something with him, a big if…he'll only take it back. Save yourself the continued heartache and don't even think about it. _Needing a distraction, she focused intensely on the conversations going on around her and tried to tune Steve out.

"Thanks for doing this, Steve," Tina said. "I can do it, I just worry I'm going to bump or move her leg and cause her more pain."

"Don't worry about that, Tina," Maddie told her long time friend and assistant. Although she was trying to ignore what Steve was doing, it was impossible. Especially when he was so close to her.

"No problem, T," Steve replied as he made sure all the straps were completely open and unhooked before he held the brace under Maddie's leg. Before he had a chance to take care of it, Tina placed her hands under the large object and held it in place so he could hook the straps easier. Just like when he'd taken the other one off, he continuously glanced at Maddie's reactions, wanting to be sure he didn't cause her pain.

"There you go," he muttered. Once he gently picked up her right leg, he used his left foot to nudge the coffee table over towards Lori a few inches so he could place her foot down on the ground.

Now that Maddie was ready to go, Tina walked to the same place the other brace had been and grabbed Maddie's crutches. They'd been leaned safely against the wall, away from foot traffic so no one could trip over them.

With the crutches in hand Tina walked back to Maddie. She knew she could help her up, but with her dizzy spells she didn't want to risk possibly falling and taking Maddie down with her. "Steve? Would you mind helping her stand?" she asked him. "I can do it, but it's easier for you."

"No problem," Steve answered, immediately getting to his feet. He had been planning on helping Maddie up anyway, so he didn't think anything of Tina's request.

Still keeping in mind that she was supposed to be acting like her old self, Maddie reached her hands out, surprising him. He was shocked she'd instigated it. Shocked, but happy.

Smiling, Steve took her hands and carefully began to pull her up into a standing position. Once her butt was the littlest bit off the couch, he took both her hands in his right hand and used his left to wrap around her back to give her more assistance. He wanted her to feel as little pain as possible in her tailbone and he knew the best way to accomplish that was by doing most of the work for her.

Since being made aware of her visitor, Maddie had been debating whether or not she'd ask Steve to go with her. She went back and forth, but in the end she knew that if things hadn't been weird and awkward between them, she would've had him accompany her. So, while he helped her to her feet she said, "You can go ahead and go, T. Thanks for all the help."

Tina looked at her, confusion written all over her face. "But what about…" She stopped, glancing at Steve nervously, before she brought her gaze back to Maddie.

"There you go," Steve mumbled, more to himself than to Maddie, once she was standing. However, he didn't let go since he noticed she wasn't putting any weight on her right leg. He didn't want her falling.

Maddie said nothing, only gave him a sweet smile before looking back to Tina, who was still eyeing her, confused. "Actually I was gonna see if Steve would go with me," she said, just as he got her to her feet.

Although still confused, Tina smiled. She was happy Maddie had begun to reach out to Steve, both physically and a bit emotionally as well. However, she was worried that it wasn't genuine. That it was only Maddie following through with her promise to pretend nothing had happened between her and Steve. Pretend that she wasn't entirely and utterly heartbroken. Pretend they were simply best friends and that she wasn't completely head over heels in love with him.

Maddie glanced at Steve. He was standing only a foot in front of her, his hands on her waist steadying her until she was using her crutches. "Will you?" she asked.

Steve looked at her as if she'd suddenly grown two heads. "Of course," he answered. "Did you think I was letting you leave this room without me?" His eyebrows rose as he looked at her disbelievingly.

She simply shook her head as she rolled her eyes and smirked at him. _And I think he's crazy overprotective now_, she mused. _When he finds out what's been going on, he's going to completely lose it. I'll be surprised if I'll be allowed to use the restroom by myself, _she thought sarcastically.

"Okay, well then I'm gonna head out and take care of those errands," Tina said, handing the crutches to Maddie.

"Okay, thanks for everything, T," she replied, smiling softly.

"No worries!" Tina walked into the kitchen and grabbed her purse off the kitchen table, which was where she'd set it when she'd come back. "I'll see you guys later!" she stated, opening the door and disappearing once everyone had either waved or said goodbye.

Maddie took a deep breath and looked at Steve. Although, he was no longer holding onto her, he was still close. Just in case.

"Ready?" he asked.

She paused, her nerves quadrupling for a couple reasons. One, she was always nervous and on edge when this particular visitor stopped by. Two, she knew once Steve discovered where they were going, who they were going to see, he was going to go into overprotective mode times a thousand. His macho, alpha male, and controlling side would come out.

Maddie took a deep breath and swallowed audibly, wincing at the severe pain in her throat. "Yes," she responded, plastering a smile on her face even though, in that moment, she was anything but happy.

Steve returned the smile before taking a couple steps out of the little living room area. While his back was to her, Maddie glanced at Chin.

Unlike Steve, Chin knew exactly where they were going and he wasn't particularly happy about it. Something he made clear with the disapproving look he sent. Because he'd been to every show she'd had in Hawaii since he met John McGarrett, he knew what that look Tina had given her was all about. He knew she had a visitor and he knew exactly who it was. He was just thankful that although she was upset and hurt, she asked Steve to go with her. If she hadn't, he would've gone himself or tattled on her to Steve, spilling the beans. There was no way he would've let her go by herself or with only Tina.

Maddie flashed him a quick and reassuring smile before turning back and beginning to crutch, following her best friend. She watched Steve stop just behind the armchair Kono was sitting in as he waited for her. His left arm was poised and read to shoot out and grab her if need be. It was incredibly obvious she was still absolutely exhausted and he knew that although the medication she'd taken had taken the edge off, she still felt terrible.

Once she reached him, Steve joined her, walking next to her towards the door. As he opened it he turned to her and said, "You really should be resting, so whatever we're going to go do, we're only going to be a few minutes and then it's back here. Understand?" He gave her a strong, no bullshit look as he waited for her response. However, it took a minute because with every step she became more nervous as she thought about what she was going to say to her visitor or, better yet, what Steve was going to say or do when he discovered where they were going.

When she didn't answer, Steve's forehead wrinkled in concern. "Mads?" His voice was soft.

Hearing her name pulled her from her thoughts. She met his eyes and nodded in understanding.

"Alright. Let's go!" They exited her dressing room, passing Mo standing guard at the door.

* * *

><p>Maddie and Steve were silent as they walked side by side down the hallway her dressing room was located in. Finally, he looked to his right at her. "Where are we going, anyways?"<p>

"The main room," she answered, as she continued to look straight ahead. There was no way she was going to tell him what exactly they were going to go do before they got there. She knew exactly how he'd react if she did.

Although Maddie wasn't looking directly at him, she could see him nod. However, knowing him, he wasn't thrilled with her vague response.

Now that they were alone, Steve desperately wanted to say something. To tell her he was an ass and that he'd screwed up. That he didn't mean what he'd said on Sunday. That he was sorry. But at the same time, he wanted to make sure they had time to talk, to really hash things out. To get on the same page. And since they weren't far from the main room, there wasn't enough time.

Although he wanted to talk about it, Maddie didn't. Not only was she inwardly beginning to panic the closer they got to the main room and her visitor, but she was also anxious to get there as she refused to talk about "it" with him. She was terrified he'd bring it up. That she'd be forced to hear how he was sorry, but that he didn't think of her that way. She already knew that, so there was really no reason she needed to hear him say the actual words. It would only make her feel more embarrassed about the entire situation.

_So I can't bring it up now,_ Steve mused. However, he was tired of the silence. It wasn't a comfortable silence, but an awkward one. A deafeningly loud silence as the things that were being left unsaid and not dealt with hung thick in the air, making them both feel slightly claustrophobic.

He had to say something. If he didn't he was going to go crazy. Plus, he could tell Maddie was feeling just as uncomfortable since her slower pace, thanks to the crutches, had quickened. He hated the fact that she was that uncomfortable with him. It had never been like this for them and he prayed to God he'd be able to fix things, so everything could go back to normal between them. _Well, at least in terms of being comfortable around one another_, Steve thought, ignoring the nerves and slight fear that clutched at his stomach at the idea of being more than friends with Maddie. He knew if he wanted to still be in her life that he was going to have to stop being afraid of losing her and see what was between them. Something he'd accepted and come to terms with after he'd put his foot in his mouth on Sunday. However, just because he'd come to terms with it, didn't mean he wasn't still terrified that if it didn't work out, he'd lose her. Something he refused to let happen.

"How do you feel, Mads?" he asked, needing to say something. Not only to break the silence, but also to keep his thoughts, fears, and what if's at bay.

"I'm okay," she answered, still not looking anywhere but straight ahead as they continued to move forward. She sniffled, her nose somewhat runny, but no longer feeling like there was cement in it, which had made it impossible to breath through her nose. She followed the sniffling up with a clearing of her throat. She was just so congested; it felt like her head was under water.

He glanced at her out of the corner of his eyes, studying her. Something was weird. He couldn't ignore it anymore. There was something in her voice when she'd answered him. Something that hadn't been there before. Plus, the closer they got to the main room, the tenser she seemed. The more nervous she seemed. At first, he'd chalked it up to her feeling uncomfortable now that she was alone with him, but when he heard her voice he realized that wasn't it. It was something else. Something he now recognized as fear. He'd imagined that if she'd looked at him while they walked, he would've immediately seen it in her eyes. He cursed himself for not realizing sooner.

Maddie had seemed on edge and a bit scared when she'd first arrived to the arena earlier that afternoon. He'd seen it in the way sudden movements or loud noises made her jump or wince. The way she had scanned her surroundings nervously. However, he'd noticed that as she'd sat down across from him at the picnic style table in the main room, she'd calmed over time. He had assumed that having him there made her feel safe. At least he hoped. Knowing that Maddie wasn't easily scared of things had made him realize that, just like he and his team were beginning to discover, she knew that whomever was after her was not your average stalker. He knew if he watched her behavior, that if she seemed scared or off, then there was probably a good reason for her to be.

So, seeing fear beginning to return in her, Steve straightened, immediately becoming alert as he glanced around taking in their surroundings in an even more detailed manner than he'd previously been doing. No matter whom he was with or what was going on, he always automatically scanned his surroundings, making sure everything was safe. That he knew the best options in case of a tactical situation. After years of extensive training, it was second nature to him, something he didn't even think about anymore.

Subtly, he brought his right arm closer to the side of his body to inconspicuously, without frightening Maddie, double check that he'd reattached his sidearm before leaving the dressing room. He felt the familiar bulk of metal at his hip.

Steve licked his lips as they neared the door leading into the main room. He glanced over at her, taking in her demeanor. She was tense. _I wish she'd talk to_ _me, _he thought.

Reaching the door, Maddie slowed, giving him a chance to open it. As he held it open for her, he watched as she stood still for the smallest of seconds, before she took a deep breath and walked through ahead of him, something that made him nervous. When she continued to crutch forward, leaving him at the door, he began to panic. She was only a few steps ahead, but he didn't care. He wanted her directly next to him, especially when she was suddenly acting so fearful. "Maddie, wait," he instructed. She stopped, her eyes closing. She'd thought he'd figured out where they were going and she was preparing herself for his very strong opinion on the matter.

As Steve took the few hurried steps towards her, he said, "I don't want you that far from me, okay?"

Her eyes opened when she realized she'd been wrong about why he'd told her to stop. She turned her head, glanced at him, and nodded in reply.

_No fight?_ he mused, shocked she hadn't accused him of being overprotective and paranoid. _No arguing? Something's definitely off. _His jaw clenched as he fought his instinct to reach for her, hoping to squash the fear she was feeling, even if it was just through a simple touch. Plus, he was debating putting a stop to whatever they were going to do and take her back to her safely guarded dressing room.

Seeing the muscles in his face tighten, Maddie forced a small smile his way before turning her head back to face straight ahead. She slowly began crutching again. Steve immediately matched her pace while getting a bit closer to her as they walked further into the main room. He scanned the large room, taking it all in in a detailed way. Immediately he'd picked out the four different ways he could get her out of the room if he had to. He also knew where they could go for cover and hide if they couldn't get out of the room. If there was shooting.

Satisfied that he had a solid plan, along with Plans B, C, and D, if need be, he focused more on where she was leading him. He'd imagined that when she told him they were going to the main room that they'd be sitting down at one of the tables. When she didn't head towards one, but instead continued to crutch further into the room, he became even more curious. "Mads, where are we-". He didn't finish. He didn't have to. He knew exactly where they were going, something she realized the second he stopped mid-sentence.

Steve glared at the man at the end of the room who, once he saw Maddie, rose from his spot at a table not too far from the outside door. Steve's right arm shot out in front of her, forcing her to stop. Of course he was careful how he did it since he didn't want to cause her to fall. "No," he said, his voice strong and authoritative. She could hear the anger he was trying to keep from exploding.

Maddie turned her entire body to look at him. "Steve…"

"No." He shook his head. She could see the muscles in his face flexing and contracting as he clenched his jaw. He was trying so hard to keep his temper in check.

She wasn't sure what to say to him, so she gave him a second, hoping that once the shock of the situation wore off, he'd calm down. However, deep down she knew it wouldn't make a difference.

As Steve faced Maddie, he glanced to his left, to the other side of the room, at the man standing next to one of Maddie's security members. One he didn't recognize, so he could only assume he was new. One of the eight she'd hired a few months earlier. However, he definitely knew the man with him. And there was absolutely no way he was letting him get anywhere near Maddie.

He looked back at Maddie and took a step towards her, his protective instincts growing. He searched her pale face, hoping to figure out why she had agreed to this to begin with. "We're going back," he finally said. "Let's go," he growled. His voice was hard, leaving no room for argument. At least that's what he hoped, that she would listen and do what he was telling her, no, ordering her, to do. That she wouldn't argue. He couldn't let her get hurt. He wouldn't let her get hurt. And he was afraid that if her visitor got anywhere near her that's exactly what would happen.

When she made no effort to leave, he placed his left hand on her right bicep and applied slight pressure, hoping it would urge her to turn around so they could go back to the safety of her dressing room. But she didn't move, she only stared at him with those brilliantly blue eyes of hers. He noted the sadness and pain he saw in them. The sadness and pain she'd effectively hid throughout the day. However, she had unknowingly let the mask she'd put on slip away, leaving the emotion in her eyes for him to see plain as day. Unfortunately, he had to fight to ignore it. At least for the time being. He'd handle and take care of it later. For now, he had to get her out of the room.

"Madeline, come on. Now," Steve ordered, his voice rising slightly in volume. However, more than anger, and there was most definitely anger, she could hear a hint of fear in his voice. Fear he was trying to hide. Other people wouldn't have even noticed, but she knew him. She knew that he was afraid, just as much as he was angry. He wasn't afraid of the man wanting to see Maddie, he was afraid that she would get hurt. That she would get hurt just like she had when she was a kid. All those years he should have been protecting her, but he hadn't because he hadn't realized there was anything to protect her from.

"I swear to God Maddie, if you don't turn around and start walking, I will throw you over my shoulder and take you back myself," he promised, his voice dangerously low as he fought like hell to keep from exploding at her. The thing was, she knew he was telling the truth.

"Steve," Maddie sighed, doing her taking a step forward and closing the distance between them. "It's different."

Without over thinking or wondering how she'd react, Steve placed his right hand on her other bicep. He held her by her upper arms as he furrowed his brow and studied her face. Without really realizing, his fingers tightened on her thin, but toned arms. He fought the urge to shake her, to get her to see reason. That she needed to turn around.

Although he was starting to hurt her, she never let it show. She understood his feelings regarding her visitor, who was standing at the opposite end of the room studying the two longtime friends, and she couldn't blame him for them.

Suddenly Steve's fingers loosened, however he didn't let go of her.

"I don't understand," he finally whispered, searching her eyes for some kind of explanation to why she was doing this. Why she was agreeing to see him. Although his voice had softened the smallest amount, his eyes and face showed his anger was still flaring and building.

She smiled sadly while trying to keep the tears pressing at the back of her eyes from falling. "Because, Steve, no matter what he did in the past…." She paused, taking a deep breath. "He's still my dad."

He scoffed sarcastically as his temper flared and his jaw clenched. Hearing her refer to the bastard standing at the other end of the room as her dad made him want to shoot someone. Preferably her father. He looked away from her briefly, his mind running a million miles an hour. He really didn't want her to go through with this, but he was getting the impression that he wasn't going to be able to stop her. That is unless he physically took her back to her dressing room, but he knew if he did that, it would only further drive the wedge between them. He was trying to fix the damage he'd caused, not make it worse.

Just as Maddie began to turn from him and continue walking towards her visitor, something dawned on him. He grabbed her arm, effectively stopping her from moving forward. She looked to him, her eyes staring at him questioningly.

"How did you know he was here?" Steve asked. "Tina didn't say a word to you."

She averted her eyes at his question. "Look at me," he barked, giving her a slight shake. However, he immediately felt bad when he saw her slightly flinch.

_Take a deep breath_, he ordered himself. _Calm down. You're scaring her._

As she brought her eyes back to his, he squeezed her arm lightly, hoping to convey his wordless apology. He waited for her to answer his question. When she didn't, the bit of calm he'd been able to achieve flew right out the window. His eyes flashed with anger as he sent her a warning look. A look that told her he was only going to ask once more and she better answer. "How did you know?" he asked through gritted teeth.

Although her body's instinct was to shrink under his furious stare, Maddie did her best to hold her head up high and stand up straight. She took a deep breath, preparing herself for his reaction. "Because he always comes to see me when I perform in Hawaii."

That was it, his temper exploded like a live grenade when the pin gets pulled. "What?" he yelled, tightening his grip on her arm. She winced, scared and in pain. _Why didn't I know this?_ he asked himself. _How did I not know this?!_

"It's always around this time. He works close by and he's able to get away from the office usually between 2 and 3pm, give or take," she mumbled, trying to explain, hoping it would help calm him. She tried to tug her arm free while unconsciously crutching a step back from him.

Noticing her begin to back away in what he assumed was fear was just what he needed to cap the lid back on his anger, getting his control back in check. The last thing he wanted was for her to be scared of him. The thought made him sick.

He released her arm and instead brought his right hand to his face. He pressed his fingertips into his eyes while his left hand settled on his hip. He took a moment, trying to calm himself and let all he'd just learned settle in.

Maddie waited for him to speak again, waited for him to do or say anything.

Finally his hand dropped from his face as he licked his bottom lip. "And you see him every time you're home?" Steve questioned, struggling to keep his anger a mere sizzle in his voice. It was still raging inside him, begging and clawing to be released, but he was doing everything he could to internalize it. Maddie said nothing, only nodded. "For how long?" he asked, his left hand still placed on his hip. If she'd been a little less on edge, a little less scared, she would have thought how sexy she'd always found this particular stance of his.

She nibbled her bottom lip as she thought back over the years. "Maybe the last five or six years." Because she was flustered, she wasn't a hundred percent sure of the exact length of time she'd been meeting up with her father before her Hawaii shows.

He was quiet, unconsciously licking his lips again as he tried to digest what she was telling him. "Why didn't you ever tell me?" He wasn't just angry. He was hurt. Although he didn't let the hurt show. _Apparently her lying and keeping things a secret from me is __not__ a recent thing like I'd thought_, he mused.

Maddie sighed, giving him a sad smile. "Because Steve, you would've freaked out-"

"Hell yes I would've freaked out!" he exclaimed, his control slipping and his anger exploding as he interrupted her. Luckily, it was a leak he plugged quickly as he managed to get the top screwed back on his temper. However, he knew it was only loosely screwed on and could pop off at any time, but it was the best he could do given how angry he was. "But that's no excuse!"

The sad smile fell from her face as she shook her head and rolled her eyes at him. Irritation at his behavior finally settled in. "Steve, you were always on dangerous missions halfway around the world. I wasn't going to tell you something that was going to upset you! Something that you wouldn't be able to change! You would've worried like crazy about me, which would've distracted you." She paused, her brow furrowing as she tried to reign in her emotions. He immediately felt bad, something she could tell by the way his hand returned to her upper arm, and inconspicuously rubbed it with his fingertips. "You could've gotten yourself killed because of it." Steve went to open his mouth, to argue with her, but she stopped him with a firm shake of her head as she repositioned herself on her crutches. Her back was beginning to ache from hunching slightly forward, resting her weight on the objects. "You told me that yourself. That it's incredibly dangerous when you're distracted in the field. That it's the worst thing that you can do. Let something distract and eat at you. That it can get you killed. There was no way I was going to be the reason something happened to you." _I'm still not, _she added quietly in her head, thinking about the threat from her stalker: "stay away from Steve or I'll kill him".

Steve stared at her, his angry, flashing eyes narrowing somewhat as he licked his bottom lip before resting his top teeth on it, biting it slightly. He stayed like that, looking in her eyes, for what felt like minutes, but was only maybe twenty seconds, before releasing his lip. His upper teeth slowly scraped against it as he did so. Finally he spoke. "I should never have told you that."

Because she was shocked by what he said, Maddie's real emotions slipped through the walls she'd built to keep him at arms length. It was too late by the time she realized, so she went with it. She let him see how she was feeling.

She looked at him, the hurt clearly displayed on her face. "What?" she asked in disbelief, trying to discern whether she'd heard him correctly or not. She was hoping she hadn't.

This time when he squeezed her upper arm it wasn't in anger, but in comfort. "You're never going to tell me anything serious now because you'll be too afraid it'll distract me. I can't have that, Madeline." He paused. "You'll worry me a thousand times more if you try and protect me from things and keep them to yourself. Then I'll always be distracted. All the time. Always wondering if you're hiding something you shouldn't be."

Maddie stared at him. Although it stung that he made it sound like all she ever did was lie to him, which wasn't true, she knew that what he said was the truth. "Okay," she agreed after a minute of silence.

"Okay?" Steve questioned, wanting to clarify that she was saying what he thought she was saying. That she'd tell him things even if she knew they'd upset him. _Well, except for whatever's going on now. Whoever's after me_, she told herself.

She nodded as she sighed heavily.

"Okay," he smiled at her, happy they'd seemed to reach a small understanding about something. All she'd done lately was try to keep things from him, wanting to protect him and not just about her stalker, but so many things. Her well-being and health being a big one. He hoped that by reaching this understanding it would help him start to fix things between them. He also hoped she would be just as understanding when they spoke later that night.

Maddie took a deep breath and turned, his hand falling from her arm as she did so. She began crutching forward, heading in the direction of her dad. Steve closed his eyes, shook his head, and took a deep breath before following her. Because of her slower pace, thanks to her crutches, it took him only a couple steps to catch up. As they neared her waiting father, he spoke up. "I'm not happy about this."

"I know," she replied.

Steve sighed loudly as they continued, making sure she knew just how much he didn't want her doing this. _At least I'm with her_, he thought, trying to find the bright side of the situation. _In fact, she wanted me to come. _He figured she wanted him to be there to make her feel safe, so that was exactly what he was going to do.

"Thank you, Adam." Maddie smiled at the member of her security team as she and Steve approached.

"No problem," he replied. "I'll be right there if you need me." He flicked his head towards his designated post ten feet away. She nodded in response, forcing a small smile even though her stomach was in knots. It always was when she saw her father.

"Madeline," her dad greeted once Adam was back at his post. He gave his daughter a smile, happy to see her.

"Hello," she replied, her voice sounding tight. Steve watched her out of the corner of his eye. He noticed that although she was doing this, she didn't seem to be too sure about it. She seemed nervous and quite anxious, although she was doing a pretty good job of hiding it. Just not from him. He also noted she didn't give her dad even a hint of a smile. Something that made Steve nearly grin, but luckily, he caught himself.

Her father looked to the tall, well-built, strong man standing next to his daughter. He hadn't seen him since he was a teenager. In fact, he wasn't able to tell who he was at first. He'd watched him talk to his daughter, and yell at her, at the other end of the room, but it wasn't until he was standing in front of him that he realized who he was. "Steven."

_The yelling now makes sense, _her father thought, knowing Steve wouldn't like the idea of her seeing him.

"Henry," Steve greeted, his voice cold. The anger that had begun to dissipate slightly, flared up again as he stared into the eyes of the man that had hurt Maddie way more times than he was sure he knew about. He stared at the man who used to beat the crap out of Maddie when she was a kid. It took everything he had not to reach out and use the skills he'd been taught as a Navy Seal and beat the hell out of him before snapping his neck like a twig, something that would be so easy for him to do. He wanted to make him feel the pain he'd inflicted on her. However, he knew even if he beat him nearly to death, he wouldn't feel a tenth of what she had experienced as it wasn't the physical trauma that had been the worst, it had been the emotional trauma. The devastation of it being her father that hurt her. The man she'd idolized as a young girl. The man who was supposed to keep her safe. Although Maddie had never told him any of that, he knew it was true. In fact, they'd never really talked about the fact her dad used her as his punching bag. Although they knew each other so well and had stuck by one another through thick and thin, she had never confided in him about that time with her dad. It was something she didn't like to talk about.

"You're all grown up. You're a man. A far cry from that skinny kid always hanging out with my daughter," Henry stated. He offered him a small smile, testing the waters. It wasn't well received; Steve only narrowed his eyes further, glaring at him.

At his comment, Henry noticed the way Maddie glanced at Steve out of the corner of her eyes. The way she looked at his body in an appreciative manner. _Interesting_, he mused.

"Yes I am," Steve replied, staring him down. Instead of his response coming out simply angry and cold, it came off as mostly threatening, which was exactly how Steve had intended it. He wanted her dad to know, and understand, that he wasn't afraid to kick the crap out of him, even kill him, if he hurt Maddie again. Not like when he was a teenager. Back then all he could do was tell his father what was going on, even though all he'd wanted to do was beat him senseless. But not now. Now, things were different.

"I heard about your father," Henry began, ignoring Steve's indirect threat, although he did pick up on it. "I'm sorry for your loss."

"Let's save the pleasantries," Steve spat. "Because no, you're not." He took a breath, trying to control his anger. "Why don't you just do what you came here to do. Or say what you came here to say. You only get a couple minutes with her."

Maddie knew Steve wasn't saying that solely because he didn't want her dad near her, but because she needed to rest. And he was right. She was exhausted and felt awful, worse than she had twenty minutes earlier. And her knee and foot were throbbing, not to mention her tailbone. She'd never admit it, but she was anxious to get back to her dressing room and sit down.

Henry didn't argue or fight him. Something that surprised, more like shocked, Steve. Henry knew he was lucky Maddie would agree to see him after what he'd done. He nodded and brought his attention back to his daughter. "Madeline, what happened?" he asked, looking to her knee clad brace and crutches. Concern showed on his oval shaped face, deepening the wrinkles, especially around his light brown eyes. He didn't have a lot of wrinkles, Steve noted. In fact, he was surprised at how well he'd aged. He was still in great shape. It was obvious he was active, that he worked out. His skin was tan, but not overly so. It didn't appear leathery like a lot of older Hawaiian citizen's skin looked thanks to the countless years they'd spent in the sun without any kind of protection.

He'd always had amazing hair. It was thick and wavy and luscious chocolate brown. It looked the same; the only difference was that there were strands of silver sporadically placed. Not gray, but silver. Steve imagined when he was older and his hair went completely silver, that it would give him a distinguished air about him.

Steve took in his state of dress. As a kid and teenager, he always remembered that Henry was well dressed. The suits he wore had always looked expensive. Maybe they were designer, he didn't know. And now was no different. He was dressed in a gorgeous suit, but Steve couldn't have told anyone more about it except that it looked like it had cost a pretty penny. The same with his shoes and vibrant red tie.

Steve snorted at the concern her father expressed for her. _Yeah, like you really care_, he thought, bitter and annoyed.

Before answering her dad, Maddie turned to her best friend. "Steve," she began. "Can you give us a minute?" She knew he'd only continue to make comments at anything her dad said or did. It's not that she was standing up for him, she never would, but she had yet to figure out why he'd started expressing concern and visiting her. And she was definitely curious and wanted to know why.

"No," Steve answered bluntly. She cocked her head and gave him a look. "No way," he told her. "Are you crazy? Have you literally gone insane? I am not leaving you here with this asshole!" He was getting more and more upset, losing control of his temper. It was bad enough she was seeing him, but to be alone with him? Hell no! There was no way he was going to give Henry the opportunity to lay a hand on her. He'd kill him first.

Knowing she needed to do something before he lost it entirely, Maddie took a crutched step towards Steve, closing the distance between them. "Just please, give us a few minutes."

With her so close to him, Steve wanted to reach out and touch her, but he wouldn't let himself go there. He refused to focus on her close proximity or the way she was looking at him with those big, sparkling blue eyes. He couldn't. He couldn't get distracted from the situation. He shook his head at her request.

Maddie sighed. To keep from getting annoyed, she had to remind herself that he was just scared of something happening to her and him not being there to protect her. Just like when she was young. Her father was a touchy subject with Steve. He was still filled with so much guilt over not realizing sooner what had been going on for years. "Just stand over there with Adam. You haven't met him yet. Go suss him out…Make sure he's worthy." She smirked a little at her last statement, knowing he would be doing exactly that. "I'll be right here. I won't move, I promise." She paused. "Not that I could go far." She glanced down at her crutches and knee brace before bringing her eyes back to his face. She raised her eyebrows at him.

Steve couldn't help the slow smirk that fought its way onto his handsome bruised and stitched up face. "Like this morning?" he reminded her, an eyebrow cocked.

Her smirk turned into a smile, but she said nothing. She shrugged her right shoulder, quiet for a beat, but still smiling as he continued to smirk at her. Finally she broke their silence. "I promise. I won't move from this spot." With her hands wrapped around the hand grips of her crutches, she pointed down to the floor with each index finger.

Steve squinted at her while he thought it over. He glanced to where Adam stood guard. It was only about ten feet away. He could get to Maddie quickly if Henry tried anything. Reluctantly, and obviously not happy about it, something he made very clear by the look on his face alone, he nodded, sighing heavily. Even as he was doing it, he couldn't believe he was agreeing to it.

Thankful, she smiled as she tucked the tops of her crutches (the crutch pads) tightly in her armpits before letting go of the hand grips. She reached her hands towards Steve and rested them on his hard, toned chest as she leaned forward. Not only did she just want to touch him, but she was using his body to keep herself from falling as she leaned forward.

Steve's heart quickened as she leaned her face towards him. _Is she going to kiss me?_ he wondered as he noticed the way her eyes flitted from his to his lips. _God, I hope so. _"Thank you," she murmured, her face a few inches from his.

Hoping to calm him down a bit before he left her to stand with Adam, she closed the distance to kiss his nose, something they both did to one another at certain moments. She would've kissed his forehead, but since she was only on one leg and barely holding onto her crutches, she wasn't able to get on her tippy toes and reach it. (He was just under a foot taller than her.) She knew if she tried she'd fall.

Just as her lips were about to make contact with his skin, he saw Henry move out of the corner of his eye. Without thinking he turned his head, wanting to be sure he wasn't making a move towards Maddie, and her lips made contact with the side of his face. The part of his face right next to his ear.

Maddie's heart sunk as she pulled her head away from his, assuming that he'd moved his head so she wouldn't kiss his nose. For a few minutes she'd forgotten how he felt about her, how he'd lead her on only to make her feel like a joke in front of their friends. However, it all came rushing back, nearly knocking the wind out of her. _Your own fault for forgetting, for letting your guard down with him for a minute_, she told herself.

As what he'd just done sunk in, Steve whipped his head back to face Maddie as she pulled away. _Oh man_, he thought. _That could not have been worse timing. _He tried desperately to catch her eye, but she refused. He could tell she was fighting to keep her emotions hidden, something he really didn't want her to do, especially when it came to him.

Worried she was thinking he'd done it on purpose, that he didn't want her to kiss his nose in the sweet gesture he loved, he debated what he should do. However, before he could do anything she pulled her hands from their resting place on his chest as she began to straighten, which meant leaning away from him. Maddie was only thinking she needed to quickly put distance between them while she tried to act completely normal. She wasn't thinking how she wasn't holding onto her crutches with her hands. Because she was still pulling away from him, she should've kept her hands on his chest to help keep her steady until she was standing straight up. However, she didn't and as she quickly took her hands off his chest she wavered slightly. Surprisingly, it wasn't much and she was able to grab the handles of her crutches before it got worse.

Of course, the second Steve saw her wobble he reached out for her and grabbed her waist. Before he could even process that she was fine, she turned her body to face her dad, a move that forced his hands to fall from her tiny waist. His stomach dropped. _I hurt her again_, he thought. _DAMN IT! And we were actually having a genuine moment. For a second she was her old self again._

"I'm fine Steve," Maddie told him, turning her head to look at him, fighting and struggling to appear and act unfazed and not bothered by what had just happened. "Please give us a minute."

Steve's jaw clenched in anger at himself as he saw a glimpse of the hurt she was trying to hide. He paused before finally nodding and walking the short distance to Adam. She watched him introduce himself to the newer member of her security team before turning around and facing her and her father. She looked away, bringing her focus to her dad, before Steve could meet her eyes.

Maddie looked at her dad, waiting for him to say something. Even though she always agreed to see him, she never knew what exactly to say to him. What do you say to a man that basically checked out of your life after your mother got sick with cancer when you were six years old? What do you say to a man that beat you for years? Years. She didn't know and although she'd seen him several times over the last five years, she hadn't figured it out. However, she still saw him, but never for very long. She didn't have it in her.

Finally her dad broke the silence. "So, what happened?" Henry asked her again, gesturing to her right leg.

"Oh, I," she paused and cleared her throat at the weakness in her voice. The emotional weakness, not the fact she barely had a voice. "I tripped and aggravated an old knee injury."

"What about your foot?" he asked, noticing it was wrapped even though she had her shoe on.

"Just a cut," Maddie replied. She didn't want to give him any more details than that. She felt he didn't have the right to know. There was an awkward pause.

Since he wasn't too far away, Steve could hear what they were saying to one another. It was soft, but if he listened he could make out every word. To say he was surprised at everything Henry was saying to Maddie was an understatement. He sounded genuine, like he really wanted to know the answers. And as much as Steve hated to admit it, he sounded a bit concerned. However, it didn't change his feelings towards him. He still despised and loathed the man. Acting concerned for a minute didn't, and would never, change or fix what he had done.

"You look tired," Henry stated. He'd noticed her pallor the second she'd gotten close enough to take her in. He also noticed the dark bags under her eyes and the way her usually happy, sparkling, blue eyes, her mother's eyes, were still gorgeous, but dull and slightly bloodshot. "You okay?"

Maddie didn't realize that at her dad's question, she unconsciously glanced quickly at Steve. However, her dad noticed. He'd also picked up on the way she'd looked hurt when Steve had turned his head, causing her to kiss the side of his face.

"I'm fine," she answered. "Just been a long few days rehearsing. That's all. Nothing I'm not used to." She glanced quickly at Steve again before looking back at her father. However, this time she'd been aware she'd done it. She knew that a big part of the reason she was so tired was that she'd pushed herself over the last few days to hopefully help get her mind off her broken heart, thanks to one Steven Jonathon McGarrett.

"Madeline," Henry said, his tone taking on a more serious, almost warning, quality.

At the change in his voice, Maddie tensed. It took her back to the times he'd had a similar tone only to smack her moments later. Her grip tightened on the handles of her crutches as she tried to tell herself not to panic. That she was grown up now. That she wasn't the same helpless kid. Plus, she wasn't alone. She was thankful that she was holding something because she knew her hands would be visibly shaking if she weren't. She quickly looked towards Steve double-checking he was still there. She felt her rapid heartbeat begin to slow as she discovered he was watching intently, his arms crossed, his body tall, and his feet shoulder width apart. One of his typical stances. One that oozed not only authority, but also serious sexiness. However, she was too nervous to think of how hot and amazing he looked when he stood like that. It was the furthest thing from her mind.

Steve gave her an almost imperceptible smile and nod, silently letting her know she was safe and he was right there. She hated that after everything she was still relying on him, but she told herself that this was a special circumstance. This was her father.

Maddie looked away, not returning the smile. "Yes?" she answered, her voice unintentionally coming out timid and unsure as she fixed her eyes to a spot on the grey commercial carpet. She was annoyed and frustrated with her reaction, the sound of her voice, and the fact she couldn't look at him. However, it didn't change anything. She continued to look down.

Steve straightened as he saw the change in Maddie. He noticed the way she was holding her crutches much tighter than normal, her knuckles turning white. The way she scooted her left foot and crutches an inch backwards and leaned back slightly as if she was preparing to flee from her father. Put as much space between them as possible to give herself a head start. He figured she probably didn't even realize she had done it.

He knew something must have triggered her to feel threatened or scared, something that, although she was trying to hide it, she was feeling. He'd been paying attention and her father had only said her name, so it wasn't that. However, he knew it could've been anything. All that mattered was that she was suddenly on edge.

He brought his shoulders back causing his chest to puff out as he fought the urge to walk towards her and interrupt their conversation.

Steve was surprised when she looked over at him and their eyes immediately met. He immediately saw the uncertainty in them. Hoping to put her at ease, he nodded and smiled the littlest bit at her, wordlessly letting her know he was right there. That she was safe and would never let him hurt her. As much as he wanted to go to her, she'd asked for a few minutes alone, so even though he hated it, he would give her that. However, he only promised a few minutes and that was almost up. He glanced at his watch, keeping track of the time.

"He'll never have feelings for you," Henry stated, his voice unexpectedly gentle.

Surprised by his statement, Maddie's head shot up and her eyes found his.

Seeing the confusion in her beautiful blue eyes, the ones that had always reminded him of her mother, her father clarified. "Steve, he'll never love you." He paused. "He knows too much of your past. He'll always see you as damaged and broken."

Rage surged through Steve's body as he heard what her dad had just said. His heart was pounding in his chest as his hands clenched into fists at his sides. He clenched his jaw and his nostrils flared. Now it was literally taking everything he had, every semblance of discipline, to keep from rushing over to him, kick his ass, and then throw Maddie over his shoulder and take her back to her dressing room. He didn't need someone filling her head with nonsense, especially her dad of all people. _What are you worried about?_ he asked himself. _It's her dad. She'll never believe him._ Although he was still filled with anger, Steve decided to wait and see what her response was before he intervened. That was the only reason he wasn't at her side. He was curious.

She cleared her voice, sniffling once. "I know," Maddie said to her dad, her voice sounding sad and small. "He's made that clear."

Steve's shoulders slumped as literal pain filled his chest. He suddenly found it difficult to get air into his lungs. _She really thinks that?_ he wondered. _She thinks that because of my stupid mouth the other morning?_ Steve's stomach churned and his eyes fluttered closed. He really debated whether he might throw up. _I kissed her for God's sake. I've hinted several times today. I…_ However, it didn't matter, it obviously hadn't been enough to counter the stupid things he'd said and done.

Henry hated how she sounded so sad. Although they weren't close, she was still his little girl and he wanted her to be happy. "I'm not saying that you are damaged and/or broken, or that you're unlovable, because that's definitely not true," Henry immediately said, worried she'd take what he said the wrong way.

"I know, Henry," she said. "Don't worry." Feeling a slight tickle in her throat, she turned her head and coughed into her shoulder, unable to use one of her hands because they were holding her crutches.

Her dad couldn't help but flinch slightly at the way she called him by his first name. She wasn't being a smartass or facetious. She was simply using his name. She hadn't called him dad since she was fourteen and to be honest, he didn't blame her. He was surprised she hadn't stopped when she was younger than that.

"I'm not trying to hurt you by telling you this. I hope you know that Madeline," Henry said. "I'm trying to keep you from getting your heart broken."

_Too late_, Maddie thought. _It's broken. Shattered into little pieces. _However, she couldn't tell him that. They didn't have that kind of relationship. Well, they didn't have any kind of relationship. They saw one another for a few minutes every year or so, whenever she was in town. "I know." She coughed again into her shoulder. "It's fine anyway. We're just friends. Just like we've always been…since we were four. He's dating someone, anyway. And she's really great," she told her dad, hoping she sounded as confident and nonchalant as she was trying to, and wanted to. That she seemed like she could've cared less about him in that way.

_What_? Steve couldn't believe what Maddie was saying. He was shocked. _I am __not__ dating Lori and I told her that_. He was confused. So confused. He didn't understand why she thought he and Lori were together after he specifically explained to her that they weren't. He rubbed at his head, a headache developing. _I cannot wait for this show to be over, to get her home. We need to have a serious conversation about so many things,_ he thought.

_That's it, _Steve told himself, worried that Henry would say something else to cause more problems between he and Maddie. He couldn't handle hearing him tell her any more lies. Her dad's statements couldn't have been further from the truth. He didn't think of her as damaged or broken. Actually, it was quite the opposite. He thought of her as strong. In fact, she was probably the strongest person he knew. _How can he tell her I'd never have feelings for her?_ _He doesn't even know me! And he certainly doesn't know her or the two of us together!_ He was fuming.

Wanting to put an end to their conversation so no more damage could be done to their relationship, or friendship, whatever you wanted to call the strange place they were in, Steve began walking towards them.

Henry paused, trying to think of something else to say to her. "You're so beautiful. You know, you look just like your mother," he told her, a slow, genuine smile appearing on his face.

Maddie tensed as anger coursed through her veins. She clenched the handles of her crutches so hard her arm muscles began to quiver slightly. "Don't talk about her. You don't have the right."

"I'm sorry, Maddie," Henry immediately apologized. "You're absolutely right."

"Everything okay?" Steve asked, as he glanced between the two. He'd heard what her dad said to elicit her reaction, but he didn't want them to know. He knew she'd only get more upset and feel like she couldn't have even a short conversation without someone overhearing.

"Yes," Henry answered, staring at the boy that had grown into a man. He knew how Steve felt about him, he'd made it very clear. And, if he was being honest, he wasn't sure how he felt about him either. Especially given how his daughter seemed to be upset and hurt, something her long time friend had obviously caused. But then again, he didn't know Steve the man. He only knew Steve the kid and Steve the teenager. And he was a different man back then. An angry, terrible man, who had done unspeakable things. So anything Steve had done or said to him back then was, in his book, warranted and well earned.

Steve looked at Maddie, waiting for an answer as he took in her rigid demeanor and white hands as she squeezed the life out of her crutches.

Refusing to look anywhere but at her dad, anger and hurt in her eyes, she answered, "Yes," her anger simmering just under the surface, ready to explode.

"Okay." Steve paused, licking his bottom lip out of habit as he studied Maddie's face. Well, the side of it since she wouldn't look over at him. She was looking worse than she had when they'd left her dressing room. "Mads, let's get you back. You're looking paler. You need to get some rest."

"Honey, are you okay?" Henry asked his daughter. He'd noticed she had paled as they spoke, but he hadn't wanted to say anything to her about it in case she took offense to it. However, since Steve brought it up, he took the opportunity.

"I'm fine," Maddie mumbled, sniffling. Feeling the tickle again, but this time much worse, she tightened her upper left arm against the crutch to keep it in place while she brought her hand to her mouth as she coughed. This time it wasn't just one cough, but several. And they were deep and painful, in her throat, but in her chest, ribs, and back as well. She groaned as she continued to cough.

Steve felt against the outside of his left front pocket of his cargoes.A sense of relief washed over him as he felt that he had in fact slipped her inhaler in his pocket just in case. However, since her coughing had slowed and then stopped he didn't need to give it to her.

"Are you sick?" Henry asked her, his brows knitted firmly together in concern only a parent could understand when something was wrong with their child, no matter how old.

"Yes, very sick," Steve answered, knowing Maddie would claim she was fine.

"I'm fine," Maddie said, annoyed Steve had told her dad.

Steve rolled his eyes. "Oh, so it's completely normal to have a fever of over 104?" he sarcastically countered.

"She always did get insanely high fevers whenever she caught a bug," Henry revealed.

"I'm fine, really. He's just over reacting," Maddie told her dad. "He tends to do that." She rolled her eyes.

Steve sighed heavily, frustrated as he shook his head.

"I'm gonna have to agree with Steve on this one, Madeline. You look like you don't feel well. Plus, you look exhausted," Henry told her honestly. "Go and get some rest, please… It was really good to see you."

Maddie held her tongue, fighting the urge to tell him he had no right to tell her what to do. She was also mad he was acting so concerned after all the years he used to treat her like crap. However, Maddie knew he was trying. He'd been especially trying for the last couple years. She wasn't sure what had prompted the big change in him and to be honest, she didn't really care. She just knew it was too little, too late.

"Come on Mads," Steve said, reaching his hand and placing it on her upper back. At his touch her heart began aching, what he'd done when she went to kiss his nose and her father's words running on repeat in her head. She squared her shoulders and pushed her chest forward subtly, almost imperceptibly so, to get her back away from his hand.

Steve kept his feelings and emotions buried deep as he received her message loud and clear. She didn't want him to touch her. He casually dropped his hand from her back although his heart was pounding and aching. _I fucked up again_, he thought. _Any little progress I might have made over the last few hours is gone. Damn, how does this keep happening? _However, he knew. Maddie was obviously so hurt by what he'd said Sunday that she was reading in to every little thing he said or did, assuming the worst each time. He also knew that if she didn't have the whole stalker business, if she was herself, she wouldn't have taken everything so hard.

"Before you go," Henry said, reaching into his pocket and pulling out what appeared to be a business card. "I know I've given you one before, but I thought I'd give you another one. Just in case." He reached his hand out to her. Slowly, almost as if it would bite or burn her, she took the card from his extended hand before bringing hers back to her crutch. "You can call me any time, Madeline." He smiled. "If you want to talk or say hi, or just…whatever," he added, obviously nervous. "And any time. Seriously. Even if it's in the middle of the night. It's fine."

He'd given her his card the last few times they'd seen one another, ever since she'd noticed the big, sudden change in him, the genuine, real effort he was making. He'd always told her she could call him, even if it was just to say hi, but thankfully, he'd never pushed. He'd never asked for her number. He wanted her to want to give it to him. (However, he did have her assistant's. Tina had given it to him a few years before.) What Maddie did notice was how he told her she could call him day or night, no matter the time. That was new. He'd never said that before and she found herself wondering why now? However, if she would've asked Steve, he would've told her why. That her dad could tell something was wrong, that something wasn't right with her.

Maddie nodded at her father, not knowing what to say. She never did when he gave her his number and told her to feel free to call. She didn't want to lie and claim she would and would love to, but she also didn't want to be rude and tell him not to hold his breath. However, if she was being honest, a part of her did want to do that.

"Okay, go get some rest. I'll be watching tonight. I'm really excited!"

Maddie's eyes flew to his face. Both she and Steve looked at him, shocked by his comment. "You're coming tonight? You have a ticket?" Steve asked. Maddie was wondering the same thing, he just beat her to it.

"Yes. Well, I went to buy a ticket, but they sold out in less than five minutes." He smiled at Maddie, pride on his face, something that pissed Steve off. He felt he had no right to act like a proud father after everything he'd done. Maddie had accomplished everything in spite of him, not because of him. "However, I really wanted to see the show, so I bought a ticket from a scalper," Henry answered, leaving out the fact that he'd bought more than one. That he wasn't coming alone. He didn't want to get into it with Maddie right then. He had been planning on talking to her about it during this visit, but she'd seemed so rundown and just not herself. He might not have known her very well as an adult, but he'd still been with her until she was fourteen. He knew her better than she realized; he was still her dad after all. He could tell when something was wrong and there was definitely something wrong.

Again, Maddie wasn't sure what to say to him. Sure she'd seen him a few times over the last few years, but he'd never actually attended one of her shows, at least not to her knowledge. Feeling like she needed to say something, she said, "I hope you enjoy the show."

"I'm sure I will." Henry smiled at her. "Now, go get some rest. Okay?"

Maddie nodded slightly. "Okay, goodbye Henry."

"Goodbye Steve. Goodbye Linny Bear," her father said, using his nickname for her.

Maddie said nothing although her chest was suddenly tight from the raw emotion the nickname quickly produced. It sent her back to a happier time. One where her mom wasn't yet sick and her dad was still her dad. Her hero. It was before he'd fallen apart and let anger and grief change him.

"Bye," Steve stated, his voice cold. He watched Maddie closely, knowing the nickname would upset her. However, he couldn't see her face as she was still looking straight ahead.

As he continued to watch her, Maddie began turning around. He was able to get a quick glimpse of her face and was surprised she didn't look anymore upset or hurt. However, he knew appearances could be deceiving.

As she turned, he saw her struggle trying to hold her dad's business card and her crutch at the same time. "Here let me hold that," he offered. He reached his hand out and took the card from her. "I'll stick it in my pocket since you don't have any. That way, you don't lose it and you can crutch easier." She only nodded slightly at him as he pulled his wallet out and slid it inside before returning the leather object to his back pocket. The two started walking back to her dressing room as Henry walked to the door of the main room and out into the parking lot. Steve glanced over his shoulder just to make sure he'd actually left.

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><p>As they walked down the various hallways to her dressing room, Maddie said nothing. Although she wished they weren't, her father's words were running on repeat in her head. <strong>He'll never have feelings for you…. Steve, he'll never love you… He knows too much of your past. He'll always see you as damaged and broken. <strong>

Steve eyed her every few seconds. She was definitely more withdrawn than before the meet-up. _I should've never let her see him_, he thought, angry with himself. He wanted so badly to tell her that her dad was wrong, but he knew she'd freak out and get upset that he'd been listening to their conversation, which would only make her push him further away. He just couldn't win either way. _Maybe I can mention it tonight without letting her know I heard…. Easier said than done_, he thought. He knew he'd need to really think through this approach.

As they neared her dressing room, Steve couldn't take the silence anymore, plus he wanted to ask her about her talk with her dad, see how it went. Of course, he knew how it'd gone, but he wanted to hear her answer. To find out how she felt about it. He cleared his throat, preparing to ask her. "How did your talk with your dad go?"

"Fi-ne," Maddie whispered, her voice cutting out halfway thanks to the fact she'd been talking for the last few hours, making her nearly non-existent voice worse. She cleared her throat.

"Oh yeah?" He asked. "What did you guys talk about?"

Maddie clenched her jaw, her father's words growing louder in her head. **Steve, he'll never love you…. He'll always see you as damaged and broken. **"Nothing important," she finally answered.

He thought that response made his chest tighten, but the next thing out of her mouth nearly knocked the wind out of him. "Nothing I didn't already know and nothing that wasn't the complete truth."

_God, I can't believe she really thinks that_, Steve thought, trying to keep from saying anything to her about it. It wasn't the time. He knew her well enough to know that she needed some time to digest everything and to get the show behind her. If he tried to talk to her now she'd only retreat further into her shell and shutdown on him. But, he swore he'd set her straight as soon as they got back to her house. However, he did feel he had to say something; he would just have to be vague about it. "I doubt that Maddie."

_Could he hear our conversation?_ she suddenly wondered as her heart began to pound and her hands began to sweat, making it difficult to hold onto her crutches. "Doubt what?" she quietly asked him, not letting on to how she was really feeling inside, anxious and panicked.

"That what he said was the truth."

She swallowed the emotions that wanted to escape. "No, I know for a fact that everything he said was true. Plus, it doesn't matter. We didn't talk about anything important," she lied, never looking anywhere except straight ahead as they continued to walk (crutch for her). She hadn't met his eyes once since he'd interrupted her and her father's conversation.

_Nothing important? Great,_ Steve thought sarcastically. He wasn't able to say anything further as they arrived at her dressing room. Seeing them approaching, Mo was ready for them, holding the door open.

They entered in complete silence.

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><p>Thanks so so so so much for reading the next part of Chapter 36! I hope you liked it! Part 3 has a lot going on! The stalker is a busy creeper in it!<p>

Anyway, like I said earlier, the more reviews I get, the sooner I'll post Part 3, which is done, but I'm going to read through it and edit it once before posting. But that doesn't take too long.

So, please, please, please, PLEASE leave a review, or feel free to send me a private message! I'm super anxious to know what you guys thought about the scene between Maddie and Steve when they were arguing about her father and then again when she was talking with her father! I was worried that I didn't paint a good enough picture of how both Maddie and Steve were feeling when they were arguing in the main room. When Steve was telling her she needed to go back to her dressing room, that he didn't want her near her father. How do you guys think it came across? Could you picture them? I'd really love some feedback on that!

Thanks so much for reading!  
>xo,<p>

Laura


	38. Chapter 36, Part 3

**DISCLAIMER**: I do NOT own "Hawaii Five-0" or any of its characters. I do, however, own Tina, Pete, Ryan, Lyle, Mo, Doc, etc.

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><p><span><strong>AUTHOR'S NOTE<strong>: Hey guys! Here is Chapter 36 Part 3. Happy you didn't have to wait months for it? Or even a full week? lol. Anyway, this part is the next 40 Microsoft Word pages of Chapter 36. There is quite a bit of Tina and Pete and Chin in this update, as well as the stalker. I cut the update off right before it goes back to Steve and Maddie at the arena. So, the next update will pick up there.

I will try to have Part 4 up in a couple days. My goal is Friday night. Most of it is already edited. After Part 4, I need to finish Chapter 36. A TON of stuff happens in this chapter (as a whole - including all the individual updates/parts). That's why I made it sooo detailed. A lot of things happen that are building blocks for the next several chapters, which will go much faster.

Anyways, here are some random things to tell you...

1. You can google and see what Tina's purse looks like. Just type in "purple Mini Giant 12 Gold City Balenciaga bag". It was a recent gift from Maddie.

2.I wanted to let you know how detailed and anal I am when writing, which is one of the reasons it sometimes takes me a bit longer than anticipated to finish a chapter and why my writing is so detailed. An example of this is that in this chapter I mention actual street names. I looked at a map of Honolulu, found the Blaisdell Arena (which is where Maddie has been rehearsing and where her show is going to be) and looked at the streets near by. So, the street names I mention in this chapter are REAL! Also, I went back to Season 2 and found out what Chin's REAL badge number is, which I mention in this chapter as well. These are just 2 examples of how detailed I am.

3. Also, I keep forgetting to mention that the outfit Steve is wearing during this day, Wednesday, which has spanned numerous updates, is from Season 1, Episode 14 "He Kane Hewa'ole". You can see the full outfit 13 minutes in to the episode. Just in case you wanted an actual visual of it! :o)

4. I wanted to remind you guys that both Steve AND Pete's faces are bruised and cut up from their fight during the barbeque on Saturday. The bruises are still pretty dark, but beginning to lighten the littlest bit. Steve is the only one with stitches. Pete didn't need any.

- I reference a few different things from previous chapters. Here is a list of them.

1. In Chapter 20, during the barbeque at Maddie's, Steve discovers she's been slowly stealing some of his clothes. He calls her his "little klepto". That is referenced in this part of Chapter 36. Here is the excerpt from Chapter 20.

-EXCERPT-

Steve's stomach sunk as he felt the tears hit his bare skin. _I'm the reason she's crying. Damn it! _he thought, feeling so guilty. "I want you to keep them. It's really cute how you like them…you're my little klepto!" he softly told her, his mouth almost against her ear.

-END OF EXCERPT-

2. In Chapter 12, Steve and Maddie kiss for the first time EVER. They begin making out, but it only lasts for a few minutes before Pete arrives and interrupts them. I'd post the excerpt from the chapter, but it's too long to put in the Author's Note. If you want to refresh your memory, you can go back. The part is about three quarters of the way through the chapter.

3. In Chapter 13, after Steve gets back from meeting Lori for drinks, Maddie's upset. She'd received the text message from her stalker. It was a picture of Lori straddling Steve while they kissed with a message attached saying, "**You should have listened to me! I'm only protecting you!**" It upset her.

4. In Chapter 13 towards the end, Steve and Maddie kiss again, the same night as their brief make-out session in her home movie theater. It happens after he gets her calmed down. (Her stalker had reached out and scared her.)

5. Chapter 25. After tracing the phone that texted Maddie the photo of Lori and Steve, Five-0 discovers that the phone was registered to a man named Walter Seasius. Five-0 goes to his apartment and questions him. Turns out his girlfriend's car was broken into and numerous items were stolen, including his cell phone.

As always, thoughts are in _italics_. In this chapter, text messages and flashback thoughts are in **bold**.

I want to remind you, like I always do, that although it seems like it's been a TON of time since Maddie has been home in Hawaii, it's been 6 days. And Steve hurt her on Sunday morning and now it is Wednesday, and they haven't seen each other since. With her being so hurt and unlike herself, it is unrealistic for her to just believe him right off the bat. Especially when she has sooo much going on. Steve doesn't push the conversation because he knows her head is all over the place. He just wants her to get through the show. So, he is doing what he can to just support her without forcing the topic of what happened. But he will definitely force the topic on a lot of things once the show's over. That's a promise. And don't worry, he WILL set Lori straight. However, he's not going to do it in front of everyone. That would be mean.

What's cool is that before the show you will see some flashbacks of how Maddie used to be. They will be video clips that Ryan shows them. Hard to explain, but I am going to include it in the chapter so you guys can see she is really not like this. Shes usually a strong woman, who doesn't need anyone babying her. That is why Steve is soo worried. He's never seen her like this. It worries him so much that he starts babying her and watching her every move. He knows his best friend and he knows something is wrong.

Anyway, just wanted to throw that in there.

I appreciate the few people who reviewed. However, I didn't get nearly as many as I usually do, which, to be honest, is why this chapter wasn't up 4 days ago, which is when it was ready to go. I can't stress enough how much reviews mean to the writers. Especially when we stay up hours and hours and hours writing these and put all other things aside. For me, I've put a lot of work aside and I have people hounding me for things. So, when I don't get feedback, it bums me out, and I know I'm not the only writer that feels this way as a lot of writers of fan fic have PM'd me and we've chatted about it. I know a ton of you are enjoying this fic as I have a lot of people who have favorited it and have put it on alert and am constantly getting more. I do understand you are bummed that the last several updates have been months apart, but if you want that to change, remind me how much you like it because it definitely makes a difference. However, you don't have to worry about there being months in between each new update. There might be a week in between updates, at most, but the story is a priority for me right now.

On another note, I CANNOT wait until the show is over and you guys see what happens! I literally am sooooo excited to write those chapters. As soon as we get finished with the show, the chapter updates will be frequent! Very frequent! I won't need to write them minute by minute, which will make me really happy because then the chapters dont take as much time to write. :o) Plus, some AWESOME things happen!

Anyway, here is the next 40 pages of Chapter 36. I hope you enjoy. And Please please please, leave a review or feel free to send me a private message! Thank you to the fantastic people who not only reviewed, but sent me private messages! You know who you are!

xoxo

Laura

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><p><strong>CHAPTER 36<strong>

**Part 3**

As she drove to her second stop, Tina moved her sunglasses up a bit and rubbed at her eyes. She was so incredibly sleepy. Sure, she'd been tired all day thanks to the fact she hadn't gotten nearly enough sleep over the last several days, but this was completely different. It had come on fairly quickly after she'd gotten dizzy and lost her balance in the makeshift bedroom in Maddie's dressing room. Not only that but her head was pounding. Sure she'd had a headache building once she smacked her head on the coffee table, but what she was experiencing now was a whole new kind of headache on a whole other level. She'd never felt anything like it before and it was only getting worse. "Just gotta hold it together until the end of the show," she told herself, hoping if she talked to herself it would help her stay awake. After all, she was driving; she really couldn't afford to fall asleep. "Then you can sleep like you've never slept before."

As she pulled into a parking spot, Tina yawned. She patted her cheeks a couple times, hard enough that it made a sharp slapping noise as flesh collided with flesh and caused a slight sting. She hoped it would help her wake up. She sighed. It didn't have the desired effect.

With her feeling worse and worse as each moment passed, she knew she needed to hurry up and finish her errands so she could get back to the arena. She knew she shouldn't be driving. _Maybe I should've taken Frank or Carl, _she thought, recalling how Pete had made her promise she would take someone from security with her. "Oh well, too late now."

Tina exited the black SUV, her sunglasses on and her purple Mini Giant 12 Gold City Balenciaga bag, the one Maddie had recently bought her as a surprise "thank you for everything", hanging from her right forearm. She closed the driver door and leaned against it, resting her forehead against the window as she waited for the dizzy sensation to lesson. The occasional dizzy spells were a lot worse since she'd hit her head again. "How did Maddie handle this as well as she did?" she whispered before taking a deep breathe and straightening. She couldn't let how she was feeling slow her down at all. She had too many things she had to do. "And she hit her head a thousand times worse!"

Across the parking lot, in a four-door, graphite colored Acura, a man inconspicuously took photos of Tina. He'd been following her since she'd left the arena and had been pleasantly surprised when he'd noticed she was alone. That she wasn't accompanied by anyone from Maddie's security team.

He smiled, thinking how this was a perfect opportunity to mess with Pete. To scare and rattle him even further than he had been over the last few days. He wanted Pete on edge for the show. He smiled, happy his years of planning were coming together so flawlessly. In fact, it was working out better than he ever could have imagined.

Originally, he'd wanted Maddie and of course would mess with Steve in doing so. Making sure the almighty and talented "Super Seal" got knocked down a few pegs. He wanted everyone to finally realize that Steve wasn't anything special. That he himself was better than Steve, always had been and always would be. It was the second reason of his plan, the first, of course, being to get Maddie. He'd known since the first moment he'd laid eyes on her that she was his soul mate. It had always infuriated him that everyone always thought she and Steve would end up together, claiming it was their destiny. He was enraged just thinking about it.

He took a deep breath as he calmed himself down. "Focus on the task at hand," he whispered as he brought the camera up and took more photos of Tina. He already had plenty since this was her second stop.

The moment she'd stepped out of the car at her first errand, he noticed something was wrong. She didn't feel well. She seemed to be dizzy. Because of this he knew he'd be able to rile Pete even more.

Tina was clueless to him watching her as she walked slowly towards the store she was heading to. _Maybe getting a smoothie will make me feel a little better_, she thought, seeing a Jamba Juice next to the location she was heading to.

Finished with the errand, she walked towards the big, black SUV she'd borrowed. However, she was struggling to keep her eyes open, the sleepiness only growing stronger and harder to fight.

Just for a split second she let her eyes drift shut as she continued towards the car. Suddenly her eyes jolted open as her right foot smacked into something hard. It was a miracle, given her physical state, that she was able to keep from falling as she tripped over a cement wheelstop in a vacant parking space a few spots away from where she'd parked.

As she tripped, she felt a hand suddenly make contact with her right forearm. She jumped, nearly dropping the contents in her arms, including her delicious Jamba Juice smoothie, but the hand didn't let her fall. Something that, although she was startled and on alert, she was grateful for. She couldn't afford to fall again and possibly hit her head.

"I'm so sorry, miss," a male voice said, releasing his hold on Tina's arm. "I didn't mean to scare you."

Tina leaned away, taking a couple hurried steps away from the hand and voice, causing her to nearly fall again.

"Careful!" the man said, reaching for her again, not wanting her to fall. However he was sure to make his touch more tentative since he'd obviously frightened her the first time.

"Are you alright?" he gently asked, his hand still on her arm.

Finally feeling steady on her feet, Tina took a second to catch her breath before squinting behind her sunglasses towards the man's face. Although her glasses were polarized, the sun was still bothering her eyes, which only exacerbated the jack hammering in her head. As her vision cleared enough, she was able to see the concerned, smiling face of the stranger who was touching her arm. She relaxed immediately, feeling completely unthreatened by him. She forced a smile. "Yes, thank you so much." She paused. "Guess I need to be more careful and watch where I step." She shook her head in a way she hoped made light of the situation.

The stranger smiled, pulling his hand away from her arm now that she was steady. His smile grew, both outwardly and inwardly, the thrill of being close to her without any knowledge of who he was sent a surge of adrenaline through his body. He loved this "game", the danger of it. It excited him. "I get it, it happens to all of us. I'm just glad I was able to help. Keep you from hurting yourself."

"Yes, it's been a long day and it's still early," Tina said, smiling politely at the man. Now that her heart rate had decreased from her near fall, two of them, she took in the stranger who had kindly come to her aid. He was tall and slim, but incredibly fit. She could see his toned biceps under his loose-fitting white t-shirt. Her eyes flitted to his face. He was tan with green eyes, his hair, light brown with blonde streaks throughout that shimmered when the sun hit them just right. He had a mustache the color of the brown in his hair. It wasn't too big, but not too small either. In fact, she felt it fit his bone structure and shape of his face perfectly. She noted that he wasn't super good looking, but he wasn't bad looking either. He was average. However, she didn't care one way or the other. Looks had never been that important to her, but that didn't mean she didn't appreciate when someone was easy on the eyes, so to speak.

"I hate those kinds of days," he smiled, showing a mouth full of nearly perfectly straight white teeth as he shook his head. "I'm Arthur, by the way. My friends call me Art," he told her. He reached his hand out for her to shake.

"Tina," she grinned, moving the smoothie from her right hand to the crook of her left arm, so she could free her hand to shake his. She held her left arm close to her body, keeping the large smoothing in place. "Nice to meet you."

"Likewise…Tina," Arthur said, his smiling widening as her name left his full lips. Now that he was close to her, he took in her appearance, trying to figure out what was going on with her. It had been difficult to determine as he took pictures of her from his car. Although her sunglasses were on, he could see she was paler than normal.

Subconsciously, Tina used her right hand to rub at her right temple, trying to ease the pounding in her head.

Noticing, Arthur furrowed his brow lightly. "Are you okay?"

Tina immediately realized what she was doing. Her hand quickly dropped to her side as if it'd been burned. "Oh yeah," she blushed slightly, "I just have a headache from the Devil himself." She chuckled and forced a smile, hoping it didn't appear as uncomfortable as it felt. It did.

_Hmm_, he thought. _Interesting_. _I wonder what's going on_. "I'm sorry to hear that," he said, making sure his voice was filled with sympathy. "Here, let me help you to your car."

Tina shook her head, smiling at him through the intense surge of pain the movement caused. "Oh no. That's not necessary." She moved her Jamba Juice back to her right hand. "I appreciate it though."

He grinned, taking a step towards her. "I insist." He reached out to her and gently, in a non-threatening way, took the two bags and one medium sized box from her left hand and arm, leaving her with only her purse and smoothie. "Okay, which car is yours?" he asked, looking around the parking lot at the various cars as if he didn't already know which one was hers.

"Oh, um," she stuttered, feeling guilty that this stranger was now carrying her items. "It's right there." She pointed to the SUV four cars to her right.

"Perfect," Arthur said, beginning to head in that direction.

As they walked side by side, Tina rummaged through her purse searching for the car keys. She ignored the funny feeling growing in her stomach, hoping it would disappear.

Arriving at the SUV, she hit the "unlock" button on the keys she'd finally located.

"Where do you want them?" Arthur asked, referring to the items in his hands.

"Oh, the back seat is fine," Tina told him, hurriedly reaching out and opening the back driver's side door. He gently set the bags on the seat while he placed the box on the floor. "Thank you so much for your help! And thanks again for saving me from another fall today."

She hadn't realized what she'd said until he asked, "Another one? You fell already today?" He shut the car door and looked at her. _So that's what happened_, he mused. _She must have hit her head when she fell._

Embarrassed, her cheeks pinked lightly. "Oh. Yeah." She couldn't believe she'd said that without realizing. "Freak thing. But I'm okay. No big deal," she assured.

"That's good!" He beamed at her while there was a silent pause. "Well, I'm glad I could help. Nothing better than aiding a beautiful woman in need," he flirted.

"Thanks!" Tina's blush darkened slightly. She opened the driver's door, reached in, and set her Jamba Juice smoothie in the cup holder and her purse on her seat as a way to look away and hide her shyness at his comment. _At least something good happened to me today_, she thought. Unfortunately, this brought back the memory of Pete and her discovery that he was seeing someone.

Suddenly she had an idea. "Do you live here in Hawaii?" she asked Arthur.

He fought to keep from smirking triumphantly, knowing where Tina was going with her question. "I do. You?" he replied.

"Not exactly," she answered. "But I come here for work." Nervous, she debated whether to continue. _Just do it. You could use a distraction, and he seems nice_, she told herself. _And what do you have to lose? Nothing. _

"Oh, okay. Right on! What do you do?" he asked, already knowing the answer.

"It's complicated," Tina replied. She didn't just tell anyone what she did and who she worked for, not without getting to know them first. _This is a perfect segue_, she thought, gathering her courage.

Taking a deep breath, she tried to appear as confident as possible. _Here goes nothing…_ "I'd love to tell you about it, but I don't have a lot of time. I'm in a rush, gotta get back to work. But, would you want to get together sometime? I'd like to buy you a drink. It's the least I could do after all your help." She finished, giving him a flirty, sweet smile, while blinking slowly a couple times. And not because she was batting her eyelashes, or for any other stereotypical girl flirting technique, but because she'd been fighting her heavy eyelids their entire conversation and it was growing more and more difficult.

A genuine, cocky smile appeared on his tan face. _I couldn't have planned for this_, he thought happily. _Now I can subtly pick her brain and discover Steve, Pete, the rest of the security team, and the members of Five-0's weaknesses. Well, any others I don't already know… Now I can really rattle and mess with them! _"I'd love that," he answered. "Why don't you give me your number? I'll give you a call. We'll get together when your head feels better."

Tina smiled. "Sounds great!" She turned slightly and reached inside her purse sitting on the SUV's driver's seat. Out of a pocket she pulled a business card. It didn't say her job title or her place of employment, or anything along those lines. It just had her name, number, and e-mail. "Here you go." She handed the card to Arthur.

He quickly glanced at it. "Okay, Tina Monroe. I'll see you soon." He gave her a flirty smirk as he took a couple steps backward. "Have a good day!"

"Yeah, you too!" she smiled. "And thanks again!"

"Anytime. Mahalo!" he responded before giving her a quick wave and walking away.

Tina watched him disappear down a row of cars, heading to his vehicle. At least that's what she assumed. Picking up her purse, she climbed into the driver's seat, closed the door, and placed the object on the floor behind her seat.

Before driving away, she rubbed at the back of her head, the spot she'd smacked twice in one day. She winced at the pain she felt. "That's definitely gonna be sore for a while," she said out loud before buckling up and heading to her next destination. _At least something good came out of today_, she thought, referring to Arthur. _Hopefully he'll help keep my mind off Pete and his mystery woman. _

* * *

><p>Twenty minutes later, she'd run two more errands, but still had one more stop to make before picking up the flowers Steve had special ordered for Maddie. She smiled at the thought. <em>God, I hope they figure things out<em>,she mused. _They'll be so cute together! Plus_, she grinned wickedly, _they'll have the cutest kids. And Maddie will be such an amazing mother. Steve will be a great father. However, I feel bad for any daughter he has….when she starts dating…oh man!_ She chuckled at the thought. She yawned, rubbing at her tired eyes behind her sunglasses.

As she turned right onto Konunu Street, Tina reached forward and blasted the air conditioner, pointing all vents directly onto her face. She was hoping it would help her stay awake as it was becoming harder and harder to keep her eyes open. As much as she tried to be in denial over it, she knew she was experiencing symptoms of a concussion.

She squinted her eyes as she brought her left hand to her stomach. In the last few minutes she'd begun to consistently feel nauseated, and it seemed to only be getting worse. _Great_, she thought. _The headache and sleepiness weren't enough?_ Plus, she hadn't been able to take her sunglasses off in any of the stores she went to because her eyes had grown quite sensitive to any light, whether artificial or natural sunlight. In fact, she was finding it hard to drive on the beautiful and sunny day even though she had her sunglasses on. The brightness outside was still bothering her eyes, which surprised her since she her glasses had dark brown lenses with UV protection. The sun had never bothered her before when she was wearing them.

Sitting in the left turn lane at the red light at Konunu Street and Kalakaua Avenue, she couldn't fight it anymore. "Just for a minute. Just while the light's red," she whispered as she let her eyes close. A minute later her eyes flew open and she grabbed her head, the honking from the person behind her causing an intense burst of pain in it. "Okay, okay, geez," she muttered, pulling out into the intersection and turning left. _Some people, I'll tell ya…_

As she drove along Kalakaua Avenue, Tina's eyes drifted shut. No matter how hard she tried she just couldn't keep them open anymore. Suddenly she felt the SUV hit something and her eyes flew open, her heart stopping in fear as she slammed on the breaks. "Ow!" she cried out, the jerking from stopping the SUV so suddenly caused her head to bump the back of the seat. Of course, the part of her head that made contact with the black leather was the spot she'd already hit twice that day. She glanced around and realized she'd been lucky, she'd veered to the right and bumped into the curb. She exhaled a sigh of relief as she used her right hand and slipped the car into park. She squinted her face in pain as she held the back of her head gently with her hand. "Oh man," she murmured. It felt as if her head was literally going to explode.

Since she was already parked on the side of the road, Tina thought it was probably a good idea if she just closed her eyes and maybe slept for fifteen minutes. At least then she thought she'd be able finish her last two stops and head back to the arena without falling asleep at the wheel again. It wasn't just safer for herself, but for other driver's on the road. She'd never forgive herself if she hurt or killed someone.

Tina glanced around, taking in her surroundings. Satisfied that it was a safe and legal place to park, she turned the car off, but turned the key in the ignition just slightly so she could keep the air conditioning running. It was too hot and humid not to have any air, especially with the way she was feeling.

She made sure the doors were locked and then crossed her arms on the steering wheel and laid her head on them._ This'll do_, she thought. She was so sleepy she didn't even have the energy to lean the seat back and take a nap like that, even though it probably would have been more comfortable. As soon as her eyes closed she was out, dead to the world.

* * *

><p>He had gotten back in his car after talking to her and followed her as she left Jamba Juice and made two other stops. He'd watched as she seemed to feel worse and worse. It didn't take a rocket scientist to see she was exhausted. He'd been behind the car that had honked at her at the light. He couldn't believe she'd fallen asleep. Once he had a good picture of her to use to mess with Pete, he hadn't planned on following her, but after talking to her and finding out about the fall and her headache, he was worried. He'd always liked Tina and didn't want to see anything happen to her, so he'd followed her. Plus, his beef wasn't with her.<p>

He was a bit relieved when she chose to stay pulled over after she'd fallen asleep at the wheel and hit the curb. He made a U-Turn and parked across the street, his car facing the opposite direction. Knowing Pete, he knew it wouldn't be long until he worried that she wasn't back yet. He smirked, deciding it was the perfect time to screw with him. He wanted him completely on edge for the show. More so than he already was, thanks to the little mishaps he'd been sure to cause while Maddie rehearsed. He smiled just thinking about it. He could only imagine what was going on in his head as he tried to figure out how the hell someone was getting in and messing with things while he and his team were there.

He pulled the memory card from the SLR camera he'd been using to take photos of Tina and placed it in the laptop sitting on the passenger seat. He quickly transferred the photos onto the computer before plugging in the new cell phone he'd stolen from a paparazzo outside the arena. One he knew was a huge fan of Maddie. He smiled, knowing Steve and his Five-0 team would follow the trail of breadcrumbs he was purposely leaving them. _Of course nothing I've left will help them find me, _he thought happily as he chuckled. He was really going to enjoy watching Steve run around in circles trying to catch him.

As he scrolled through all the photos he'd taken of Tina over the last forty-five minutes, he laughed. Picking one of her getting out of the car, he got it into the stolen iPhone before unplugging the device from the computer. He opened a new text message and entered Pete's cell number before typing a quick message and attaching the photo. He laughed maniacally as he hit send. He set the phone down in the cup holder and looked around. Noticing there weren't many cars – and the ones that were there were parked with no one inside – and no one was walking around, he decided it was time to change out of his "Arthur" disguise and into a new one. As a rule, he very rarely changed disguises out in public just in case he was spotted; he couldn't risk there ever being any witnesses. However, he made an exception this time since no one was around.

Arthur was easy to shed. He simply pulled the wig and mustache off and removed the green contacts, tucking everything inside a black duffel on the passenger seat. Putting on his next disguise was more of a process, but luckily he had time since he was sitting in his car waiting for someone to come look for Tina, who was asleep in her SUV across the street.

After slipping the new color contacts in his eyes and putting the eyebrows made of real hair in place, he carefully pulled the silicone face mask he'd created for this particular character of his out of it's protective packaging. He had put it on and then smoothed the neck down, pulling a small round container from the duffel. He took a sponge, patted it in the substance in the container, and began blending the sides of the mask into his skin. This was necessary if it was to look like he wasn't wearing a mask.

Once satisfied it was secure and blended, he put the new, dark brown wig on, followed by the wire-rimmed glasses. He then grabbed the red, plaid, long sleeved, button down shirt and worn looking Yankees hat from the bag and put them on, completing the look.

Pulling down the visor, he checked his reflection in the small mirror. He smiled at the face staring back at him. "Well done," he complimented himself. It didn't look anything like him. He looked much older thanks to the wrinkles he'd made sure to put in the mask when making it.

As he continued to look at himself in the mirror, he shifted his head slightly making sure all the edges of the mask were blended and invisible to the eye.

Satisfied, he closed the mirror, leaned back in his seat, and waited for the show to begin with an evil, mischievous grin on his face.

* * *

><p>Steve and Maddie had been back in her dressing room for thirty minutes. She had taken her usual spot in the middle of the couch, and Steve had sat next to her on her left, like he had for the last several hours. While Kono, Lori, Chin, and Steve had been chatting, Maddie had kept quiet. However, she would force herself to join in anytime they all laughed, so they knew she was listening, at least somewhat. Steve stole quick glances at her out of the corner of his eye every couple minutes or so, worried whether he'd be able to fix the damage her father's statement had caused. In fact, he wasn't the only one concerned about her, Kono and Chin kept eyeing her as well. However, they figured her quiet and distant behavior was a result of seeing her father, they didn't know it was really more about Steve.<p>

"Things okay in here?" Pete asked as he walked through the door.

It took Maddie a few seconds to shake the repeating thoughts from her head. She turned to look at him. She nodded.

Pete could see it as soon as she looked at him, something had happened. Suddenly it dawned on him and he glanced at his watch. "Damn it!" he cursed and looked back up to her. "I'm so sorry, Mads."

She gave him a small smile, and to Steve's surprise, a genuine one. "It's fine."

"She speaks!" Chin cried out, laughing.

Maddie turned to look at him, a bigger smile on her face. "Yes, but I'm not supp-osed to be." Her voice cut out. "It's only getting worse," she explained, referring to her voice, or lack of it.

"Now she follows Doc's advice," Kono cracked, chuckling.

Maddie shrugged her shoulders and gave them a sort of 'whachya gonna do?' look.

Pete walked further into the room, stopping behind the armchair Kono was sitting in. He placed his hands on the top of the back of the chair and leaned forward slightly. "You should've called me, I would've gone with you," he told to Maddie.

Before she could answer, Steve spoke up. "I went with her."

Pete's eyes widened in surprise. No, more like shock. "Is there a bloody mess that needs to be cleaned up? Are the cops coming to arrest you?" he quipped, knowing how Steve felt about Maddie's dad, Henry.

"Almost," Steve replied, his shoulders squared as anger emanated out of every pore of his body. They could all tell he was completely serious.

The silence and thick tension that had fallen over the room was uncomfortable, something they all felt. They glanced at one another, hoping someone would say something to break the tense moment. Finally, Pete spoke up.

"So, Mads," he began with not only a mischievous tone, but a coinciding look on his face as well. Hearing that, they all turned to look at her.

Forcing herself to try and act normal and not dwell on Steve and what her dad had said, Maddie glanced around at all their waiting faces. "Huh?" she finally said to Pete.

"Derek needed to run a quick errand," Pete started. Maddie immediately fought to keep from smirking, knowing exactly where this was going. "Wouldn't you know, he walks out to his car only to discover it isn't there."

"Really?" she replies. "That's so we-ird."

Pete stared at her, a small smirk on his face. "Mads…" He waited for her to say something. When she didn't, he continued. "Where's his car?"

_What?_ Steve wondered, confused. His head whirled to his right to look at her. "Madeline?" he said with a slightly warning tone.

She leaned back into the couch further as she sighed, snuggling into the blanket more. She was so tired. "Ryan needed to borrow it," she answered nonchalantly.

"And how exactly did Ryan get the keys?" Pete asked, smiling. "Because I know for a fact he didn't ask Derek for them."

"Who knows?" Maddie answered, shrugging her shoulders. "Ryan can be quite sneaky." She smiled sweetly at her head of security.

He looked back at her, waiting for her to tell him the real story. When it was clear she'd said all she intended, he said, "Are you sure you're talking about Ryan?"

"Who else wo-uld I be talk-ing about?" she asked, meeting his eyes. Steve had not stopped looking at her and she was doing her best to act like it wasn't getting to her, because it was. It really was.

Pete took a second to take Maddie's complexion in. The small amount of color she'd regained in her face after her hour-long nap was now gone. She was pale and looked extremely tired. He looked between Steve and Maddie. By the way she was sitting further away from him than she had been all day and how she made sure that her blanket didn't get anywhere near him, he could tell something had happened. _Damn, he'd seemed to have made a little improvement with her. Not much, but it was better than nothing_, Pete thought. _I wonder what happened? Wonder what he said or did this time?_

"Hm, let me think," Pete jokingly said as he scratched his head. Finally, he ended the charade and looked. "Okay, fess up. You pick-pocketed him, didn't you?"

Maddie's eyes widened as she gave him an innocent look. "Me? That hu-rts, Petey." He cocked his head and raised his eyebrows, wanting the truth. "Fine," she sighed loudly, sniffling as she did. "You go-t me. Can't get anyth-ing past you, P."

Steve sighed, his eyes closing briefly at her admittance. It's not that he wasn't impressed by her skills, because he was. It was that he wished she'd stop using them while she was in trouble. While she had a psycho after her. She'd already taken off twice in the last few days, at least twice that he knew of, and what if she'd used the keys she'd taken? God forbid the psycho would get a hold of her, or she' d fallen asleep behind the wheel. He tensed considerably, the worst case scenarios on his mind.

Pete shook his head, smirking. "When?"

She debated answering him; she didn't want to give away all her secrets. However, ultimately, she decided it didn't really matter. "When I was rehearsing that new song earlier. He was excited at how it looked and gave me a hug. I slipped them off his belt loop."

"Madeline," Steve said, obviously not happy about it.

"What? I wasn't gonna take the car myself," she said to him, the tone of her voice much different from when she was talking to Pete.

"Nice job sistah!" Kono laughed, standing up and leaning towards Maddie. The two fist-bumped.

"Tha-nks," Maddie replied, smiling. She used her other hand to cover her mouth as a sudden tickle appeared in her throat causing her to cough.

Steve glimpsed at his watch, checking the time. _Another forty-five minutes and she can have some more meds_, he thought.

As Kono sat back down laughing, Pete reached his hand and jokingly tugged lightly on her ponytail. "Do not encourage, Kono!" he laughed.

"Sorry, P," she replied, trying to keep from giggling.

"I'm impressed," Lori said, feeling as if she should say something.

"Why thank you!" Maddie slightly smiled at her sitting on the other couch across the coffee table.

"Not you too, Lori," Steve said. "No encouraging her." He looked from Lori to Kono. "Either of you."

Lori smiled, happy Steve was engaging her. "Oh come on, Steve. It's funny. No harm, no foul. Lighten up," she said to him, a huge, flirty smile on her face. She batted her eyes slightly at him.

Maddie straightened slightly seeing her flirt with Steve. Not wanting to see his response, she looked away towards the closed door to the adjoining room. _Maybe I should just go lie down in there_, she wondered. _I am tired, plus I wouldn't have to be sitting here with Steve. I won't have to watch the looks Lori is constantly sending him. Or his responses to them_. However, she hadn't actually seen the looks he sent to Lori, since number 1, there weren't any, and number 2, she always looked away, refusing to look. She knew it would hurt too much. However, she knew they were there. Or rather, she assumed they were.

Steve noticed the sudden change in her and assumed it had something to do with the fact she thought he was dating Lori. _I told her I wasn't_, he thought. _I can't believe she didn't believe me_. However, if he was being honest with himself, he couldn't blame her. He'd said and done so many things since she'd been in town only to take them back. And he'd kissed her Saturday night, insinuating more, only to laugh at the idea of them as more than friends the next morning. If the roles were reversed, he couldn't say he wouldn't be feeling the same.

"Ryan's not in any kind of trouble is he?" Pete asked.

Maddie quickly looked over at him, a serious and truthful look on her face. "Of course not! I promise, he just went to run some errands. Get away from the arena for a bit before soundcheck and the show. That's all." _I'm not exactly lying_, she thought. _Per se…_

"Okay," Pete nodded, accepting her answer. He knew if she thought Ryan was in trouble, she'd tell him. "But no more stealing, you little klepto," he teased.

Steve smiled, his mind immediately thinking back to Saturday night when he'd called her the exact same thing after discovering that Maddie had been stealing his clothes and wearing them, for God knows how long. Definitely years. Of course, this prompted an image, well more like a fantasy, of Maddie wearing nothing but one of his button down shirts to pop into his head. _Oh man_, he thought, feeling his body react to the mere idea.

Ever since they'd kissed in her media room Friday, all he wanted to do was do it again. He'd only gotten to experience the way she felt underneath him for a few brief minutes before Pete had come back to the house and interrupted them. He'd gotten another quick taste later that same night, but she'd ended it quickly and pulled away from him abruptly. He was anxious to go there again with her. So much so, that he wasn't sure he'd be able to restrain himself and go slow the next time, something he felt was incredibly important. When he was finally able to kiss and touch her like he was so craving, he wanted to take his time. After waiting twenty years to go there with each other, he didn't feel it was something that should be rushed, and he wasn't just talking about sex. Not only did he want to take his time, but he wanted to make sure she knew that he cared about her and was attracted to her on more than just a physical level. _That is if we get to go there. If I can fix things, _he thought.

Steve glanced at her out of the corner of his eyes. _If she only knew how I really felt, we'd probably be in the other room right now_, he thought, his pants tightening even more at the thought. He reminisced over their short moments. He loved the way her lips had felt against his. When he thought back to when they'd kissed, he could swear he could still feel her soft lips against his. _If just kissing her does this to me, I can't imagine what going further will do. _He fought to keep from smiling at the thought. His pants became even tighter. What had just been a sort of stirring in his nether region was now a small growing erection. _Crap, _he inwardly cursed, realizing quickly that his thoughts had gotten out of hand and fast. Worried someone would notice, he moved around, pretending he was trying to get comfortable. _Think about something else_, he told himself. _Anything else_.

"Hey, on a completely different subject, where's Tina? She asleep in the other room?" Pete asked, motioning with his head to the closed door leading into the adjoining room. He was still leaning his arms against the back of Kono's armchair as he unconsciously played with her ponytail. He was really hoping the answer would be yes, that Tina was getting some much-needed sleep. He knew he'd feel so relieved.

"No," Maddie responded. However, before she could finish, she started coughing.

"Where is she then?" Pete asked, letting go of Kono's hair. _That's weird_, he thought. _I haven't seen her around the arena in the last little while. _

As Steve watched Maddie carefully, just in case she needed her inhaler, he answered Pete. "She left to run some errands."

"She did?" he asked. Pete immediately straightened, no longer leaning on Kono's chair, and reached for the walkie-talkie at his waist. "Roll call," he said into the device. His carefree, laid back demeanor was gone immediately, replaced by his "head of security", all business persona.

The room was quiet while he listened to the responses coming through his earpiece. "Thanks," he said tightly into the walkie-talkie, before returning it to the clip on his belt. "My entire team is here. She must've gone alone."

At the slight anxiety in his buddy's voice, Steve turned to look at him, no longer worried about Maddie since she'd stopped coughing. "What is it Pete?" he asked, his tone serious, something Maddie picked up on. Her eyes darted between both men.

"I specifically told her to take security with her when she left." He slid his fingers through his hair, his mind running a million miles an hour.

"Okay, but she didn't. It's no big deal," Maddie told him, curious as to why he seemed so anxious about it. She'd never seen him like this before, not over something so small and insignificant as errands. Sure, he'd been worried about Tina before, but this was different. She couldn't quite put her finger on why, but it was.

"It is a big deal. I didn't want her driving after what happened earlier," he answered, his tone slightly clipped.

"What do you mean? What happened?" Chin asked, sitting up straight in his chair, a bad feeling beginning to churn in his gut.

Pete sighed and then took a deep breath, hoping it would help himself calm down. "I ran into Tina in the hall earlier. She was acting really strange." Pete paused, noticing how Maddie averted her eyes from his. _She knows something about why T's being weird with me_, he thought. He decided he'd ask her about it later. Right now, he needed to find Tina. "Anyway, she said she was going to get Steve and Maddie lunch, so I went with her, wanting to make sure everything was okay. To make a long story short, we sat down while we waited for the food. When it was done she stood to get it and almost passed out."

At Pete's statement, Steve and Maddie's heads shot to one another, their eyes wide. They immediately grew worried since they knew she'd hit her head.

"What is going on?" Pete snapped, noticing the look the two best friends were sharing. He was trying to keep his cool and hide his emotions, but his façade was slipping.

Steve gave Maddie a look. "Yes, tell him. I agree," she told Steve, understanding what he was silently saying.

"Tell me what?" Pete asked, the anxiety he was trying to hide, creeping into his voice.

Steve turned to his fellow Navy Seal and longtime friend. "Earlier, when Doc was looking Maddie over….Tina was helping her out of her jeans, so he could get a good look at her knee. She somehow slipped backwards and smacked the back of her head on the coffee table."

"She what?" Pete calmly asked, the information not quite sinking in. His relaxed tone surprised them. "How?" he asked, his tone much different now. Much more anxious. They could hear the anger and concern bubbling inside him, begging to be released now that the situation had registered.

Steve shrugged. "Doc and I were in the kitchen. We only heard it happen."

Pete looked to Maddie, silently telling her to explain. "My skinny jeans wouldn't come off, so she put every muscle into it and pulled hard. Of course they came loose and she went flying backwards and smacked her head against the coffee table."

"And you guys are just now telling me this?" Pete questioned, his voice rising slightly as the realization of the situation began to hit him.

"She didn't want us to say anything to anyone," Maddie explained.

Pete shook his head, angry at them, as he hurriedly pulled his phone from his pocket. As he went to his "favorites" list in his iPhone, he asked, "Did Doc look her over afterwards and make sure she was okay?" Finding Tina's name he hit 'call' and held the phone to his ear. As it began to ring he looked to Maddie and Steve, waiting for them to answer his question.

"Yes, when she left after bringing our lunch back, Doc was going to check her over," Steve said.

"He must've given her a clean bill of health since she was up and around," Maddie added.

Pete's eyes closed as he listened to the phone ring and ring and ring. He clenched his jaw and his nose slightly twitched as he licked his lips. It was obvious he was doing everything he could to try and keep his cool when inside he was freaking out. Her voicemail came on. "Hi, you've reached Tina Monroe! Please leave a message and I'll get back to you as soon as possible! Thank you so much and have an amazing day!"

"Hey, T. Call me back the second you get this. I mean the second!" he said, his voice tight as he left the message. "No answer," he said, pulling the phone from his ear. He quickly dialed again as he began to pace lightly.

"That's weird," Maddie admitted, growing incredibly concerned about her best friend. "She always answers! No matter what."

While Pete held his phone to his ear, calling her again, he tried to keep his mind from jumping to all the worse case scenarios.

"Do you think she fell again?" Chin suddenly asked.

That pulled Pete from his head. "What do you mean again?" His tone was a lot harsher than he intended, but they all understood. He was scared and worried.

Knowing exactly what his co-worker was referring to, Steve answered, "Before T left, she came in and went into the other room to get Maddie's sneakers. While she was in there, we heard a crash."

"Did you check on her?" Pete asked incredulously, trying to keep his cool. He couldn't believe no one had told him any of this. _What the hell?_ he fumed.

"Of course!" Steve replied sharply, offended that he even asked.

"I was closest, so I went in there," Chin stated.

"And?" Pete asked, his flashing eye flitting to Chin. However, just before Chin answered, Pete cursed, "Damn it!" He pulled his phone from his ear, his hand clenched around it, and stuffed it into his pocket. He scraped his top teeth over his bottom lip and then released it. "No answer." He took a deep breath and then looked back at Chin, wordlessly telling him to continue.

"She was standing, but she definitely seemed flustered."

"What did she say happened?" Pete asked, trying to decide what he was going to do.

"She claimed she bumped into the table in there," Chin answered.

"How did she seem? Was she acting any weirder?"

"Not really," Maddie answered. "I don't know, P. I was distracted at the time. Plus, she left shortly after that." She paused, feeling incredibly guilty. What if something had happened to Tina? Something she could've prevented if she'd only been paying closer attention instead of worrying about seeing her dad. "I'm sorry."

Suddenly Pete's phone dinged and he quickly pulled it from his pocket with a hopeful look in his eyes that it was Tina. **1 New Message** his phone read. Noticing it was from a number he didn't recognize, he opened it, disappointed it wasn't her. He wasn't sure how he was able to act so nonchalant over the message he was currently staring at. His Navy Seal training kicked in and he knew he needed to completely hide his emotions. "I'm gonna grab my laptop and see if I can't locate her phone," he calmly said, although he was anything but. He began walking across the room to where his laptop case was sitting. He forced himself to walk at a normal pace, not wanting to let Maddie know what was going on. He was able to quickly catch Steve's eye without her noticing. He gave him a look.

"Here, let me help you," Steve said as he stood. After being teammates for so long, their lives in each other's hands, he'd understood what Pete was saying with his look. He took a few steps to his left before turning left again and walking to the kitchen table located behind the couch. He came to stand next to Pete as he booted up his laptop on the table. Pete silently handed his phone to Steve, who immediately froze as he looked at the screen. It was a text message that said, "**She's beautiful, isn't she?**" Attached was a photo. He tapped the small picture so he could get a better look, however he was pretty sure he already knew what it was of. Sure enough, he was right. As the picture filled the entire screen, his stomach dropped. It was of Tina. Her sunglasses were on as she exited the black SUV she was driving. Steve looked up and met Chin's eyes.

At the serious look his boss gave him, Chin stood and smiled. "I'm gonna help too. One worried Navy Seal is bad enough, but two? I better supervise," he joked, smiling at Maddie. It was obvious they didn't want her to know about whatever was going on.

Maddie smiled. As much as they drove her crazy at times, she was so lucky to have such wonderful, caring men in her life. They'd do anything for someone they cared about. Maddie looked at Kono. "Men," Kono smirked, rolling her eyes. "A woman doesn't answer her phone a couple times and they freak out and track her phone." The three women chuckled a bit.

Kono looked over at the men standing at the table in front of Pete's laptop. Steve gave her a look and tilted his head in Maddie's direction. He was thankful her back was to him, so she couldn't see anything they were doing. Understanding, Kono looked to her friend and began chatting, hoping to distract her from what was going on behind her.

Steve also met Lori's eyes, silently letting her know to help Kono. She smiled at his worried, but handsome, face. She was ecstatic that although she'd only been part of the team for a short amount of time, she and Steve were already close enough that they could communicate solely with their eyes.

Since he'd specifically asked her to help, she was more than happy and immediately joined the conversation with Kono and Maddie.

While the three women chatted, the three men were able to locate Tina's cell phone. Of course they'd tried her several more times, but she never answered.

As the three were standing huddled around the computer, Pete in the middle, his hands on his laptop, they studied the red dot on the map. The red dot was the location of Tina's phone. They occasionally glanced at one another, concerned that it wasn't moving. If she was driving or walking, or moving in any way, and her cellphone was on her, it should've been moving with her. The fact that it wasn't concerned them. "Maybe she left her phone in the car," Chin suggested, his voice quiet so only they could hear. "That would explain why it's not moving and why she isn't answering."

"Yeah, it's a possibility," Steve said softly, licking his lips as he thought things through. His eyes never left the stationary red dot on the screen's map. "Zoom in, Pete." He thought if they could see the map closer, with all the street names, not just the main ones, and the businesses, they'd have a better idea.

Pete's stomach dropped. "She's not even in a parking lot. It's just sitting on that street. There doesn't appear to be any shops or a reason she would need to leave the car."

His concern quadrupling over what this could mean, Pete reached for his walkie-talkie. He was going to send two members of the security team to the location of Tina's cell phone. Although he desperately wanted to go himself, he had to stay with Maddie. She was his priority. The three men knew that it was possible it could be a trap to lure Pete away from Maddie, so her stalker could try and get to her. Therefore, it was safer to send someone else to Tina.

Steve placed his hand on his friend's forearm, stopping him from using his walkie-talkie. Pete questioningly looked to Steve, worry etched on his tired face. "Go," Steve whispered. "I'll stay with her. She's completely safe with me. You go find Tina and make sure she's okay."

"Are you sure? What about Maddie?" Pete asked, grateful and relieved Steve was telling him to go.

"Yes, absolutely." Steve gave him a small smile. He wasn't sure what was going on, but all day he'd been getting a feeling maybe something had changed between his fellow Seal and Maddie's long time assistant. Whether the feeling was mutual, he didn't know. He wasn't even sure if that's what he was picking up on. However, seeing how Pete was reacting to hearing that Tina had hurt herself and now was possibly in trouble, he was really wondering if Pete didn't have feelings for Tina. With Maddie in some kind of trouble, Steve knew how worried he was. How he wanted to be with her every moment. If Pete was indeed discovering he had feelings for Tina, then Steve knew how badly he'd want to go find her. "I trust you implicitly, but Maddie will always be safer with me."

"I know," Pete smirked, understanding what he was saying. He wasn't insulting him, it was just a fact.

"So, go! Don't feel bad or worry about Maddie because I have her. Just focus on T and bringing her back safe and unharmed," Steve whispered to his long time friend.

"I'm gonna go with you," Chin announced from his spot on Pete's other side. They were all speaking in hushed tones, so Maddie wouldn't overhear.

Pete turned his head and met his friend's face. "Thank you," he nodded, more grateful and appreciative than he knew how to express.

"Keep me posted," Steve told them. "I'll keep the computer open and watch in case her phone's location begins to move…Oh, and let me know if you guys think you'll need backup and I'll send some!"

"Great!" Pete called out as he and Chin rushed towards the dressing room door.

"We'll be back!" Chin shouted over his shoulder.

The three women's conversation came to an abrupt halt as they watched Pete and Chin rush out the door. They were gone before either of them were really able to process what was going on, let alone before they had a chance to ask any questions. Both Pete and Chin had seemed worried and scared, and not just because Tina wasn't answering her phone.

_Am I missing something? _Maddie wondered. Beginning to panic, she twisted around to search for Steve in the kitchen, behind her. "Ste-ve?" she asked, looking towards him, her voice cutting out in the middle of his name.

Hearing her unsure and worried voice, he immediately looked up from the computer screen at her. He could see that although she was trying to hide it, she was scared, especially since Pete and Chin had just run out of the room. He gave her a reassuring smile as he picked up the laptop and strode over to the couch. He set it on the coffee table as he sat next to her. He made sure to close a bit of the physical distance she'd put between them only moments earlier. "Everything's fine, baby," he said to her, purposely using the pet name to provide more comfort. He rubbed her upper arm in a soothing gesture. "T probably just left her phone in the car. It'll be fine."

Maddie eyed him for a few seconds before nodding. "Kay," she whispered, leaning back against the couch. She was tired, and that was putting it mildly.

Steve stared into her exhausted blue eyes before letting them scan her face. She looked like she didn't feel well. He glanced at his watch, checking the time. _Those meds I gave her are beginning to wear off. It's almost time for more_, he thought.

He was just about to say something along those lines when Lori asked, "Did Chin go with Pete?"

Lori had been watching the way Steve was looking at Maddie and she hated it. It was upsetting. It was obvious he cared deeply for her, she just hoped it was as a friend and as nothing more. Her stomach was churning and her heart was breaking. She needed to pull his attention away, so she asked the first thing that came to her mind.

"Yeah," Steve replied adjusting his position on the couch. Instead of sitting facing Maddie, he turned and leaned against the back of the couch, eyeing the open laptop on the coffee table. He made a note that the red dot, Tina's cell phone, hadn't moved.

Seeing Maddie's worried look, Kono said, "I'm sure she's fine and that you're right Steve. She probably just left her phone in the car." However, Maddie wasn't really listening, she was miles away, lost in her own thoughts.

* * *

><p>Although Chin had really tried to convince him otherwise, Pete had insisted on driving. "I can tell you and Steve trained and went through the ranks together," Chin said as he gripped the passenger door's inside handle with his right hand so hard that his knuckles weren't only white, but his hand was actually starting to hurt.<p>

"How's that?" Pete asked, his jaw clenched and his eyes laser focused in front of him as he weaved in and out of cars.

"You both drive like complete maniacs when you're concerned," he bluntly answered.

Pete glanced at him out of the corner of his eye, never once moving his head. He noticed him holding on for dear life and then eyed the speedometer. "Guess I can slow down a little," he mumbled sheepishly. "Sorry."

"It's okay," Chin smiled. "I get it. If anything every happened to Malia..."

"Yeah, but you and Malia are together. Tina and I are just friends," Pete responded as he came to a complete stop behind the four cars in front of them. "Stupid red lights," he muttered. Although he was trying to keep his cool, trying to keep his intense worry hidden, it was peaking through. The way he impatiently began shaking his left leg and tapping the steering wheel. The way he glanced around at all the cars in front of him, to each side, and behind him, looking for a way around them so he could get moving again and stop just sitting there.

"Hm…interesting," Chin said. He decided it wasn't the time to ask him questions about their "friendship".

Pete ignored the comment, at least for now. He'd ask him what he meant by it later because at the moment he needed to focus on getting to Tina. "God I hope he didn't get to her," he stated.

"Who is this guy?" Chin asked incredulously, posing the question to the universe.

"I don't know, but when we find him I'm going to rip him apart with my own two hands," Pete growled, the anger apparent in his voice. "Come on!" he suddenly yelled, laying his hand on his horn. "Green light means go!"

Chin decided it would be better to not say a word. He knew he was terrified. "We're getting close to the address on Kalakaua Avenue. I'm gonna double check with Steve that it hasn't moved."

"Good call," Pete replied as Chin quickly texted Steve.

"No, it's still the same address," he reported, hearing back immediately from his boss.

"Please just say she left her phone in the car," Pete whispered as he turned right onto Kalakaua Avenue. Knowing he was only a few blocks away from her cell's location, he once again pressed his foot down hard on the gas pedal.

"We're gonna miss the spot if you keep going 80mph," Chin calmly told him, although there was a hint of exasperation in his voice. "I'm not even going to mention that the speed limit is 45."

Pete ignored him as he glanced around the area, looking for any sign of Tina or foul play. Anything that would hint as to what was going on.

"Slow down," Chin suddenly said. "This is the block we are getting the signal from." He began scanning the area while Pete pulled into a metered parking spot at the beginning of the block. "Do you know what car she took?"

"Yeah, a black Escalade," Pete answered, quickly throwing the car into park and pulling the keys from the ignition. With his left hand hovering over the door handle, he reached into the center console and grabbed an extra magazine for the gun safely holstered to his hip.

"Good call," Chin said. "Got another one?"

Pete said nothing. He answered by pulling out a second magazine for him. Chin gratefully took it and both men exited the SUV.

"Let's split up," Chin suggested. "You look for the car and I'll look around for her cell phone or purse or hopefully her." Pete's jaw visibly clenched at the end of Chin's statement, knowing that if they found her cell phone or purse laying around it would mean she'd been taken by Maddie's stalker.

"Sounds good," Pete said. "By the way, her purse is purple." He didn't bother to hear Chin's response as he walked away briskly, glancing at the cars parked on the side of the street near theirs. He sighed. None were an SUV, let alone a black Escalade. He glanced to his right to see a bank parking lot. He jogged towards it, hurrying down the different rows. He saw a large, dark SUV out of the corner of his eye. _Tina,_ he thought, running towards it. However, his shoulders slumped as he came to a stop once he noticed it was a suburban and it was midnight blue. "Damn," he whispered, running his hands through his hair as he looked around, studying his surroundings. "Where are you T," he asked himself, licking and biting at his bottom lip.

Pete sighed. The car wasn't in the bank parking lot. He jogged out of the lot and back to the sidewalk. He stopped. His actions were beginning to mirror the franticness he was feeling, but had been trying to hide. His head moved back and forth as he scanned the area for the car. Suddenly his head abruptly stopped as he studied an SUV parked at a meter on the other side of Kalakaua Avenue, the street they were on. He unconsciously took a few steps forward and leaned his left hand on the car to his left as he focused on the SUV across the street. _Black Escalade_, he thought as he broke out into a run.

He wasn't sure if it was her car since he couldn't see the license plate, but he didn't care. It didn't stop him from running out into oncoming traffic. Tires squealed as cars slammed on their brakes, trying to keep from hitting him. The drivers honked their horns. Some rolled down their windows and yelled incredibly obscene profanities at him, but he didn't care. He didn't even bother waving to them in a lame attempt at an apology. To be honest, he didn't even notice the chaos he was causing. He was focused on one thing and one thing only. Tina. And how he was praying to God that it was her car. He just hoped she was somewhere close and hadn't been abducted.

Hearing the commotion, Chin stopped talking to a woman walking her dog and glanced around. He knew whatever was going on had to do with Pete. Seeing Pete running across the street with no regard for his safety or wellbeing, he looked back to the woman. "Thank you for your help. You have a wonderful day! Aloha!" He smiled at her before turning and hurrying to where Pete was headed. _Stupid Navy Seals_, he thought, hoping Pete didn't get himself hurt or killed.

Pete panted as he reached the back of the car. He glanced at the license plates. Seeing it was in fact the car she'd taken, he cupped his hands around his face and leaned against the back windshield, looking in the trunk. He squinted his eyes as he tried to see through the tinted windows. Luckily they weren't severely tinted, so he was able to see that there was nothing out of the ordinary back there. Just a couple of bags he assumed she'd picked up on her errands. He glanced around hoping he'd either see her walking towards the car or would see a location she might be in. Trouble was, he didn't know what errands she was running. Well, except to the phone store.

He glimpsed around to see if he saw one. He sighed when he didn't. "Where are you T?" he mumbled to himself as he walked from the back of the car and up to the backseat window on the driver's side of the car. He again cupped his hands and peered in. Nothing. Only a box and two bags.

With his hands still cupped around his face, Pete took steps to his left, the entire time peering into the car. "Tina!" he cried as he reached the driver's window and looked inside. The immediate happiness and relief he felt upon seeing her in the car disappeared as he took her in.

She was hunched forward, her arms crossed on the steering wheel with her head lying on them. He couldn't see her face as she was lying on the left side of her face, which meant she was facing the passenger seat.

Chin came to a halt next to him, breathing a bit heavily since he'd been running and had been a lot further away. Before he could even ask anything, Pete said, "She's in the car."

While Pete searched his pockets for the extra set of keys he'd decided to grab just before they left, Chin looked through the window at Tina. A worried look immediately came over his face seeing her. "Tina!" he yelled, knocking on the window.

As Pete pulled the keys from his pocket, he glanced up, wanting to see if she had responded. His stomach clenched when she didn't move even the slightest bit. Neither man voiced their fears, hoping if they didn't acknowledge them then they wouldn't be real. But in reality they were terrified. Both had automatically looked her over, as best they could through the window, looking for any signs of blood or trauma. They'd felt a bit relieved not seeing anything, but at the same time, they couldn't really see her that well the way she was hunched over, her back to them. There was also the possibility that she'd been drugged or something similar since Pete had received a text from Maddie's stalker. He was so worried he'd done something to Tina. There was also the possibility that she was dead. However, both Pete and Chin refused to even entertain the notion.

Pete quickly hit the "unlock" button on the remote control attached to the keys. He pulled the door open the second it unlocked. "T?" he said as he leaned inside the Escalade, his body more than halfway inside. He went to touch her, but pulled his hand back at the last second. He was scared. Scared he'd discover she'd been seriously hurt, or possibly killed. He wouldn't put it past Maddie's stalker after the stunts he'd pulled over the last several days.

He took a deep breath and let it out as he saw her back rise and fall in breath. _She's alive_, he thought, relieved and happy. "Tina," he said again, this time placing his hand on her upper back. He began to gently rub it. "T, wake up!"

Chin noticed Pete's voice had taken on a tone he'd never heard from him before. It was hard to explain. It was definitely gentle, and he could hear the fear in it, but there was also something he couldn't quite place. _It's not the time_, Chin told himself, pushing it from his mind.

"I'm gonna go on the other side," Chin declared as Pete tried to wake her up Pete said nothing, only nodded quickly before calling out to her again.

"T, come on, wake up!" Pete cried. He stopped rubbing her back and instead began to carefully shake her.

"Mmmm," Tina groaned, her eyes fluttering behind her sunglasses before they closed again. (The light had bothered her too much to take them off, so she'd slept with them on.) A huge smile appeared on his face at the noise she made. "Thank God," he whispered without even realizing it. He briefly made eye contact with Chin, who now was kneeling on the passenger seat.

"Tina, come on….wake up," Chin coaxed., gently pushing a few strands of her chocolate brown hair behind her ear that had slipped into her face while she'd slept.

Tina slowly began lifting her head, both men's hands hovering near her. Although the movement was nothing drastic, her hands immediately flew to her aching head. "Owww."

"Just take it slow," Pete said as he carefully guided her back to lean against the seat. It was obvious that Maddie's stalker hadn't gotten to her. Whether he was going to go after her or not or whether he was just taunting him, he didn't know. And in the moment, he didn't really care. He just cared that she was unhurt, well except for the obvious concussion.

Now leaning back against the seat, she felt Pete unbuckle her seatbelt. If she hadn't felt so awful, she would have enjoyed the way his large hands grazed her upper thighs and lower abdomen as he freed her from the confining strap. "What are you doing here?" she asked him, her eyes closing again under her sunglasses. She was so tired. Plus the trace amounts of sunlight she could still see through the dark lenses of her sunglasses were worsening her headache.

"You didn't answer your cell phone," Pete replied as he tenderly brushed some hair from her face. "I got worried." He took a deep breath as he felt his racing heart and blood pressure begin to return to normal now that he had found Tina and she was safe.

She shook her head lightly in response. However, it didn't matter how careful she was, it caused a surge of pain in her head. She grabbed at it again, whimpering. She took a deep breath. "I'm fine," she lied.

"I heard what happened," Pete responded, his hand sliding up to the side of her head. He gently rubbed it, his fingers getting lightly tangled in her dark brown hair.

"Nothing happened," she mumbled, her voice trailing off. Her eyes were still closed and her sunglasses still on. By the sound of her voice, the way the ends of her words were dropping into a mumble, he could tell she was trying not to fall back asleep.

"Oh really?" he replied as he gently pulled her sunglasses from her face. He wanted to be able to see her eyes; he wanted her to stay awake. Until he physically watched Doc look her over, he wasn't going to let her fall back asleep and possibly slip into a coma.

Tina immediately squinted at the bit of extra light. However, it wasn't much since she was parked in the shade. Seeing her reaction, he glanced at Chin; they shared a knowing and concerned look. Neither were doctors, but both knew she had a pretty serious concussion. She had the classic symptoms. Sleepiness, sensitivity to light, pain when moving. "T, what were you doing in the car?" Pete asked.

"I was just taking a nap. I got so tired," she murmured as her eyes drifted shut.

"No. No, Tina. Open your eyes. There's no sleeping. Not until you get checked out by Doc," Pete told her as he rubbed her upper arm, hoping the gesture would make her open her eyes.

"I'm fine. Doc already checked me out. He said it was just a little bump," she told him as she eyed him through barely open eyes, appearing as nothing more than little slits. It was as far as she could keep her eyes open with the light bothering them.

"I'm gonna take it that you lied to him, just like you did to me." He paused. "I knew-" He stopped mid-sentence as he watched a funny look cross Tina's face. Her eyes moved from side to side. "You okay?"

"I don't feel so good," she whispered.

Pete's face showed concern. "Okay, let's get you back to the arena." He changed positions. "Can you walk?"

"Of course," Tina responded, a bit of attitude laced in her voice. "I'm fine. I'm just tired."

Not one to get attitude with him, well except over the last couple hours, he usually would have frowned, but he found himself smiling. He took it as a good sign, a sign that, although she had a concussion, she was, indeed, just fine.

Pete grabbed her left upper arm while Chin, still kneeling on the passenger seat, took hold of her right arm. Together the two helped her towards the edge of the seat.

She was surprised at how much help she needed to get up, but Pete being the gentleman that he was, didn't say anything about it. He only helped her stand. He was grateful that he'd kept his arms near her because once she was on her feet she faltered, falling slightly against his chest. He watched her head move a bit from side to side and immediately realized she was feeling dizzy. How dizzy? He wasn't sure. Although, she didn't appear to be experiencing the degree of dizzy spells Maddie had. He was grateful for that since it meant she had a milder concussion than Maddie.

"Need any help?" Chin asked as he came around the car to stand near them.

Before Pete could answer, Tina groaned. "I'm gonna be sick."

No sooner had she said that than she leaned forward. She would've fallen had Pete not had one arm around her. He quickly held on with his other one as well as she lost the contents in her stomach while Chin held her hair back for her. Pete's eyebrows furrowed in concern noticing she wasn't throwing any food up, but orange liquid instead. _Did she not eat anything today?_ he wondered. _How did I not realize that?_ He was annoyed with himself. Wondering what she had that was orange, he glanced back into the car. His eyes immediately fell upon a Styrofoam Jamba Juice cup. It all made sense now.

He helped her straighten once she was done. Chin let go of her hair, opened the backseat door and searched around. Finding a box of Kleenex, he pulled a few and handed them to her. "Thanks," she whispered as she wiped her mouth.

"No problem," he replied, giving her a sympathetic smile.

Tina felt awful. Everything was spinning. Here stomach was churning and her head was pounding. Her eyes fluttered closed as she collapsed against Pete. He was quick and immediately had her in his arms. He walked briskly around the car to the passenger door, which Chin opened for him. He carefully set Tina on the seat. "T, wake up. You can't sleep," he whispered, rubbing her cheek with the back of his hand.

She groaned. "Why not? I'm so sleepy."

"Not until Doc looks you over and makes sure you'll actually wake up if you go to sleep," he responded.

"I just need a quick nap, then I'll be fine. I have stuff I gotta do," she mumbled. He said nothing. He wasn't even going to bother arguing with her since no matter what she said he wasn't going to let her do a thing.

Tina opened her eyes, taking in her surroundings and what was going on. She glanced down at her lap, where Pete's hands were on her seatbelt. "What are you doing?" she asked.

"Buckling you in," he stated, his tone very matter of fact.

As he began to stand, finished buckling her in, she quickly unbuckled it with her left hand and began to try and get out of the car. He could tell her head hurt and was probably a little dizzy because her movements were a bit sloppy.

"Hey! What are you doing?" Pete asked, reaching for the seatbelt with his left hand, while he placed his right on her upper left bicep. He didn't have to use much strength or pressure to keep her from going anywhere since she was so tired.

"I have errands still. I'm in the wrong seat. I can't drive from here," she told him, her eyes fluttering closed.

"Tina, you're done with the errands. And there's absolutely no way in hell you are driving this car or any other one. I'm surprised you didn't kill yourself," he told her, his voice firm and slightly angry, leaving no room for argument as he buckled her seatbelt again. He couldn't believe she'd driven in this state. It was a miracle she hadn't been in an accident.

"You can't stop me!" Tina told him, her voice rising a bit. However, she immediately regretted it and winced at the surge of pain that started at the back of her head, where she'd hit it, and up the sides and top. She rubbed at the sore spot.

"I'm not arguing with you about this, T," Pete told her, grabbing her hands when she tried unbuckling her seatbelt again. "I'm telling you, we are going back to the arena."

"Why are you doing this? I'm not your job. Maddie's your job. You don't get paid to worry or care about me, so stop," Tina spat at him, still hurt and upset that he was seeing someone, even though she had no right to be. She pulled hard, trying to get her hands from his. It hurt too much to have him be like this with her. To have him worrying and caring. _I get what Maddie's going through_, she thought, well as much as she could think with her pounding headache.

Pete's eyes widened at her words. He would be lying if he said they didn't hurt. _She thinks I only care because I feel I have to? That it's part of my job? _he asked himself. He was so confused. He had absolutely no idea why she'd all of a sudden started acting weird around him and why she'd been keeping him at arm's length all day. They'd always been really good friends and he was starting to wonder if maybe there was more between them. Ever since she got back from her vacation he'd been trying to ignore the idea and thoughts he was having, but getting that picture on his phone and not being able to reach her had scared the hell out of him. Let alone seeing her passed out in the car. It all scared him more than he felt it should have. More than he should feel scared if she was just a friend.

He clenched his jaw as he tried to keep from snapping back at her. She'd hurt him, but he reminded himself that she was hurt, and not just physically, but emotionally. That somehow he'd upset her and she was just protecting herself. So, he said nothing as he met her half open eyes.

Although his face never changed, Tina saw a bit of hurt creep into his eyes. However, no sooner had it appeared, it was gone. Either way, she felt bad. She leaned back against the seat and didn't try and take her seatbelt off again. No longer able to look at him, she cast her eyes downward to her lap.

Thankful she was done trying to get out, Pete came to a standing position just outside the passenger door. He looked her up and down, making sure she was completely in the car before shutting the door.

"You okay?" Chin asked, having heard what Tina said as he leaned against the back passenger door.

Pete turned his head to the right, the opposite direction of Chin, cleared his throat and sighed. Satisfied his emotions were safely hidden, he turned to his friend. "Yeah." He paused. "I'm just glad we found her."

"Yeah, me too," Chin replied. "You know, she was not like that when she left," he told Pete, wanting to be sure he knew that they would have never let her go if she had been.

Pete gave him a small smile. "I know." He licked his bottom lip, letting his top teeth scrape over it. "That crash you guys heard from the other room, she must have hit her head again. You said it was right before she left?"

"Yeah, she left a couple minutes after that." Chin stepped away from the car. He turned around and faced Pete.

Pete nodded. "The timing makes sense. She started feeling like this once she was gone. Knowing her, instead of calling someone to come get her, she was probably trying to hurry and finish her errands as fast as possible, so she could get back."

"Yeah…probably." He paused. "I'm sorry, I should've pressed her when I went in there to check on her," Chin told him.

Pete shook his head. "No. She and Maddie are the same in a lot of ways. They both don't like worrying people around them." He rolled his eyes thinking about how this trait they both shared only made their close friends worry more. "She wouldn't have told you the truth no matter what you did, especially today of all days."

While Pete had been talking, Chin had unconsciously started looking around. His brow furrowed as something caught his eye. "Pete," he uttered, his voice taking on a questioning and concerned quality.

Pete immediately became alert. His right hand slowly and automatically neared his hip where his sidearm was secured. "What? What's up?"

Chin pointed low and behind him. He turned around to see what he was trying to show him. It didn't take long for him to see what Chin had. He dropped his hand, not needing his weapon. His jaw clenched as both worry and relief filled him at the same time. "She must have fallen asleep," he said as he stared at the mark on front right tire and rim of the escalade. His eyes automatically glanced to Tina in the passenger seat. Seeing her eyes closed he tapped on the glass. She opened them slowly, wincing and sending a half glare his way at the obnoxious sound his fingers had made on the window.

"That's why she pulled over," Chin solved.

"Yep," Pete stated, his voice tight as he tried to keep the array of emotions he was feeling from showing. "So I guess, thank God she fell asleep when she did and that she only hit the curb. It could've been a thousand times worse."

Chin nodded, silently sending a quick prayer of gratitude up to God. Seeing Tina's eyes flutter closed again, he said, "Let's go…before she falls asleep again."

"Definitely," Pete stated, walking around to the driver's side of the Escalade. "I'll meet you back there."

"Sounds good," Chin replied. "Oh and I'll call Steve and Doc from the car. Let them know we found her and to expect us."

"Good call," Pete responded as he opened the driver's door. After the two gave each other a quick wave of the hand, he sat down while Chin began walking down the street towards the crosswalk. He felt they'd already experienced a lot of luck and he didn't want to push it. Not only had he and Pete pressed their luck on jaywalking, but Tina had fallen asleep at the wheel and didn't have a scratch on her, or hurt anyone else. "We've had enough luck already today. Don't wanna push it," he whispered to himself as he approached the end of the block and intersection.

He'd crossed the street and was walking down the sidewalk towards the SUV they'd driven when a voice stopped him. "Excuse me?" it said. Chin turned around and saw a man standing next to his open driver's door.

He was probably around six foot with dark brown hair hidden underneath a worn New York Yankee's hat. His light brown eyes under bushy dark eyebrows and wire-rimmed glasses were wary and looked at Chin suspiciously. He was in a loose-fitting white t-shirt with a red, long-sleeved, plaid, button down shirt over it, which he left unbuttoned. By the wrinkles around his mouth as well as the crow's feet wrinkles near the outside of his eyes, and the couple on his forehead between his bushy eyebrows, Chin guessed him to be in his late 40's, early 50's.

"Yes?" Chin answered.

"Is everything okay with the girl across the street? I was just parking and saw your friend carry her from the driver's side," the stranger explained.

"Oh yes, she's fine. Thank you for your concern," Chin replied, giving the man a polite smile.

"You aren't kidnapping her or anything, are you?" the man asked, his eyes narrowing at Chin in a suspicious manner.

Chin had to bite back the laugh that was creeping up. He shook his head at the concerned citizen. "No, she's a friend of ours. Just wasn't feeling well, so we came to get her." He casually lifted the hem of his blue and green Hawaiian short sleeve button down shirt, exposing both his sidearm and his Five-0 badge. "Five-0," Chin smiled. "Nothing to worry about."

"You don't mind if I get a closer look, do you?" the man asked, his face appearing a bit sheepish. "Can never be too careful." Chin could tell the man felt bad for asking, but he appreciated that a citizen was doing his due diligence after seeing something a bit weird. Because seeing two men pull a woman from a car and carry her to the passenger seat was just that. He closed his driver's door and began walking towards Chin.

"Of course not," Chin answered, giving the man one of his perfect toothy smiles. He unclipped his badge from his belt and met the man at the front of his car. "I appreciate you asking. I wish everyone was this aware and asked questions," he said as he handed his badge to the man. As he looked it over, Chin continued. "I do believe it would cut down on crime quite a bit, or at least if everyone was as observant it would help us solve crimes faster because we'd have fantastic witnesses to give us accurate and helpful information."

After looking the badge over thoroughly, the man handed it back to Chin. "I agree one hundred percent…and I'm sorry to have pried, but you can never be too careful nowadays."

"No problem!" Chin smiled, clipping his badge back to his pants. "Again, I really do appreciate your due diligence."

The man walked the few steps back to the driver's side of his car.

"I didn't catch your name," Chin suddenly said.

Giving the Five-0 team member a genuine smile, the man answered, "It's Walt. Short for Walter. But, I haven't gone by that name since I was in high school. Too much teasing as a kid." The man chuckled.

Chin laughed with him, being polite. He couldn't help but think how odd it was to meet another person named Walter in the last few days. Before coming across Walter Seasius during their investigation into Maddie's stalker, he couldn't remember the last time he'd met a Walter. _What a coincidence, _he thought, but shook it from his mind. "Nice to meet you Walt. My name is Chin."

"Thanks for keeping our beautiful island safe, Chin," Walt said, grinning.

"My pleasure," Chin replied. "And again, thank you!" Walt nodded and Chin turned, heading back down the street towards his car. He climbed inside and headed back to the arena.

Walt had gotten back in his car after Chin had walked away. He closed the door and waited until he saw him pull the big SUV out into traffic and drive off before a huge smirk appeared on his face. He laughed maniacally, shaking his head. "It's like taking candy from a baby," he whispered, reaching for his laptop secured in a case in the passenger seat foot well. He typed in a password and the computer immediately sprung to life. He quickly opened an ongoing document he had of important information and entered in Chin's badge number: 13353. _That'll come in handy further down the line_, he thought, smiling and shaking his head at how easy it had been to get it. He saved the changes he'd made and closed the computer, sliding it back in its case.

"Walter," he chuckled, tickled with amusement. He just couldn't help himself when Chin had asked for his name. Couldn't help but give the name Walter after their dear friend Walter Seasius, the man whose phone he'd stolen and used to send Maddie the text message Friday night. The one with the photo of Lori straddling holier than thou Steve while they kissed.

Giving Chin the name Walter was his way of teasing Five-0. "The best part?" he whispered to himself as he continued to laugh. "They have no idea I'm even teasing them!" What started with a small chuckle was now something much more. His eyes watered as he roared with laughter.

He thought back to how surprised he was that Pete had come to get Tina himself. Now that, he hadn't been expecting, which both infuriated him and made him ecstatic. He was angry because he prided himself on knowing exactly what they'd do and when they'd do it. That was, after all, one of the ways he knew he'd stay ahead of them and keep Steve and Five-0 from finding him. That and misleading them at every turn by purposely leaving evidence behind that, when analyzed and studied, would lead nowhere.

But he was also happy that Pete had come because it showed how much he cared for Tina. _Going on a date with her might rattle him in itself_, he thought happily. Before he was just planning on getting useful information from her without her realizing. Information he could use against Steve and Pete, the rest of her security team, and possibly Five-0.

Glancing at his watch he realized he better get moving. He had to hide the current car he was in, a four-door, graphite colored Acura, and change out of his disguise. Not wanting to risk changing his appearance in public again, he decided to change when he hid the car. Then he'd head to the arena to see Maddie. He smiled brightly, the very thought of seeing her always brought a warm, euphoric feeling over him. He started the car, a permanent smile on his face, feeling fantastic over how things were going so far.

* * *

><p>"Hey you, no sleeping," Pete said to Tina as he closed the car door and buckled himself in the driver's seat.<p>

She said nothing, only groaned at him. He glanced over to make sure her eyes were open. They were. However, barely. But he didn't care as long as they were open. As long as she was awake.

There was an awkward silence as he turned the key already in the ignition, pulled out onto Kalakaua Ave., and drove down the street. He wasn't exactly sure what to say to her. He felt nervous, something he'd never been with her before. Plus, her words were echoing in his head. **Why are you doing this? I'm not your job. Maddie's your job. You don't get paid to worry or care about me, so stop. **He then recalled her comment earlier. The one she'd said in the hall after he'd seen her get dizzy. **I'm not yours to worry about Peter, so stop.** He shook his head slightly as he thought about her words. He didn't understand why all of a sudden she was pushing him away. The only reasoning he could come up with was that he'd possibly hurt her in some way, he just didn't know how. He'd been wracking his brain since their first abnormal encounter and hadn't come up with anything. However, it was obvious he was the reason she was upset.

Pete glanced over at her. Her eyes were closed. "T, come on, stay awake," he told her as he reached his right hand out and rubbed her left forearm.

As much as she liked it, she pulled her arm away and opened her eyes. "Can I have my sunglasses back?" she asked, her voice sounding distant and emotionless.

"No, because I won't be able to tell if your eyes are open or not," he replied, trying to ignore how much he was bothered by the way she'd immediately pulled away from his touch. In fact, it stung. He tried to tell himself it was because they were such good friends.

"It's bright," she groaned.

"It's a symptom of a head injury, T," he told her. "Here, this should help." He glanced away from the road for a quick second as he pulled the passenger visor down, effectively blocking some of the sun coming in the window and streaming into her green eyes.

"Thanks," Tina murmured. Because of it, she was able to open her eyes a little more. However, there was still enough sunlight coming in that it hurt her eyes and head, but she was able to suck it up. She glanced around. "You're going the wrong way," she told him.

Pete furrowed his brow, confused. "No, I'm not. The arena is this way."

"But we're not going back to the arena just yet. We have to make a stop," she replied.

He straightened, inwardly preparing for an argument. "No, Tina. We are going straight back to the arena. Doc needs to check you out," he declared.

As he stopped at a red light, Tina turned to look at him, squinting her eyes from the light coming through his windows. "Pete, just one stop. It's really important and it's not far."

Pete studied her face before bringing his eyes to hers. He could see that whatever it was seemed to be important to her by the intensity he saw in her green eyes. "What is it?"

Tina hesitated, not wanting to betray Steve's confidence.

Seeing she wasn't going to tell him, he shrugged and then turned his attention back to the line of cars stopped at the red light in front of him. "Well then, no."

She sighed heavily. "It's for Steve," she finally quietly admitted.

Pete turned his head to her quickly, a look of confusion on his handsome, but still bruised and cut up face, thanks to his fight with Steve at the barbeque Saturday.

"He special ordered her the blue glittery roses. The ones from the story he told us," she told Pete, giving him a small smile.

Pete couldn't help the grin that appeared on his face as he thought about his tough as nails Navy Seal "brother" ordering glittery flowers. _He probably had to go to a ton of florists before he found one that would do it too_, he thought. He'd wished he been there to see Steve ordering glittery flowers over and over again as he went from florist to florist trying to find one that would make them.

"Pete, he's trying to get through to her. To fix things." She paused, waiting to see what he said. When he remained quiet, she tried again, "Can we please go get them? I told him I would."

He turned his head to look at her. Seeing the concerned look on her face, concern for Maddie and Steve when she herself felt awful, he couldn't help but be in awe of her. Against his better judgment, he asked, "Where is it?" He couldn't help the large grin that appeared on his face as Tina gave him the biggest smile he'd seen all day. What made him even happier was that he knew he'd caused the smile.

"It's at that small florist shop by the grocery store we always go to when we're here," Tina answered, blinking slowly as she continued to fight the sleepiness.

"Okay, we'll go, but on one condition," he told her, still sitting at the red light. _Apparently this is the longest light in the world_, he thought, annoyed. He just wanted to get the flowers and get Tina back to the arena so Doc could check her over thoroughly.

"Huh?" she asked, yawning as she did so. She leaned her head back against the seat. She couldn't help it, her eyes drifted shut.

Seeing this Pete said, "No, T. Open your eyes."

Reluctantly, she did. "What is your condition?" she asked, swallowing the nausea she was experiencing.

"Actually there's two. Two conditions….First one, keep talking to me so I can make sure you stay awake…and-" He paused, as he looked around, taking in their surroundings. "The second condition, you gotta be straight with Doc when you see him. Tell him exactly how you're feeling. It's important, T."

She was quiet for a second, not expecting that to be part of his condition. Luckily the fact the red light changed to green gave her a second to think about whether she was going to agree to his conditions. He started driving, but her silence didn't go unnoticed. He gave her a minute to say something. When she didn't, he spoke up. "T?"

She swallowed audibly as she turned her head away from his and stared out the passenger window. Well, it only looked like she was looking out the window. In reality, it was too bright for her, so she closed her eyes. "Okay."

"I know you hate doctors, Tina, but you have to tell Doc what's going on."

"I said okay, Pete," she snapped, not wanting to discuss it anymore.

"Alright." He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. "Turn your head. I can't see your eyes."

Tina sighed, doing what he asked.

There was silence for the next ten minutes. Pete had continued to glance at her every minute or so to be sure she was awake. They were getting closer to the florist shop, maybe only another five minutes.

"Pete?" Tina suddenly said, her voice sounding odd.

"Yeah?" he quickly turned his head to look at her, the sound of her voice not quite right. He immediately noticed she was paler.

"Pull over," she murmured. She'd been hoping that it would either die down or she could hang on until they got to the arena, or at least the florist, but there was no way. She tried to swallow the extra saliva that had been building up over the last couple minutes. She was so nauseated; her mouth was watering profusely.

"Alright." He immediately turned his right turn signal on, changed lanes, and pulled over. She was grateful that it only took him maybe twenty seconds to do so. He jumped out of the car and ran around to the passenger door while she fumbled with her seatbelt. He pulled her door open just as she freed herself. She tried scooting out of the car, but was having some difficulties. She was forced to close her eyes because of the intense sunlight. Pete reached for her and helped her from the car. With his left arm around her waist, they took a few steps towards a trashcan. _Thank God there just happened to be one by the car_, he thought as they made it just in time.

He was holding her in such a way that his left forearm was around her middle and her back was flush against the front of him. With both hands, Tina grasped his forearm at her stomach, leaned forward, and began throwing up. Pete used his free right hand to hold her dark chocolate brown hair back. Having already vomited the Jamba Juice, there was nothing left in her stomach. She dry heaved for a couple minutes before she straightened and leaned her head back against his chest. Given the difference in their heights, the top of her head was right below his chin.

She groaned. She absolutely hated throwing up. Plus, she was doing it in front of Pete, the man she loved. _Real attractive T,_ she told herself, embarrassed he was seeing her like this.

Feeling her soft hair tickling the front of his neck and under his chin, Pete smiled. Without thinking, he kissed the top of her head, something he'd never done before. His eyes flew open in surprise, as did hers, however he couldn't see her face. _What was that?_ he asked himself.

Shocked, Tina forced herself not to react to the gesture. It helped that she didn't feel very well. Her eyes fluttered closed as she continued to lean into him.

Knowing it wasn't the time to dwell over what he'd just done, Pete asked, "How do you feel? Think we can get back in the car?"

Tina said nothing, only nodded, something he could feel against his chest.

"Alright," he said. Before she even had a chance to step out of his grasp, he picked her up, his right arm under the backs of her legs while his left arm was around her back. Usually she would have argued, telling him she was completely capable of walking on her own two feet, but in this case, she didn't mind. The main reason was because the light was bothering her eyes so much that she had to keep them closed. She couldn't really walk to the car with her eyes closed. At least not efficiently. The last thing she needed was to fall yet again.

It was obvious that getting sick had taken a lot of energy out of her as she'd given into him completely. She let him buckle her seatbelt. She didn't even lift a finger to try to do it herself. Pete began to feel more anxious. He knew he really needed to get her back to the arena.

Once he was back in and driving, he said, "T, I'll send someone to go grab the flowers. I wanna get you back."

She turned her head to look at him. "No, Pete. I told him I'd do it. I'm worried if other people find out it'll embarrass him and make him feel unsure about the whole thing. Then he might say or do something stupid again. Or not give them to her."

He stared straight ahead, his eyes on the road as he thought over his options. He was conflicted. She definitely had a point. A very valid one.

When he still hadn't said anything a minute later, Tina spoke up. "I know they're just flowers, but you know this is a big deal for him. And you know it's going to mean so much to Maddie when he gives them to her. This could really help them."

Pete knew she was right; he was just worried about her. More than he was letting on or showing. A lot more. "Okay, but that's the only errand."

"Okay," she mumbled, turning her head back to look out the front windshield. Thinking back to what she had accomplished and what she still had left to do, she remembered her last remaining errand, besides the flowers. She turned her head to look at Pete. She could see he was tense by the way he sat, back straight as a board, his shoulders back as his hands gripped the steering will tightly. The muscles in his face were permanently contracted as he clenched his jaw while his eyes were focused intently on the road. _Even tense he's so handsome_, she mused, getting distracted.

After feeling her eyes on him for what felt like a few minutes, but was only maybe thirty seconds, he turned his head to look at her. "T?" he asked, his voice gentle. He was surprised by the look on her face as she stared at him. He wasn't really sure how to describe it or what to make of it, but for the first time that day, she didn't seem distant or upset. _Wonder what she's thinking about?_ he wondered.

His voice pulled her from her thoughts and he watched as the distant look returned to her face. _What the hell is going on?_ he asked himself.

"There's one errand besides the flowers that I haven't done yet," she told him.

"I don't care. Flowers and then back to the arena," he told her, his eyes moving back to the road ahead of him as he eased the car to a stop at another red light. Once completely stopped, he turned to look at her.

"I didn't have a chance to go to the phone store yet. To get Maddie a new number," she explained.

Pete gave her pale face a small smile. "It's okay, T," he assured. "I'll take care of it tomorrow. It's not a big deal. One day's not gonna make a difference."

"Mmkay," Tina mumbled, leaning her head against the seat as she continued to look at him.

Without thinking, he reached his right hand out and took a hold of her right hand. He was thankful she didn't pull away, however she did look down, unable to look at him.

Still holding her hand, he brought his focus back to the road in front of him, making sure the light was still red. He continued to stare straight ahead, not realizing that Tina's eyes had fluttered closed as she gave in to her tiredness. With Pete holding her hand she felt so calm and relaxed. The simple gesture seemed to allow her to ignore her headache and churning stomach. Feeling content, there was no way she could fight the sleepiness, so she gave in. _I'll be fine_, she thought as she began to drift into sleep. _He's just overreacting._ With that last thought, she was asleep.

Pete didn't realize it until several minutes later when he felt her hand relax in his. His head whirled to look at her. Seeing her eyes closed, his stomach tightened. "T, come on. Open your eyes. There's no sleeping right now." He glimpsed back at the road, making sure he was still in his own lane while driving.

When she didn't wake up, he nervously tried again. "Tina, wake up." His voice wasn't as gentle this time as worry flooded his system.

She didn't move, just continued to sleep. The panic rose in him, making him feel as if something heavy was sitting on his chest. Looking away from her sleeping face, he nervously scanned his surroundings. "Almost there," he told himself, realizing he was maybe a minute from the florist. Although it wasn't his first choice, it looked like he was going to have to wait until he was stopped to get her to wake up.

Worried about her, Pete picked up his speed, desperate to get to the florist and wake Tina. He didn't know what to do if she slipped into a coma. He wasn't sure how severe her concussion was, but he wasn't willing to take a chance.

* * *

><p>Not too long after Chin and Pete left, there was a knock on Maddie's dressing room door. Steve, Kono, Maddie, and Lori all looked towards it. Whomever was on the other side waited a couple seconds before opening the door and walking in. "Hey Mads," Lyle greeted as he walked towards the little living room area where they all were seated.<p>

She gave him a small, tired smile in return. She'd been quiet ever since she and Steve had come back from seeing her dad. He knew what was wrong with her, what she was thinking about, and he absolutely hated it. He wanted more than anything to bring it up and talk through it all, but he knew she needed time to think before he could do that. He knew if he brought it up now, she'd only get upset that he'd been listening and retreat further into the protective shell she'd been hanging out in so much lately. Plus, they weren't alone and it wasn't a conversation they could have in public.

Having worked with Lyle for years, Maddie knew why he was visiting her. He looked at her, saying nothing as he leaned on the back of Kono's armchair, much as Pete had done not too long before. She stared back before straightening, no longer sinking back into the overstuffed couch. She nodded at him.

Thankfully with all the commotion, Steve hadn't had a chance to get her big, ice tank knee brace back on her. She still had on her mobile one while her leg was elevated on the coffee table. She carefully brought it down, gently setting her injured right foot out in front of her. "'Come and Get It'?" she asked. Lyle nodded. "'Gimme More'?" she asked again. He nodded. She sighed, licking her bottom lip as she shook her head slightly, frustration on her face. Kono, Lori, and Steve looked between the two of them, completely lost and unsure of what they were talking about.

"And-," she began. However, Lyle knew exactly what she was going to say.

"Yep," he interrupted.

The room was quiet as Maddie and Lyle communicated with just a few words. Bringing her right hand to her mouth, she coughed a couple times, wincing at the pain she felt in her throat and the soreness in the muscles surrounding her ribs, stomach, and back.

"You up for it?" Lyle asked.

Maddie knew he was just being polite with his question. In all honesty, it didn't matter if she was up for it or not. She had to do it. It was part of her job. Not that she minded it at the moment. She welcomed the distraction with everything she had going on in her head. She needed something she could throw herself into and this was just the thing.

She nodded, giving him a tight, tired smile without showing her teeth.

Lyle walked to the wall next to the door leading into the other room and grabbed her crutches leaning against the wall. He then walked to the couch, standing on her right, where no one was sitting.

"Mads," Steve said, not liking that it looked like she was getting up and going somewhere. "What are you doing?"

"She's gotta rehearse the choreography to a couple songs real fast," Lyle answered as he bent down to help Maddie to her feet.

Although his instinct was to hold her back and keep her from standing, Steve didn't want her to hurt herself, so he quickly stood, placing his hand on the small of her back to help steady her. "Maddie, no. You need to rest, not rehearse."

Lyle handed her her crutches. As she leaned her armpits on them and grabbed the handle grips, she turned her head to look at Steve. "I gotta do this. They're just quick run-through's."

"Yeah, we aren't even using the stage," Lyle added. Maddie turned to him, giving him a questioning look. "Some of the opening acts are soundchecking right now," he told her, explaining.

She nodded, understanding. "Closed soundchecks, right?" she asked, double-checking. She didn't just have surprises for her audience, but for her crew as well. A few of which had to do with who would be opening the show that night.

Lyle nodded before looking to Steve. "I shouldn't need her more than forty-five minutes. She hasn't done a clean run-through of a few songs and I really need her to before the show tonight."

Maddie's face turned a light shade of pink as he said she hadn't gotten the choreography for the songs. Her eyes closed and her lips pursed as she shook her head slightly, her jaw clenched in anger. Not at Lyle for sharing, but at herself. In her book it was inexcusable. She didn't know why she wasn't getting some of the choreography. Most of it had to do with balance. Something she normally didn't struggle with when she was dancing. In everyday life? Yes! She was always tripping or knocking things over. But when she was performing her songs, she never really had those same problems.

Steve didn't know what he could do. He couldn't stop her. Not with this. He licked his lips and shook his head. "Forty-five minutes, Maddie. That's it," he told her, his voice firm as he glanced at his watch. "I mean it, forty-five minutes."

Her jaw clenched and her eyes sparked for a quick second as she met his. He knew exactly what she wanted to say to him, but for some reason she didn't. She wanted to tell him that he wasn't the boss of her and he had no right to tell her what she could or couldn't do. To be honest, he wished she would've said it. The fact she didn't caused a knot in his stomach. He took it as a bad sign she wasn't fighting him. He really didn't want her to give up on them.

Glancing at Lyle quickly, Maddie said, "Let's do this." Her face was blank. There was no emotion. Just pure determination, which Steve wasn't sure was a good thing. He admired her for it. Her hard work and disciplined work ethic were traits to applaud and respect. However, she'd been known to keep going at something over and over, running herself into the ground until she got it. It was this that worried Steve.

_Damn_, Steve thought. He had no idea how he was going to get through to her after what her father had said. _Stupid Henry. She's an adult and he's still causing trouble and hurting her_. However, if Steve was honest with himself, he knew it wasn't Henry's fault that his statement had Maddie so withdrawn. It was his. If he hadn't said and done everything he had, she never would have thought what her dad said was the truth and it wouldn't have bothered her. But, she did think it was the truth. She did think he'd never care for her as more than friends because she was too damaged and broken. It couldn't be further from the truth and it killed him that she didn't see that. And it killed him that she even could think that she was broken or damaged. She'd never thought of herself like that before. It was just another example of how much she'd changed recently. How the stress of whatever she was hiding from him, he assumed more information on her stalker, was affecting her.

Maddie began crutching towards the door with Steve staying close to her.

After all, Pete wasn't there, so Steve was taking his position as head of security (not that he wouldn't have stayed close if Pete had been there). Lyle, Kono, and Lori followed. Once they were at the door Lyle stopped and motioned for the two women to go through first. They thanked him and followed Steve and Maddie as they walked down the hall towards the main room.

* * *

><p>Thanks again for continuing to read my story! You guys rock! Can't wait to get done with this day! I'm more anxious than you all are, TRUST ME! Anyway, please, please, please, review andor private message me!

Hope you enjoyed!

xo


	39. Chapter 36, Part 4

****DISCLAIMER********:**** I do not own "Hawaii Five-0" or any of its characters. However, I do own Maddie, Pete, Tina, Ryan, Lyle, Harper, Carl, etc.

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><p><span><strong>AUTHOR'S<strong>** NOTE****:  
><strong>Hello everyone! I am so glad to be posting this update, you have NO idea. Or actually I think you might as I've continued to get reviews and private messages asking for an update. Don't worry, I am not going to abandon this story.

Unfortunately, I am one of those people that likes to hand write a lot of things. One of which being my writing. I had been at my cousin's for the weekend and had taken the huge binder filled with notes, ideas, written chapters, written pieces of future chapters, and many other important things for the story with me in my backpack. Well, I got home late at the end of the weekend and didn't bring everything inside. I wake up the next morning to discover that someone jackass smashed my back driver's window, reached in, and grabbed my backpack. SO, I lost EVERYTHING! I did have a lot of Ch.36 Pt.4 typed, but I had printed it out and hand edited as that's how I like to do it. I hadn't inputed those changes yet, so I had to start all over as well as write the rest that I hadn't typed, but had handwritten in that binder. I'm not gonna lie, I was sooooo furious and upset that I didn't work on the story for almost 2 months. In that binder I kept a detailed log of important info regarding characters and timeline stuff. I had to go back and read my entire story and make that log again before I could finish this chapter. I had to make the chapter outlines again as well as so many other things.

Anyway, I'm sorry it took me so long to get it all back together, but I have. I have at least 2 more updates that are READY to post after this one. Originally they were all going to be Ch.36 Pt.4, but I know how much you guys want an update, so I am splitting it into more parts. This particular update has wayyyy too much description, but I didn't want to spend anymore time editing it. I'd rather just post it and continue writing the later chapters. I will tell you that I threw in a little teaser in this update just to drive you guys crazy. And don't worry, you won't have to wait much longer for Maddie to let Steve in. You'll have that part in 2 days as I am going to post Ch.36 Pt.5 in 24 hours, and Pt.6 in 48 hours. You'll be happy to know that the writing I've been doing lately is moving quicker. You'll see the change after these couple updates as they were already written.

**A FEW THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT THIS UPDATE...**

1. The song Maddie is rehearsing in this update is called "Come and Get It" by Selena Gomez. I'm not a dancer and I described what she was doing as best I could when I don't know terminology or anything like that. I describe it as more of a vibe. So, if you watch Selena's official music video for this song, that is kind of like how Maddie and her dancers are performing it. Not everything Selena does. More the way she moves her body, hips, and arms. You'll see what I mean.

2. When Maddie is singing, the lyrics are in **bold** as well as flashbacks.

3. Like always, thoughts are in _italics_.

4. Because this is a T-Rated version, I had to change a couple things to make them not as descriptive. However, I probably didn't have to, but I wanted to be sure I was following the rules of T-Rated.

Don't worry! The story is going to pick up very soon. Just gotta get these updates up over the next couple days. After the show is over, you'll see Five-0 working cases and there will be a lot of Steve and Maddie. Also, they'll work on finding her diabolical stalker. By the way, someone commented several chapters ago that I'm making Five-0 seem like investigating idiots. I'm not. They're following the only leads there are. They just happen to be purposely left by a crazy person who has been planning this for YEARS! It's going to take a bit for Five-0 to realize they're being set up, but I promise you, the trip won't be dull! :o)

Anyway, enough...here you go!

ENJOY!

xo

Laura

P.S. Please, please take a moment and leave a review!

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><p><strong>CHAPTER 36, Part 4<strong>

As they walked into the massive main room, Steve, Lori, and Kono were surprised at what they saw. There was fluorescent pink tape all over a makeshift floor that had been laid down in the area where there weren't tables. It seemed to mark off something specific.

Maddie came to a halt at a table near the front of where the carpet ended and the floor began. She backed up to it, letting the bench lightly hit the back of her left knee.

Realizing what she was doing, Steve reached for her as she leaned her crutches to her right against the bench. He grabbed her hands quickly, knowing she wouldn't be very steady when standing on one foot. Although she wished she wasn't, she was relieved for the help. As she lowered herself, she squeezed his hands, using them for balance.

"You good?" he asked softly.

Seated, she looked up at him and nodded, giving him a small, tired smile.

"Which one first?" Maddie asked, turning to look at Lyle as Steve sat beside her.

"'Come and Get It'," he answered.

Nodding, she unhooked her knee brace and pulled it off before bringing her left foot up and resting it on her right thigh. She quickly untied her Converse and pulled the shoe off, setting it on the bench. Slowly she tried to bring her right foot up, wincing at the excruciating pain in her knee as she attempted to bend it. Seeing this, Steve went to reach for her, to help, but Lyle got there first.

Carefully, Lyle untied her right shoe and slid it off. "No socks, you'll slip," he said, setting her shoe on the bench next to its mate. He eased her sock off, making sure to be as careful as possible so he wouldn't cause her more pain.

"Thanks," Maddie murmured as he gently set her bare, wrapped foot back on the floor. She brought her left foot up and quickly pulled her sock off before setting her naked foot on the carpeted floor beside her other one.

Curious as to how her foot was doing, Steve glanced down at her bare feet. It was difficult to tell if it was any worse because it was wrapped. However, he was relieved to see she hadn't pulled the bandage off. _Well, that's a first,_ he mused, recalling the numerous times she'd pulled her IV out and unbandaged her wounds when she was at home.

Without realizing, his eyes drifted to her dark purple, almost black, painted toes. He couldn't ever really remember seeing her feet except for quick flashes. Whether it was because he just wasn't paying attention, or because she was rarely barefoot, complaining her toes and feet got cold easily, he wasn't sure.

He wasn't a foot guy, meaning feet didn't turn him on; he didn't have a foot fetish. But feet also didn't gross him out like they did for some people. He was indifferent to them. Never thought much about them either way. However, as he found himself looking at Maddie's feet he couldn't help but think they were cute. (As cute as feet could be.) They were small, but not freakishly so, and narrow. Her toes were skinny, but again, not freakishly so, and weren't too long, but weren't too short. All in all, they were very proportionate to her body. She was a slim, short woman. Everything about her was very petite and delicate, and her feet were no different.

_What the hell is wrong with you?_ he inwardly asked himself, suddenly realizing what he was doing. _Her feet? Why are you thinking about her feet? _He forced himself to look away. What had gotten into him? Ever since Maddie had come back to Hawaii he was having strange thoughts and feelings about his best friend. Not strange in a bad way, per se, but in a very different way. A very un-friend like way. A way that scared the hell out of him, but also made him incredibly happy and excited at the prospect of what could be. However, staring and studying her feet was taking it too far. _At least I was inconspicuous about it_, he mused since he'd only been looking at them out of the corner of his eye. The last thing he needed was to be caught and given a hard time for it.

_Maybe once we talk and get things all hashed out everything will calm down and not be so weird_, he hoped. _Or maybe Danny's right?_ he thought, recalling what his partner had said at the barbeque Saturday, that he and Maddie needed to be locked in a room to do "adult things". _Maybe we just need to have sex and get it out of our systems? Maybe that's all this is?_

However, as much as his feelings scared him, he knew it was more than that. That sleeping with Maddie wouldn't make things go back to how they used to be. How they'd always been. Instead, it would change them forever. He just hoped that when they went there, neither one would regret it – and yes, when they went there, because he knew they would, it was only a matter of time.

He was absolutely terrified of losing Maddie, but like Joe had told him, he was going to lose her if he continued to ignore his feelings. In fact, he was already losing her. _Hopefully Tina's right and the flowers are a good first step_, he prayed.

_Speaking of Tina_, Steve thought, his mind changing gears. He subtly glanced at his cell to see if there was any news from Pete or Chin. _I really hope they find her, and quickly… before this son of a bitch psycho gets near her._

"I'll be right back. I forgot something," Lyle said, pulling Steve from his thought-laden head as he jogged off so quickly, no one had a chance to respond.

"I was hoping I wouldn't have to give you anything before tonight," Doc said, suddenly appearing before Maddie.

Steve wondered what he was talking about as he squatted in front of Maddie, his hands gently sliding over her swollen knee. "The swelling's gone down a bit thanks to the ice," he told her as he gave her a quick, teasing, smug look, his way of saying 'I told you so'. He brought his eyes back to her knee and studied it as he gently moved her leg around, checking her range of motion. He looked up at her, meeting her eyes. "What do you wanna do?"

Maddie said nothing, only stared at him. She desperately wanted to say that she needed him to give her the shot, but didn't want to admit it in front of Steve, or anyone for that matter, even Doc. She was too proud, not to mention stubborn.

Doc looked to the Navy Seal. "Do you know how long she'll be rehearsing?"

"No longer than forty-five minutes," Steve answered adamantly as he shot Maddie a serious look, wordlessly letting her know that he wasn't screwing around. He'd already decided if she was still rehearsing after the forty-five minute mark, he would physically take her back to her dressing room to rest. Whether she fought him or not.

Doc smiled at Steve's overprotective behavior. He knew he and Maddie must have come to an agreement and that was the only reason she was there. _More like Steve told her how long she had and she had no choice but to agree_, he thought, amused. He was glad that someone was taking control of the situation because he wasn't sure how much longer Maddie could keep going like she had been the last several months. To be honest, he was shocked she'd lasted this long. Four months was a long time to go without much sleep, especially with the kind of schedule and busy life she led.

Understanding Maddie's silence and the look she'd shot him, Doc nodded and then pulled out a large, new syringe and vial of liquid from the bag he'd set on the floor.

Steve immediately tensed, clenching his jaw as he glanced between Maddie and her doctor. Whatever was going on, he didn't like it.

"I'll give you enough to last an hour and fifteen minutes, but that's it, Mads," Doc told her. He had decided to give her more than forty-five minutes worth just in case she ended up rehearsing longer. The last thing he wanted was for the injection to wear off before she was done. "I don't think you'll be able to do this without it."

He pushed her legging up to the middle of her thigh, and then extended her foot so it was resting on his thigh. He bent her knee the littlest bit before filling the syringe with the liquid from the vial.

Watching, Steve unconsciously slid towards her on the bench, completely closing the space between them. He leaned back against the table and extended his arms, resting them on the tabletop behind them.

Kono, who was standing in front of Steve with Lori, squinted her eyes. "I can't watch," she murmured, closing her eyes as she turned her back to her friend.

Maddie smirked at Kono. "I thought you dealt with dead bodies on a regular basis?" She forced a smile as Doc used an alcohol pad to clean the area the injection would go.

"That is nothing compared to what he's about to do to you. That's gonna hurt like a bitch, sistah," Kono replied, her back still to Maddie. Just the idea made not only Kono's knee hurt, but gave her the Heebie-Jeebies.

"It's really not that bad," Maddie lied, causing Doc to snort as he shook his head. He debated reminding her how she'd practically screamed bloody murder the first time he'd done this to her on Sunday.

Steve didn't like what he was witnessing. Was this how she'd been getting through her tour the last several months? Or was this just a recent thing? _This can't be good for her_, he thought, _no matter how long it's been going on._

"How long have you been doing this?" Steve asked, his voice tight. She knew he wasn't happy, just like she'd predicted to Doc.

Doc glimpsed at Steve, meeting his eyes quickly. "Since Sunday." He paused, focusing on the syringe as he flicked it to get any air bubbles out. Satisfied, he looked back at Steve. "Don't worry. I haven't been doing this for months. I'd never do that."

Steve felt a small sense of relief at the doctor's assurances.

"Don't move, Mads," Doc instructed as he prepared to inject the needle into her knee.

Steve knew Maddie was trying to be brave, especially since she had an audience. He watched her slightly tense, bracing herself for the pain. He wished she'd just reach out to him for comfort, but knew she wasn't going to. _Stubborn_, he thought, frustrated, as he placed his outstretched right arm around her back. He then took his left hand and grabbed her hand, lacing their fingers as best he could given they were both using the same hands. Feeling her relax slightly – as much as she could, given the circumstances – he pulled her against him.

Knowing how unbelievably painful the injection was going to be, Maddie decided to give in to her feelings and need for comfort. Without giving it a second thought, she leaned her head against him. In response, he pulled her even closer. As close as he could.

Doc's experiences over the last several days had taught him it was better not to let her know when he was actually going to give the injection. So, without notice, he slid the needle into her knee.

Although it was excruciating, Maddie said and did nothing. There was no gasp. No groan. No hiss. Nothing. However, Steve saw the way her jaw clenched and could feel the way she'd tensed as the needle hit her skin. Her grip tightened on his hand as she stoically forced herself not to outwardly react to the pain.

Suddenly he noticed he no longer felt her chest and ribs expand, letting him know she was holding her breath. Dipping his head to the right, he brought his mouth to her left ear. "Take a breath," he whispered, his lips ghosting over the skin of her ear while he wiggled the fingers from his right hand against her ribs.

Maddie did as he instructed while Doc slowly, almost painfully so, pushed the liquid from the syringe into her knee. "There you go," Doc mumbled as he gently pulled the large needle from her skin. "Should take effect in a couple minutes."

Maddie assumed his statement was more for Steve's benefit than her own, since she knew the drill by now. With the injection finished, there was no need for her to be comforted by Steve, so she slipped her hand from his and pulled away, forcing his right arm to drop from her back. Although he said nothing, it stung. _Damn, she couldn't get away from me fast enough_, he thought.

"Hey Mads," came a female voice.

Just by the voice, she knew who it was. "Hey Claire!" she greeted to one of her female dancers, who was also one of her best friends. Seeing five more women behind her, she greeted them too. "You guys just arrive?"

"Yeah," another one of the women answered as she set her bag on the floor, yawning. "Not gonna lie, I could've easily slept 'til tomorrow morning. Maybe even 'til tomorrow night."

"Well, after tonight you can sleep straight through to Saturday if you want, Amy," Maddie smiled.

"Hey Steve," another woman greeted as she plopped down on the floor near everyone and began stretching.

"Hey Harper," Steve responded, smiling at the blonde.

Knowing she too needed to stretch, Maddie began to slowly stand. Although he didn't move a muscle, Steve kept an eye on her. If she stumbled or needed any assistance, he was ready.

Maddie tested her knee by slowly putting a bit of weight on it. However, by the intense pain, she immediately realized that the injection hadn't kicked in yet.

Recognizing that her knee wasn't "ready", Claire took a few steps towards her. She wrapped her left arm around Maddie's waist while the singer put her right arm around her shoulders. Slowly, Claire helped her away from the table.

Satisfied they were in a good spot, she carefully helped Maddie to the floor before scooting several feet away and sitting down herself. The two women spread their legs apart and began individually stretching.

Steve watched the whole thing with his laser-focused Seal stare, ready to jump and help in a millisecond's time. He felt himself relax considerably once Maddie was safely on the floor.

"By the way, these are my amazing female dancers," Maddie stated as she tried to force herself to lean forward and to the right, reaching her fingers towards the toes of her right foot. However, the stretch was proving to be incredibly difficult thanks to the ungodly pain she was feeling in her injured tailbone.

Needing a brief reprieve, she straightened and pointed down the line of the females each sitting on the floor stretching. "Starting there at the end you have Nancy. Then Amy and Mia. Then Naomi and Harper. And this is Claire." Each woman waved and said hi as she was introduced.

"Hi," Lori greeted, giving the women a sweet smile as she took advantage of Maddie stretching and casually sat in the spot she'd just vacated next to Steve.

"Aloha! Nice to see you all again!" Kono smiled. As the women continued to stretch, their flexibility became apparent. "Just watching you guys makes my body hurt!"

Maddie and her female dancers smirked and giggled politely. It wasn't the first time they'd heard something along those lines, and they knew it wouldn't be the last.

Suddenly Lyle reappeared. He set a bag on the floor next to the table before kneeling down in front of Maddie. Carefully, he placed one hand on her back and took her hands with the other. Gently, he began to slowly pull her towards her right foot. Normally, he didn't help her with this stretch, but with her tailbone injury, he knew she needed assistance. "Hopefully we can get some of the stiffness out of your hips," he told her. "Tell me when it becomes too painful."

She nodded, thinking it was already really painful_. _However, she said nothing. She decided to suck it up and deal with the pain.

As the women stretched, they yawned and rubbed at their tired eyes. In fact, some of them were actually stretching with their eyes closed.

"You guys look beat," Kono stated, taking in their weary faces and the dark circles under their drooping eyes. _Scary thing is_, she noted, _they all look a thousand times better than Maddie. _She worriedly glimpsed at her friend stretching with Lyle.

"We are," Mia answered, followed by a huge, and loud, yawn, before she laid down to take a short break. She closed her eyes, wanting more than anything to go back to sleep. She turned her head to the left and opened her eyes to look at Maddie. "Mads, how are you still alive? We at least were able to get some sleep last night, and a couple more hours than you all the other nights, and we all feel like we've been hit by a truck. And then a bus, followed by a car." She smirked and rolled her eyes. "Seriously, how are you still going?"

Steve tensed. If they'd gotten more sleep than Maddie and they were this exhausted, he couldn't help but worry more. He was hoping she'd make it through the show without her body deciding it'd had enough. He'd already seen her pass out once; he didn't want to see it happen again. He didn't think he could handle seeing it happen again. He had been terrified as he'd watched her exhausted blue eyes roll back in her head a quick second before her body had dropped like a ragdoll. But the worst part had been the sound her head had made as it smacked the marble floor. And just to keep his blood pressure continuously raised, she'd had three dizzy spells that resulted in her briefly fainting for a few seconds. But those had been nothing compared to that first one. The one he'd had nightmares about since. An unpleasant shiver ran down his spine at the memory.

So, yes, he was really hoping, no praying, that she'd make it through the show without passing out. In fact, he was hoping he could get her home and into bed before her body decided to shut down on her.

"I guess I'm just badass," Maddie replied. She was planning on saying more, but let out a loud hiss as the pain in her tailbone worsened. Lyle immediately let go of her.

"You were supposed to tell me before it got to that point!" he chided, shaking his head.

Steve clenched his hands into fists at his sides as he watched Maddie push herself.

Maddie met Lyle's eyes. "I'm fine," she lied, her voice sounding distant as she tried to convince not only him, but also herself. She coughed and sniffled while waiting for the surge of pain to die down.

Lyle only sighed out of frustration as he began to stand. "Lean back," he ordered.

As she did, he took a hold of her left leg and set it against his chest, her ankle almost on his shoulder. "I don't want you stretching your hamstrings how you normally do. At least not with your knee the way it is. We'll do it this way and keep you off that right knee as much as possible." He paused, glancing down at her right leg on the floor. "Straighten the right leg more," he said, seeing it was bent too much. She coughed as she did what he instructed.

While Maddie laid flat on her back with her left leg up against him, he began to slowly lean against her leg, effectively stretching her hamstring. "Flex your foot." She did as instructed.

Knowing her body and how flexible she was, he kept going. He smirked down at her as he walked forward. She definitely was flexible, he had to give her that.

"Geez," Lori said, her eyes wide in disbelief as she watched Lyle slowly pushing Maddie's leg further and further. It was past a 90-degree angle with the floor. "You're really flexible."

Maddie only shrugged. "Guess so," she murmured, slightly uncomfortable with the comment and the attention it drew to her. She coughed a couple more times; lying on her back seemed to be making it worse.

Lyle turned his head to Lori. "That's nothing compared to how she normally is. It can actually be really difficult to stretch her because she is so overly flexible."

_Don't even go there_, Steve told himself, trying to ignore the images, more like fantasies, he was getting of Maddie as he watched her stretch. He could already feel the beginnings of a knot in his stomach. A knot of need and desire.

Realizing that it was pointless to hope Maddie would let him know if she felt pain, Lyle kept his eyes glued to her face, watching for any kind of reaction. Suddenly she grimaced and groaned. "Damn it! Would you tell me before it gets to that point!" he cried, shaking his head as he chuckled in an irritated and frustrated manner.

"I'm fine!" she told him, smiling up at him, although she was lying. The stretching was killing her tailbone and the surrounding muscles, and they both knew it. _So, it's painful_, she mused, _Oh well, just gotta suck it up. I need to stretch._

"You're hips are stiffer today, Mads," Lyle stated, glancing over at Doc who was watching closely. Doc nodded, seeing what he'd been telling him.

Lyle had gone to him earlier asking if he'd watch her run through a couple songs because he'd noticed her hips were tight. He was hoping there was something Doc could do to help since it seemed to be causing Maddie significant problems when dancing. Although he wanted a doctor's opinion, he was pretty sure it was the reason she was struggling with her balance, which lead her to not only struggle with parts of the choreography, but also made her stumble and fall quite often.

Satisfied he'd stretched her left hamstring enough, Lyle slowly lowered her leg back to the floor. As he began to reach for her right leg, he heard Nancy yelp in pain. He stopped what he was doing as his head immediately looked in her direction. "Nance? You okay?" he questioned, worry showing in the way his brow furrowed.

Nancy hesitantly nodded, cradling her left shoulder.

Doc and Lyle immediately walked over to her while Maddie propped herself up on her elbows and watched.

"Let me see," Doc instructed as he knelt down next to Nancy. She dropped her hand, giving him access to her shoulder as Lyle knelt at her other side, watching closely, concern evident on his face.

"What happened?" Kono asked, watching the scene unfold.

From her spot on the floor, Maddie watched closely, worried about her friend. "Nancy hurt her shoulder the other night in rehearsal." She coughed and sniffled at the end of the explanation.

"Mads, keep stretching," Lyle ordered as he helped Doc.

Knowing Maddie needed help, Steve stood from the bench and walked the few feet to her. She tensed as he stopped at her feet. As their blue eyes met, he reached down and gently took a hold of her right, injured leg.

"It's okay, Steve. You don't have to do this. I got it," she told him, her words coming out rushed, showing how nervous and uncomfortable she was with the idea of him helping her. However, he ignored her and said nothing as he carefully brought her leg to his chest, her ankle near the left side of his head. She immediately noticed how gentle his touch was while she tried to ignore the tightening in her stomach. _Just ignore it. You're friends. That's all_, she told herself.

"Tell me when, Madeline. And I mean it… you shouldn't let it go far enough where it's painful," he told her, his voice stern as his eyes stayed on hers. He used her full first name so she'd know he was dead serious. When she didn't respond, he raised his eyebrows. She nodded as she swallowed hard, trying to calm the butterflies in her stomach that had appeared the second he'd put his hands on her.

_I wonder if he can see that my heart is pounding?_ Maddie wondered, her heart feeling as if it was going to pop out of her chest.

"Is that as straight as you can get your knee, Mads?" Steve asked, his eyes quickly glancing at her right knee and then back to her eyes. She tried to straighten it, but winced at the pain. "Don't then. Don't do that," he ordered with a slightly chiding tone.

With his left hand on her right ankle he began to slowly push his hard, muscular body against her leg, their eyes never leaving one another's. He licked his bottom lip out of habit as his right hand began to gently slide down the inside of her calf. She felt her mouth go dry. The way his fingers seemed to lightly skid across her legging clad leg sent a shiver down her spine. One she tried, and thankfully succeeded, in hiding.

As his large hand reached her knee, it slowed. Using the tips of his fingers he ran them delicately across her injured knee. He slowly took a step forward, pushing against her leg with his rock hard and chiseled body to give her a bigger stretch in her hamstring. Maddie's breathing quickened as his right hand lightly moved past her knee to the top of her thigh. His gorgeous eyes bored into hers as he teasingly slid his fingertips to her inner thigh, just above her knee.

Steve was doing his best to keep his emotions hidden. Their current situation was getting to him. And that was an understatement. _If only we were alone, on a bed, _he thought. _Hell, we don't even need a bed, as long as we're alone. _

He tried to ignore her flexibility. To ignore the pressure of her leg against his body. He struggled to keep from imagining what it would be like to be on top of her, her legs over his shoulders as… _Control yourself, Steve_, he told himself, fighting for control over his emotions.

His body was reacting quickly. His stomach was in knots. Not nervous knots, but knots of desire, of want, of need. His tongue peeked out to moisten his suddenly dry lips as he continued looking into her eyes.

Curious if she was feeling a fraction of what he was, he casually slid a finger to the pulse point behind her injured knee. His stomach tightened as he felt her racing pulse.

He searched her eyes for a sign of the feelings her scrambling pulse was giving away. Pride, but also annoyance, filled him. She was hiding her emotions well. He only saw a slight slip here and there, and that was just because he was overly observant, not to mention trained.

He had made the decision not to push her at all until after the show, but, whether it was the fact he was churned up or because they were in the perfect situation for it (he imagined it was a little of both), he decided to test the waters. Lightly his fingertips brushed her leggings and he watched her mouth unconsciously part at the sensation. His stomach tightened even more as his needs escalated.

_Oh my God_, Maddie thought. Everywhere his fingers touched seemed to leave behind a smoldering fire. The look in his eyes sent goosebumps to every inch of her body.

She wanted him, something her body was making her extremely aware of. Her mouth was dry and her heart was pounding. Not once had a man ever made her feel like this from a simple touch and look. A fact that upset and, to be honest, scared the hell out of her.

Yes, she knew she loved Steve, loved him like she'd never loved anyone, but she had been hoping, more like desperately praying, she'd be able to forget about it since nothing would, and could, ever come from it. She'd been hoping the feelings would fade once she was no longer around him. She wasn't naïve; she knew they wouldn't immediately disappear. That it would take a while. However, as she laid there, her leg against him, looking into his eyes, she realized she'd always be in love with her best friend. That she'd never love anyone the way she loved him.

Telling himself he was still testing her, wanting to see where she stood with him, Steve slid his fingers the smallest amount higher up the inside of her thigh as he increased the pressure against her leg, furthering the stretch on her hamstring. He made sure to keep a finger on her pulse point behind her knee.

He smiled inwardly, feeling her pulse jerk as she licked her lips and swallowed roughly. His eyes flitted back to hers and immediately saw they'd changed. There was a look in them that nearly shattered his control. He wasn't sure how to describe it, except that he could see the warmth, desire, and need swimming in her brilliantly blue eyes.

He smirked sexily at her as his eyes darted from her gorgeous eyes to her slightly parted lips, and then back again. He licked his in yearning, wanting nothing more than to be on the floor, Maddie pinned beneath him as he ravaged her mouth… as well as other parts of her.

Steve's smirk caused a sudden wave of self-consciousness within her, sending her thoughts whirling with questions and doubt. _Can he tell how badly I want him? _she wondered, the beginnings of panic setting in. _Does he know what he's doing to me? Is he smirking because he __can__ tell and finds it funny… in a pathetic way? Like he does the idea of "us"?_

Although still turned on, Maddie's self-conscious thoughts brought her back to reality. The reality that he'd played her, and broken her heart.

Desperate for his touch and look not only to not affect her, but also get to her, she quickly averted her eyes and began nervously biting her lip, her teeth nibbling at the soft skin.

Assuming her sudden nervousness had to do with her desire, and the fact this was new for them, Steve's smirk grew while he increased the stretch. Deciding that this time he wouldn't stay quiet, but say something and see what happened, he cleared his throat, hoping to rid himself of the raw need lodged in it.

Maddie glanced nervously at him out of the corner of her eyes. Seeing the smirk still plastered on his handsome, but beat-up, face, and that it had grown even bigger, she became even more nervous, worried he was silently laughing at her. Continuing to gnaw on her lip, she began fidgeting with the hem of her shirt, mortified by the situation.

"You look nervous," he quietly stated, only loud enough that she could hear. His voice was low and gruff. It oozed sex, causing a clawing ache of want within her.

"N-," Her voice cracked. The intense desire and need she was trying to keep bottled inside, hidden, was desperate for release and slipped into her voice. She cleared her throat, hoping to suppress and smother her escalating longing. "No, I'm fine," she claimed, her voice tight and clipped as she fought for control over her feelings.

Steve grinned smugly, feeling victorious that he was getting to her, at least if her behavior and the sound of her voice were anything to go by. That, and her pulse, which he could still feel racing at the back of her knee. Hope filled him knowing that if just touching her leg got to her as much as it did him, then he might have a good chance of fixing things between them.

"You sure?" he asked, his grin growing even larger. And somehow, became even sexier.

Maddie swallowed, pursing her lips as she looked away. "Uh huh," she answered quickly. His ever growing grin was not only making her feel more mortified, feeling as if her feelings were a laughing matter to him, but the bigger it got, the sexier she found it. Something that only made her more upset, feel more pathetic in his eyes.

He had to fight to keep from happily laughing at how badly she was trying to act unfazed. Knowing she was as churned up as he was filled him with a sense of relief and excitement.

"I don't know, you seem pretty nervous to me," he teased, his voice still low and gruff as he continued to talk quietly so no one overheard their conversation. Not because he was ashamed or embarrassed of his feelings for her, but because it wasn't anyone's business. Their friends seemed to enjoy getting in the middle and adding their two cents. Plus, he didn't really know where things were going with Maddie. He had to get her to let him back in first. Get her to believe him, and forgive him.

Maddie inwardly cursed Steve, and the fact she seemed to have zero control over her body, and emotions, when it came to him lately. While her one hand continued to fiddle with the hem of her shirt, she brought her other one up to her mouth and began nibbling her nails.

"You need to work on your skills of perception then, because you're wayyyy off," she countered, daring a scowling glance at him. "And you solve crimes for a living?" She rolled her eyes and forced a small, sarcastic smile.

_Oh that's it_, he thought playfully. _This is war_.

Maddie swallowed audibly as she watched mischief appear in his eyes and grin while arching his eyebrows. _Oh crap! _she inwardly cursed, knowing him well enough to know he was up to something.

"Huh, really?" Steve began, his eyes smiling in amusement and another emotion she didn't recognize. She didn't recognize it because she was under the impression that he'd been laughing at her. At the idea of them "together" and her feelings for him. If she had been more herself, if her stalker hadn't been grating on her for months, she would have realized the truth. That Steve would never do that. That he was just scared. Scared that he might end up losing her in the long run if their relationship changed.

Or maybe deep down she did recognize what she saw in his eyes, but just refused to acknowledge it because she was scared. Scared that she'd let her guard down only to have him hurt her again.

"Because, it really looks like-" The fingers on his right hand inched the littlest bit further up her inner thigh before stopping and rubbing the area. The tips of his fingers were barely skimming her thigh, which somehow was affecting her more than if he'd added pressure. She fought to ignore the shiver that ran through her entire body, refusing to react to it. There was no way she would give him the satisfaction. She wouldn't give him another opportunity to laugh at her feelings for him.

"…I'm making you nervous," he finished. "Am I making you nervous, Mads?" he asked, as he flashed her a look of pure innocence. Again, his fingers moved the tiniest bit up her inner thigh and then stopped. Slowly that lazy, one-sided smirk he was so good at appeared on his handsome face. He felt her pulse jump as her face flushed.

Embarrassed and angry with herself for letting him get to her, Maddie forced a scoff. "Nope," she lied, turning her head to the side as she prayed, and hoped, she sounded believable.

"Hmm," Steve said, still smirking. "And you're sure? I mean, absolutely sure?" he slowly asked, amusement in his voice and eyes.

She glanced sideways at him. "Yep," she unintentionally snapped as she fought to smother intense feelings that desperately begged for release. She wanted, no needed, him pressed up against her, using more than just his hands. _Just take a deep breath,_ she ordered herself. _You can do this. He's just being an ass. Don't let him see that he's getting to you._ She prayed her inner pep talk would help.

"This doesn't make you nervous?" he asked, feeling his cargos tighten as he sensually glided his fingers up the rest of her inner thigh, stopping only two inches from the top. Her entire body immediately, and visibly, tensed. God, she wanted him like she'd never wanted another man. She was so turned on. _Does he know how much?_ she wondered, panicked. She clenched her jaw at the thought. And she thought she was mortified before…

Steve wanted her so badly it hurt. It physically hurt. He wondered what everyone would think if he threw her over his shoulder and carried her back to her dressing room, locking the door behind them. _Maybe they'd just think I was being overprotective and don't want her to rehearse, _he mused. He entertained the idea. _I could talk some sense into her, make her realize she has it all wrong, and then physically show her just how wrong she has it. _Images of their tangled limbs appeared in his head and he nearly moaned in frustrated longing.

_If he can do that with just a look and a simple touch, imagine what he can do-, _Maddie began, fantasizing. However, she wouldn't let herself finish. It was pointless. She didn't want to start thinking like that when it was never going to happen. She was already heartbroken enough. She didn't need to make it worse for herself. Plus, her father's words were still ringing in her head. **He'll never have feelings for you… Steve, he'll never love you… He knows too much of your past. He'll always see you as damaged and broken.**

Feeling Steve's fingers begin to move, rubbing her inner thigh mere inches from the top of her leg, pulled her from the haunting words. With her head still to the side, her eyes shot to his. She felt her heart break as his eyes laughed, and she assumed he was laughing at her. _He really has just been teasing me this whole time_, she thought. _It really is just a joke to him…_

She had assumed it was, but now… knowing? Her heart crumbled. It was quick, but her bottom lip trembled as hurt and embarrassment filled her eyes. Although she regained her composure quickly, Steve saw it.

Because it had happened so fast, for a split second, he thought he might've imagined it. But he could still see the faint remnants of hurt in her blue eyes. He frowned, completely confused. _What'd I miss?_ he wondered. _What just happened? I thought we were on the same page…_

Deciding whether or not she needed more of a stretch, she couldn't handle him mocking and teasing her any longer. She glanced down before meeting his eyes. There was an odd look in hers, one he didn't understand. "That's good," she told him as she forced herself to maintain eye contact. "That's enough of a stretch."

Steve's stomach tightened, and not out of desire, as her eyes fell from his. He watched as he saw her throw her invisible, protective walls up. "Mads," he whispered, flattening his right hand on her thigh before sliding it back to her knee. Gently he began to rub back and forth, hoping to provide a bit of comfort, or whatever she needed, to get her to relax and keep her from pushing him away.

After fighting so hard to control her emotions, Maddie panicked, her mind running a million miles an hour. Desperate to end whatever mean and hurtful game he was playing, and to get away from him, she tried to pull her injured right leg from his hands.

"Stop it, you're gonna hurt yourself," he told her, tightening his hold on her leg.

However, she wasn't listening. She only knew she needed to get away from him, and fast. It felt like the walls were closing in on her as her breathing quickened, and not because she was turned on, but because she was upset and panicking.

Steve furrowed his brow, concerned and confused, as her leg struggled against his arms. "Madd-," he began, further tightening his grip on her leg. However, suddenly she gave it all she had and violently ripped it from his hold.

A searing, sharp pain tore through her knee as she freed it from him. It was excruciating. So painful that it blurred the edge of her vision and she let out a yelp.

Everyone's heads swiveled towards Maddie as Steve knelt in front of her, worry and guilt knotting his stomach.

With Nancy good to go, Lyle and Doc hurried to where Maddie laid on the floor, her eyes squeezed shut as she gripped her pain-filled knee.

Steve wanted nothing more than to touch her, but he was afraid if he did he'd make whatever was going on worse. He didn't know what had happened. Why she suddenly panicked.

Doc pried Maddie's hands from her knee so he could get a look at it. He quickly glanced at Steve before returning his focus to Maddie. "What the hell happened?"

Steve's guilt-ridden gut clenched at the worried and slightly accusatory tone. "She tried to pull her leg away since she was done with the stretch. I told her to stop, that she was going to hurt herself," he explained, compartmentalizing his emotions just like he'd been trained to. "And well, she didn't listen and…" He trailed off and with a flick of his wrist signaled to Maddie lying on the floor in pain, her right arm thrown over her eyes.

Doc's gut told him there was more to the story, that Steve had given him only the basic facts, but he left it alone and didn't push. He figured he knew what he needed to treat her medically. The rest he just wanted to know for curiosities sake.

Kono suddenly appeared behind and to the left of Steve. She subtly laid a comforting hand on her boss' shoulder and squeezed gently before walking around the three men gathered around Maddie. She stopped near her friend's head and squatted down. "You okay, sistah?" she asked, tangling her hands in the singer's reddish-brown hair in a soothing gesture.

Maddie took a deep breath and exhaled shakily. She wasn't sure how she'd been able to keep the tears building inside from releasing, but she was so grateful she had. They were tears not only from the excruciating pain surging through her knee, but also from her broken heart and the fact Steve had just knowingly rubbed her face in it.

She slid her arm from her eyes. "Yeah, I'm okay." She forced a smile, hoping it was convincing.

Kono snuck a quick peek at her boss still kneeled at Maddie's feet. He was frowning, and looked a bit concerned. However, she knew he was experiencing so much more than he was letting show.

Kono's eyes flitted back to Maddie. "Nice try, but that was pitiful. Completely unbelievable," she teased, referring to her friend's sad excuse of a smile. She was grateful when Maddie chuckled lightly.

Seeing she was going to be fine, Steve silently rose and walked out of the room, disappearing into the hall. He needed to take a walk. He needed some space and fresh air. He wasn't worried leaving Maddie behind in the main room since Kono, and Lori, were there. She was safe with them. Plus, he wouldn't be gone long and he wasn't planning on going far.

Kono sighed, filled with sadness as she watched her boss walk away. She knew he and Maddie were in pain, and she wished she knew how to help them. But, it wasn't her place. It was something they needed to figure out on their own. However, she told herself if there wasn't any improvement in a week and a half, she'd figure out a way to get through to them. _Maybe I can convince Malia to help_, she mused, knowing it'd be a way to begin rebuilding their friendship since she and Chin were back together.

The pain had settled a bit in Maddie's knee, allowing Doc to move it around and check it over. "You're okay, Mads," Doc assured her. "You just aggravated it. You really have to be more careful." He met the singer's deep blue eyes and she nodded, a wordless promise she'd do just that.

"Let's get you up and back to the dressing room. We'll let you rest for a little bit and then we'll rehearse the numbers," Lyle stated as he, Doc, and Kono helped Maddie sit up.

Now sitting, Maddie's eyes darted around looking for Steve, but he wasn't there. _Where'd he go_, she wondered, confused. _Did he go home? Will he be back for the show?_

The thought that he'd miss the show caused the aching in her heart to worsen. Sure, she was heartbroken and upset he'd teased her about her feelings again, but she still wanted him to see the show. He was still her best friend. She wanted to know what he thought. His opinion, and support, meant a lot to her. Plus, he hadn't seen a show in years.

Knowing she was in desperate need of a distraction, Maddie shook her head violently, immediately regretting it as her headache increased and she experienced a slight dizzy spell. "No, I'm okay. Let's just rehearse now," she told them, ignoring the dizziness.

"I don't know, Mads. Let's let your knee relax for a bit first," Lyle hesitantly told her.

"I'm okay. Promise," Maddie assured him, flashing her straight, pearly white teeth as she smiled.

Unsure, Lyle turned to Doc. "John?" he asked, using the doctor's first name, a rare occurrence, showing the seriousness of the question and Lyle's concern.

Doc bit his lip, debating. He sighed. "Mads," he began, "I think it'd be better to wait a little. I know the pain hasn't completely passed."

"You said I didn't cause damage to it. That it isn't any worse," she told him, using his own words against him.

"You didn't. You just aggravated it," he answered, knowing where she was going with this. "But-"

She interrupted. "Okay then. So, it shouldn't matter if I rehearse now." She reached her hands out. "Can you guys help me up?"

They both sighed before reluctantly doing as she asked.

Once Maddie was standing, Lyle and Doc took a step back. However, Kono stayed behind her just in case. "Ready?" Lyle asked. Maddie nodded before taking a hesitant step forward, and then another, and another. Although it was still painful, she could at least put her full weight on it, something everyone noticed.

"Damn sistah," Kono smiled. "What was in that injection? A magic potion?"

Maddie chuckled lightly, shrugging her shoulders.

"That's crazy," Lori said from her spot a few feet away at the table. "You're walking as if nothing's wrong. Did it also help the pain?"

"A small amount," Doc divulged before Maddie could answer. She immediately glared at him, annoyed at his honesty. She'd been planning on saying yes. She didn't like anyone knowing, even if they were her friends, that she was in any kind of discomfort. It made her feel weak, and helpless. Feelings she had promised herself she'd never experience again once she'd been emancipated and gotten away from her abusive father.

"With every step she takes it's still excruciating," Doc continued. "The injection only takes a small amount of the pain away. It keeps her knee from buckling. So, basically, it allows her to put weight and walk on it."

"I'm sure I don't need to say this," Lyle began, "but I've marked where the stage is using fluorescent pink tape." Everyone's eyes scanned the large floor that had been laid down and took in the taped outline. "Back there," he continued, pointing to the area furthest away from them, "is Stage 1." He paused, eyeing Maddie and the dancers to make sure they were paying attention. Seeing they were, he continued. "You can see where the catwalk comes off Stage 1." He pointed to where the pink tape formed an outline of a long, runway that jutted off the center of Stage 1. "And there's Stage 2," he divulged, signaling to the pink outlined rectangular area coming off the runway. "And, like we always do when rehearsing without the actual stage, Stage 3 will be that." He pointed to a tall, metal contraption on wheels appearing to be at least 6 feet high. At the top was a flat surface, which acted as Stage 3, that could be reached by stairs on one side.

"Gotta love the death trap," Claire cracked as they all eyed the dangerous looking apparatus. "Thank God you're the only one using it in this rehearsal. I hate that thing! It's scary!"

Maddie couldn't' have been more relieved that Steve wasn't there to hear Claire's comments. She chuckled, agreeing wholeheartedly. The thing was scary, and she always dreaded rehearsing on it, and that was when she was at the top of her game and not injured. She was grateful that the real Stage 3 was nothing like what they'd deemed "the death trap". The real Stage 3 was stationary and steady, and didn't feel like it would collapse beneath her.

"Alright, you guys ready?" Lyle asked.

Without saying a word, Maddie began walking towards the back of the temporary floor, her six female dancers following closely behind. All seven women were barefoot, and all were dressed in either tight workout shorts or leggings. A couple wore crop tops or sports bras, their toned abs on display, while others were in t-shirts or tank tops. Maddie was still in the black leggings, blue tank top, and white long-sleeved shirt that Tina had helped her change into earlier.

"Ready?" Lyle asked, taking a seat on the bench.

Maddie closed her eyes and let her breathing even out as she prepared herself for the pain she knew she'd feel once she started performing. She took one last deep breath and exhaled before opening her eyes and nodding, letting Lyle know she was ready.

"Okay." Lyle turned his body to the left and fiddled with the iPod hooked to a set of medium sized speakers on the table. Finding the correct song, he turned his head back to the women standing close together in the middle of Stage 1. "Maddie, don't go all the way. Don't give it your all. Stop at 75-80 percent. Save some energy." She nodded in understanding. "Alright, positions. You're under the stage about to be brought up," he told them, trying to put them in the moment as if they were on the real stage doing the full show. He then turned to Doc, who took a seat on his left. "Keep an eye on her hips, and then tell me what you think." Doc nodded.

With Maddie in the center, three dancers positioned themselves on each side of her. They were each a step back from the one in front of them. If one were to look down on them, it would look like they formed the letter "V", with Maddie front and center at the point. The women straightened, their bodies lengthening in preparation of the song. Their heads were tilted down as they looked at the floor.

"Here we go," Lyle said, his finger hovering over the 'play' button. "5…6…5. 6. 7. 8," he called out. He hit play and the music began.

A kind of tribal feeling drum beat with what sounded like a male voice chanting came through the speakers. Lyle, Doc, Kono, and Lori watched as Maddie and her female dancers stayed in position for the first five seconds before slowly beginning to move their hips in a way similar to a belly dancer. Their movements started off very subtle, and steadily became more pronounced as they brought their hands and arms into the mix.

Fifteen seconds into the song, Maddie lifted her head and began lip-synching. She and her dancers moved in complete unison.

**When you're ready come and get it  
>Na na na na<strong>

**Na na na na**

**Na na na na**

**When you're ready come and get it**

**Na na na na**

**Na na na na**

**Na na na na  
><strong>  
><strong>When you're re-e-a-dy<br>When you're re-e-a-dy**

**When you're ready come and get it**  
><strong>Na na na na<strong>

**Na na na na**

**Na na na na**

* * *

><p><em>What the hell happened back there?<em> Steve asked himself as he walked out of the main room and into the hallway. _I thought we were both on the same page. _He shook his head, confused, as he passed a closed room with a computer printed sign that said "Security" taped to the door. He turned, heading down the next hallway.

With his hands fisted in his pockets, he recalled how Maddie's bottom lip had trembled. Although it had only been for a split second, he'd seen it before she'd regained control over her emotions. He'd seen that and the way her gorgeous blue eyes filled with hurt and what had appeared to be embarrassment. "Embarrassment?" he muttered to himself. "Why was she embarrassed?"

That threw him for a loop. The hurt. Okay, he could understand that because he knew he'd hurt her Sunday. Why it had suddenly appeared in her eyes in that moment, he wasn't really sure. But, the embarrassment...? That quick sliver of embarrassment… That had him completely stumped. _How did she go from being turned on to embarrassed and hurt?_ he asked himself, bewildered.

As he continued walking, he thought back, trying to recall exactly what had happened the second before things had changed. He passed two rooms, one across the hall from the other. The signs on the doors told him one was the dressing room for Maddie's male dancers while the other was the dressing room for her female dancers. _I'd only been rubbing her thigh, the same as I had before that_, he remembered.

Frustrated and upset, - not to mention puzzled – Steve ran his hand through his dark hair. _What did I do? How did I manage to make things worse? _

However, he knew the answer. He'd let his emotions and desires take over and, in doing so, had pushed her too hard.

He'd had his reasons for deciding to wait until after the show to talk to her about everything. Or why he hadn't acted on any urges. Upon arriving at the venue hours earlier, he'd known that she was upset and hurt, not to mention in physical pain from her knee injury. He had assumed she was going to be exhausted, and once he'd seen her, it was obvious she was that, and so much more. She was barely hanging on. He had worried that if he'd pushed her to talk, that she'd get upset and then possibly shut down on him, pushing him further away. Something he couldn't afford to happen. Not when he needed her to tell him what she knew about her stalker.

And judging Maddie's sudden panicked reaction a few minutes before, he'd been right in his initial instincts not to push her.

_I just had to let my feelings get the better of me_, Steve berated himself."Feelings?" he scoffed quietly. "More like hormones." He rolled his eyes. "I'm suddenly acting like I'm 15 again." He clenched his teeth in irritation. _Thinking with my dick instead of my head!_

His pace slowed as he passed Maddie's dressing room, his eyes unconsciously lingering over her name typed out on the sign. _Now what are you going to do? _he asked himself. The hurt look on her face flashed into his mind. _You did that. That was you. Without even knowing how, you hurt her. __Again__. _He hated himself for it. How did this keep happening? He'd never been this way with another woman. Never constantly putting his foot in his mouth. And, more importantly, he'd never been this way with Maddie. _What the hell is wrong with you, McGarrett? _

Without knowing where he was going, he turned down another hallway, passing a door marked "Wardrobe".

_How the hell am I going to fix things between us? _he wondered. Suddenly his pace slowed to a near stop as he realized there was a very real chance that he wouldn't be able to fix things.

His stomach plummeted and he felt sick at the idea. He closed his eyes and clenched his jaw as the intense fear of losing her rattled him to the core.

His blue eyes suddenly snapped open, appearing hard and determined. "No," he said aloud, his voice forceful. "I won't let that happen. I will fix this. I will get through to her." He began walking again. "I have to." He clenched his fists inside the pockets of his cargoes. "I will not lose her. I can't." His eyes closed quickly before opening again.

Reaching the end of yet another hallway, he noticed a door marked "The Doc". His lips turned up in a small smile. He knew, although he'd never been told, that Maddie was the one that had dubbed Dr. Jonathon Warsten "The Doc". He assumed over time it had become simply "Doc".

He turned left as he thought about the horrible pain he'd left Maddie in. He felt guilty for that. "If only I hadn't pushed her," he mumbled regretfully as he shook his head. _Things are getting too out of hand,_ he thought. _I gotta get things under control._ Coming to a door, he pushed it open and found himself outside.

Steve squinted as the mid day sun beat into his eyes. He took a deep breath, inhaling the clean, Hawaiian air.

Stepping away from the doorway, he leaned against the arena's outer wall. He had to figure out what the hell he was going to do. He was right, things were out of control. He wasn't his normal self, and he needed to be. For Maddie. She was in danger, and he needed to protect her. Not knowing who was after her only reminded him how important it was for things to change.

He looked around at the few parked cars and massive trucks used to store Maddie's stage as his mind whirled. He knew Maddie would never tell him what she was hiding if they weren't on better terms. And for the moment, that was most important. "We won't be able to see what's between us if some psycho gets to her," he mumbled. "Speaking of psycho…" He pulled his phone out and quickly glanced at the screen. Licking his bottom lip out of habit, he sighed loudly, frustrated he still hadn't heard from Pete or Chin.

"How the hell didn't I notice something was wrong with Tina?" However, he already knew the answer. Because he'd been so focused on Maddie herself, as opposed to what was going on around her, that he'd missed the signs. Sure, he'd picked up on a couple, but hadn't been paying close enough attention for them to register.

The same thing had happened when he'd first seen Maddie that day and hadn't realized she was sick as a dog. He knew he'd been missing something, but had been too focused on where he stood with her to realize what it was. He knew that in normal circumstances he would have realized she was sick the second he laid eyes on her.

_What happens if the next thing I miss puts her life in jeopardy?_ he asked himself. Every muscle in his body tensed at the thought. He ran his hands up and down his face in frustration.

"I gotta take a step back emotionally," he finally decided. "Stop worrying about 'us'. She and I will talk about it once the show's behind her. Until then, I need to pay more attention to what's going on around her."

"Everything's going to be fine," he told himself before glancing at his watch. He'd been gone long enough. Although he trusted Kono and Lori with Maddie, he knew she'd always be safer with him.

Now that Steve had a plan, he felt better. He felt more like himself. Feeling himself begin to settle, he headed back inside the arena.

* * *

><p>As Steve neared the end of the hallway where he'd turn right to go back to the main room, Carl approached from the opposite direction.<p>

"Hey McG! What's up?" Carl greeted.

"Just got some air. You?" Steve replied as the two men began walking towards the main room.

"I was stationed at the backstage door, but was relieved by Connor," Carl answered before unsuccessfully trying to stifle a yawn. "I'm gonna take a quick power nap while I have the chance."

"I guess when Maddie doesn't sleep, neither do you guys."

Carl chuckled, shaking his head slightly. "Not as much as we'd like, but we make it work. We take shifts. Like you know, it's harder to do our jobs if we're exhausted."

Steve nodded, knowing exactly what he was talking about. A few seconds of silence went by as the two Navy Seals turned down another hallway.

"Speaking of sleep," Carl began. "Has Maddie gotten any?"

Steve sighed. "Just a little bit." He glanced at his watch. "But she'll be getting more in about thirty minutes whether she wants to or not."

Laughter erupted from Carl. "Good luck with that!"

Steve shot his friend a mock glare before a chuckle escaped.

"She feeling any better?" Carl asked, still smiling and laughing.

"A bit because she took some meds, but they'll be wearing off pretty soon." Steve paused. "I don't know how she's been able to rehearse with her injuries, being exhausted, and then being sick. And I mean really sick! Her fever was over 104."

"Damn!" Carl exclaimed. "She's a tough cookie, that's for sure!"

Steve nodded, a pride filled smile tugging at his mouth. "Strongest person I know."

Carl glanced over and saw the look on his friend's face. He'd been wondering what was going on between the two since they drove away from Maddie's house on Sunday. Now that they were alone, he felt it was a perfect opportunity to ask. "So… Sunday…things seemed weird when we left the house. Even though she's trying to hide it, Maddie seemed really upset and has been ever since. Do you know why?"

Steve inwardly tensed at Carl's question. He debated whether to pretend he had no idea what he was talking about, but as uncomfortable as he was discussing it, he knew he needed to be honest. After all, that's how he'd gotten himself into the mess to begin with. Plus, Carl had always been really easy to talk to. He'd always been the one the men in their unit went to if they needed to talk, vent, or wanted advice.

Steve took a deep breath before audibly releasing it. "Yeah… that was my fault."

Carl's head snapped to look at his friend questioningly. "What do you mean? What happened?"

_Where do I even begin? _Steve asked himself. He didn't really want to discuss whatever was going on between him and Maddie with anyone, but at the same time he wanted to get it off his chest without given a hard time for his mistakes. He knew Carl would listen without judging, and that's just what he needed.

"Things are… well, changing for Maddie and me. And… uh… we're just, trying to figure it out." Steve paused, picking his next words carefully. "My response to your question that morning hurt Maddie pretty badly."

"Damn! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to cause any problems between you two. I was just kidding around," Carl replied, feeling horrible.

"No, it's not your fault. I'm the one that… well… kind of panicked in the moment, and said something stupid. It's my fault." Steve paused before glaring at his fellow Seal. "And if you ever tell anyone I admitted that I panicked, I'll kill you and leave behind no evidence!"

"Will do," Carl chuckled before growing serious. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

"No. I appreciate it, but this is all me. I gotta get her to realize that I didn't mean what I said, but it's not going to be easy because I'd already said and done some stupid things before that. She's not really in a trusting mood when it comes to me right now," Steve admitted. There was a moment of silence as the two continued walking towards the main room. "I just hope I didn't screw up for good, that I haven't lost her."

Carl was taken aback by his longtime buddy's candor. Steve had never opened up to him like this before. Not about something so important. He knew he had to be terrified he'd lost Maddie.

As they entered the next hallway, the room marked "Security" came into view. Without speaking they both slowed as they approached the door.

Carl reached out and grabbed the doorknob. As he turned it he looked back at Steve. "I know you guys will figure things out. You'll get through to her. It's harder than normal because she's just not herself right now, but you'll get through to her. I know it. You're made for one another… you'll make a good team."

Steve felt the familiar tug of both fear and excitement at his friend's words. "Thanks, Carl. I appreciate it."

"Anytime!"

"Go get some rest, you look like crap!" Steve joked, his words effectively letting him know that he was done opening up about Maddie.

"Might want to take a good look in the mirror," Carl countered before disappearing in the room.

Steve simply smiled and shook his head before turning and walking down the hallway. Although he'd been unsure and uncomfortable confiding in Carl, he felt a bit better now.

As he reached the main room, he leaned against the frame of the open doorway and watched Maddie rehearse, glad no one had noticed he was back. He enjoyed being able to watch her without anyone observing his every move.

It was odd. He knew she was surrounded by her female dancers, but he didn't see them. He only saw her. He was in awe as he watched her. He didn't know how she did it. How she moved so effortlessly. How each and every move she made seemed completely natural as if it hadn't been choreographed. As if she hadn't spent hours and hours rehearsing the choreography. It was as if her body was telling him a story, the same story being told by the words she was singing.

As Maddie began lip-synching the first verse, she and her dancers moved to the ground, their legs outstretched to their left. It was a risky move, performing part of a song sitting on the floor. And not just for her, but also for her six female dancers. With her stage being as large as it was it would be easy for her, or anyone, to "disappear" when performing sitting down. However, that wasn't the case.

As Kono and Lori watched the performance for the first time, they were floored. Although sitting, Maddie was captivating. She and her dancers used their arms and legs in such a way that made them look long, lean, and elegant. Their moves were beautiful and dynamic. The way they used their hands and arms was so graceful and feminine. And even though they were all sitting, their legs still out to the side, they continued to roll their hips in a way that was both sensual and sexy, however not overtly so.

**You ain't gotta worry it's an open invitation  
>I'll be sittin' right here real patient<br>All day all night I'll be waitin', standin' by  
>Can't stop because I love it, hate the way I love you<br>All day all night maybe I'm addicted for life, no lie.  
><strong>

Leaning against the doorway, Steve crossed his arms and continued to watch her. _God, she really was born to do this_, he thought. _Even barefoot, in leggings, and a shirt, with her hair in a ponytail and makeup worn off, she commands your attention_.

His eyes flitted to a few stray people in the room. Crewmembers, he assumed since they all had credentials hanging around their necks, much like the one he was wearing. He noticed that although they were busy working, they couldn't help but watch her. She was captivating. There was no better word for it.

Shaking his head, he nibbled his bottom lip and smiled while his eyes remained glued to his best friend. He was filled with pride. He was so damn proud of her and of everything she'd accomplished. She was one of the biggest superstars in the world, a fact he often times forgot since she was just Maddie to him. Always was and always would be. But moments like this, moments when he saw her in her element, he was reminded just how special she really was. How truly talented she was.

Not yet ready to join everyone at the table, he stayed where he was, leaning against the doorway, and watched her.

As Maddie began lip-synching to the first pre-chorus, she and her dancers, who were still in a "V" formation, moved from their seated positions to their knees.

**I'm not too shy to show I love you, I got no regrets.  
>I love you much too, much too hide you, this love ain't finished yet<strong>

**This love ain't finished yet…  
>So baby whenever you're ready…<br>**

Wanting a closer view, Steve pushed off the wall and made his way to the table. He glimpsed at the spot he'd been sitting in before and immediately noted if he sat there then Lori would be next to him. However, he would be near Lyle and Doc and would be able to overhear anything said regarding Maddie. Deciding that, at the moment, that was more important than avoiding Lori, he took his seat.

Once he'd gotten situated, Lori waited a beat before leaning slightly towards him. She rested her hand on his forearm and whispered, "She's fantastic, isn't she?"

Steve forced himself not to tense at her close proximity. "Yeah, she really is," he replied. Although he'd already decided to speak with Lori the next day, explaining that nothing was going to happen between them, she'd just given him the perfect opportunity to hint at it. "She's beautiful," he said, smiling as he watched Maddie, never once taking his eyes off his best friend.

Lori felt a twinge at his statement, but forced herself not to read into it. She glanced at the singer dancing and couldn't help but smile. "She really is," she agreed.

Although she was worried about Maddie and Steve's relationship, and that there might be more than simple friendship between them, she'd been a fan of hers. And she'd always wanted to see her live. So, when Maddie had given her a ticket to the show, she'd been secretly excited.

Taken in by one of the biggest singers in the world rehearsing in front of her, Lori stopped worrying about things with Steve. Leaving her hand on his right forearm, she turned to look at him. "I am so excited to see the show tonight. I've always been a fan of Maddie's."

Steve turned his head to look at her, completely shocked. He couldn't help but smile at her excitement as she continued.

"Since I was in 8th grade, when her first single came out." She glanced back at Maddie and her dancers, enjoying watching them, before turning back to Steve. "In fact, her music got me through some tough times. High school was a hard time for me." Realizing what she'd just said, that in her excitement she'd admitted too much, her cheeks began to flush. "Anyway, um… I'm excited for tonight. And, I know if it wasn't for you knowing her, I wouldn't get to see this… so thanks," she said, embarrassed. She pulled her hand from his arm and brought her attention back to Maddie and her dancers.

Taking in her slightly pinked cheeks, he chuckled lightly. He leaned towards her and whispered, "Oh my God! You're a super fan!" Pulling away, he laughed harder as her blush darkened. He nudged her. "I'm just teasing, Lori." He paused. "But seriously, it's no big deal. I'm glad you came." His smile suddenly filled with mischief. "Why didn't you say anything before? That you're a fan, I mean?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know. I guess I didn't want to seem like a dork." She paused, debating whether to tell the whole truth. _What can it hurt at this point? _she mused. "Plus, I was pretty intimidated at her house Saturday. I mean, she's Madeline Lily, one of the biggest singer/songwriter/performer's out there. It's intimidating! … And, I guess I didn't want Maddie to think I was a crazy fan."

"Are you a crazy fan?" Steve asked, narrowing his eyes as he continued to smile.

"Sorry, poor choice of words. A fan? Yes. A crazy one? No," Lori answered, embarrassed, but enjoying the real conversation she was having with 'laidback Steve'. They hadn't had one since they'd met for drinks, and even then it hadn't been the same as it had been when they'd had dinner.

He smirked. "That's good. Wouldn't want to have to arrest you," he joked, but then grew serious. "But you know, Maddie would never think differently of you if she knew. To be honest, she'd love to know what you just told me."

"Oh my God Steve, don't tell her!" Lori hurriedly whispered. Everything she'd admitted to Steve was true, but she didn't want Maddie knowing. She hadn't even wanted him to know. She blamed the magic and excitement of it all. That she'd gotten too wrapped and excited seeing Maddie rehearse. Somehow, that had made it real for her. Made it dawn on her that she was Madeline Lily and not just the woman who had Steve's attention.

"Don't worry, I won't tell her. It'll be our secret." He paused. "But," he emphasized. "The next time Danny is arguing with me about a case, you better take my side just so we can shut him up sooner." He gave her his signature one-sided smirk.

"It's a deal," she grinned. "But you can't hold this over my head and use it against me forever. There needs to be some kind of expiration date on it," she rebutted, reveling in their banter. She loved when she saw this side of Steve, especially when it was aimed at her.

He narrowed his eyes, smirking at her. "I'll take it under advisement." He smiled fully as she shook her head. Taking a deep breath, he gave her a more serious look. "But seriously, Lori. In all honesty, you should tell Maddie. I know her and she'd love to hear it. It might even make her day." He smiled sweetly. Although he didn't flash his perfect white teeth as he did so, the smile still caused a warmth to spread throughout her. Well, their whole conversation did. "Just think about it," he whispered, rubbing her left shoulder, in a completely friendly and non-romantic gesture, although she didn't take it as that.

"I will. Thanks, Steve," Lori smiled, happily freaking out inside as her stomach somersaulted. With that said, both turned their attention back to Maddie and her dancers, who were now on their feet singing the chorus. As she watched the singer, she couldn't keep the large smile from her face. _Maybe I've been overreacting to the whole Maddie and Steve thing?_ she thought. _I know they've been best friends almost their whole lives and have been there for each other through a lot. They're probably always like this with one another. It must just be how their friendship is. _

Lori felt a thousand times better about it all. She promised herself she wouldn't worry about whether the two best friends had feelings for one another. She'd just enjoy this amazing opportunity to see one of the biggest singers in the world work up close. That and she'd just be herself with Steve, just like she'd been a moment ago. After all, he'd reacted well to it every time. What he hadn't reacted well to was when she felt insecure and acted needy and unlike herself. _It's all going to be fine_, she told herself.

Maddie had seen Steve return and sit next to Lori. _Figures_, she thought. _I mean, it makes sense. They are dating, after all. Of course he'd sit next to her._

But that wasn't what caused the ache in her chest. It was seeing Steve turn to Lori, smiling and joking. Obviously she couldn't hear what they were saying, but she didn't need to. The way he smiled at her, the way he rubbed her shoulder, it was enough to trigger her father's words again. **Steve, he'll never love you… He'll always see you as damaged and broken.**

Pain and anger filled her, and, although it was causing her physical pain, she was suddenly ecstatic to be rehearsing. She desperately needed a distraction, and it was the perfect one.

Wanting the emotional pain gone and forgotten, she began pushing herself, losing herself in the song. She was no longer giving it 75-80 percent, but 110.

As Maddie continued the chorus, she and her dancers were approaching the front of Stage 1.

**When you're ready come and get it**

**Na na na na**

**Na na na na**

**Na na na na  
><strong>

"What the hell?" Lyle mumbled, his eyebrows knitted together as he watched Maddie intently.

His words worried Steve, and he began studying her. _She doesn't seem hurt_, he concluded, confused.

"What is it?" Doc asked.

However, Lyle didn't answer him. He only shook his head while continuing to watch her. Suddenly he yelled, "Maddie, dial it back! I said 75 percent, not 110!"

He groaned, rubbing his forehead in frustration when she made no change and continued to give the performance everything she had. "Damn it!" he cursed. "She's gonna run herself into the ground before the show even starts."

Knowing Steve had been gone when Lyle had instructed Maddie to hold back slightly and save some energy, Kono leaned forward from her spot on Lori's right and turned her head to the left. "Boss," she said and explained what he'd missed.

Grateful, Steve smiled at his teammate. "Thanks, Kono." He turned back to watch Maddie.

Maddie and her dancers stopped at the front center of Stage 1, the taped off catwalk directly in front of them. Still in their V-like formation, they performed the rest of the chorus.

**When you're re-e-a-dy  
>When you're re-e-a-dy, ready<strong>

**When you're ready come and get it**  
><strong>Na na na na<strong>

**Na na na na**

**Na na na na**

Maddie spun forward as she finished the chorus and began the second verse. She started walking down the catwalk. Her dancers waited a beat before following. This was the first time they'd broken their "V" formation. Instead, they walked down in a line with three feet between each of them.

Although she continued to dance, she pretended to look out at imaginary fans along the catwalk as she lip-synced. There were some dance moves she was supposed to do during this part, but mostly she was singing and interacting with her fans while continuing to move her hips and arms in a flowing, sensual way.

Now that Lyle had pointed it out, Steve noticed the change in her performing. She was definitely giving it her all, and then some. _Damn it_, he thought. _Lyle's right._ _She should be holding back to save energy for tonight._

He watched her carefully, confused why she'd suddenly thrown herself into it more. She hadn't started like that. He knew something had changed in the last minute. That it wasn't just her dad's visit, and possibly whatever had suddenly upset her when he'd been helping her stretch, that she was trying to block out. The problem was, he had no idea what had triggered her to suddenly push herself so hard.

Steve hated that Maddie was hurting and upset, a lot of which he knew was because of him. A fact that only made him feel worse. Seeing her pushing herself in her current state had him wondering if maybe he shouldn't wait to talk to her. That maybe he should try and say something before they got home that night. Something simple and to the point. However, what that was going to be, he had no idea.

**You got the kind of love that I want, let me get that.**

As the drum hit after she sang 'let me get that', Maddie and her dancers did a jerky move and froze briefly before she continued to the next line. They all stepped forward down the marked catwalk and danced in unison on 'let me get that, yeah'.

**Let me get that, yeah.**

On the next line, Maddie rolled her body, the movement passing all the way through to her hips as she spun forward, her arms in the air moving gracefully and sensually with her body. It was a sequence that was excruciating to the area surrounding her tailbone. Determined, she forced herself not to acknowledge the pain, but instead danced through it. However, she couldn't control the tears that slipped into her eyes. What she was able to control was whether the tears escaped, something she absolutely refused to let happen.

**And baby once I get it I'm yours no take backs.**

Steve was captivated. She was beautiful. And the way she was moving? Need was knotting his stomach again. God, he wanted her. _If only we weren't in a weird place_, he thought. _I'd just take her back to the dressing room_… He finished the thought with visuals. _No, stop_, he told himself, interrupting the amazing picture in his head. _Don't go there right now. You'll just drive yourself crazy._

"Are you seeing what I'm talking about?" Lyle asked Doc, pulling Steve from his less than pure thoughts. "Her hips aren't completely pulling the rotations off. There's not a lot of movement in them, even less than our last run through at two this morning. Meaning, it's getting worse, and quickly."

Lori's eyes widened. If what she was seeing wasn't a lot of movement, she hated to think what was. As she'd been watching her, she couldn't help but be jealous, and not because of anything having to do with Steve, but of what an amazing performer and dancer she was. She appeared effortless, making every step and movement seem easy and natural.

"I mean, this is nothing compared to how she normally is. She might be giving this run-through all her energy, but the movement in her hips is maybe 50 percent of what she usually has, maybe even less," Lyle told Doc.

"Holy crap," Lori muttered, making Kono laugh.

"I know, right?" Kono stated, glancing quickly at her new colleague. "She may be a klutz most of the time, but man does she kick ass at her job. There's a reason she's at the top of her game."

"I see it," Doc stated, his right arm crossed and supporting his left elbow while the fingers from his left hand rested on and below his bottom lip. He watched Maddie closely, studying her movements carefully. "It's the fall she took Sunday night. If she hadn't kept going, but rested, it would be a lot better. Instead, the constant dancing and movement has made it worse and kept it from beginning to heal. Her tailbone and nearby joints are starting to stiffen and lock on her. That's what you're seeing."

"Great," Lyle quipped, his tone conveying his frustration and concern. His eyes fluttered closed as he shook his head. _What more could go wrong? _he wondered. However, immediately regretted it. He wasn't necessarily a superstitious man, but with everything that had happened in the last four days, he didn't want to put the idea out into the universe.

While they had been speaking, Maddie had continued on through the second verse. She and her dancers continued making their way down the marked off catwalk as they utilized their hips, arms, and bodies, while dancing in unison. Of course, the formation and choreography Lyle had them doing always kept Maddie the main focus. However, he could only do so much, she still had to bring it and stand out, which of course she did easily, even now when she was injured, exhausted and feeling awful.

**I'm gon' love you for life I ain't leaving your side  
>Even if you knock it ain't no way to stop it<strong>

As she reached the last line to the second verse, Maddie and her dancers reached the end of the catwalk, which was where Stage 2 began.

**Forever you're mine baby I'm addicted no lie, no lie**

As they entered the second pre-chorus, their movements slowed. They became more fluid, their arms incredibly graceful and elegant as they rolled their bodies and hips.

**I'm not too shy to show I love you, I got no regrets.  
>So baby whenever you're ready…<strong>

All seven women stopped. Maddie looked around. Usually when she performed this part of the song she would have a sexy smirk and a flirtatious look in her eyes as she'd look around at her fans. But she didn't do that now. It was something that happened in the moment. The look and emotion would come once she was in front of thousands of screaming fans. Their excitement always sent such a surge of adrenaline coursing through her body. Something she knew would help her get through the show that night in her current physical state.

As the chorus came in, Maddie and her dancers became more dynamic, the most they'd been so far. The number was choreographed so their movements and energy built with the song.

They moved forward, returning to their 'V' formation. However they were more spread out than before, taking up most of Stage 2. Their steps continued to be reminiscent of Indian style dancing, their hips moving in a sexy and sensual way, and their arms, hands, and fingers making large, graceful, and sometimes sweeping, movements.

**When you're ready come and get it  
>Na na na na<strong>

**Na na na na**

**Na na na na**

**When you're ready come and get it**

**Na na na na**

**Na na na na**

**Na na na na  
><strong>

As the chorus continued, Maddie needed to get to the very front of Stage 2. Instead of simply walking there as she 'sang', Lyle choreographed it so she would spin forward several times, rolling her hips and body as she did so.

Knowing what was coming, Lyle stood and made his way forward, stopping close to Maddie, but not close enough that he'd be in her way. Seeing this, Steve's body tensed slightly as he watched her vigilantly.

As Maddie spun, Lyle took another step towards her. In rehearsals, she'd consistently gotten dizzy at this part. She'd even fallen a couple times. With the show only hours away he couldn't afford for her to fall and hurt herself further. And given the move she was doing, Lyle knew if she did indeed fall, it would most likely be either her knee or tailbone, or God forbid both, that took the impact. So, he stayed close in case he needed to catch her.

As Maddie spun she tried to tell herself she'd be fine. _Don't get dizzy. You can do this_, she inwardly chanted the encouraging words. _Just find a focal point. Zero in on it._

The dizzy feeling had escalated quickly and before she could finish the final spin, Maddie found her world whirling and wobbling in all sorts of ways.

"Crap," Lyle muttered, noticing that, although her spins had started out tight, they were now becoming sloppy. Knowing exactly what that meant, he took a rushed step towards her.

Maddie's heart pounded as she prayed she wouldn't go down, especially in front of Steve. However, her prayers weren't answered and she lost control of her body.

Just as she stumbled out of the middle of the final spin, Lyle grabbed her. His arms encircled her tightly as her head swayed back and forth slightly and her knees began to buckle.

Steve fought the intense urge to stand and go to her. Instead, he splayed his hands on the tops of his thighs, his fingers pressing into his cargo pants. Somehow, his back straightened even more as his shoulders tensed. Gestures that, if noticed, showed only a small fraction of the anxiety he was feeling.

Lyle held Maddie only a split second, long enough for him to whisper, "Keep going," to her. He felt bad for having her continue, but he had no choice. He wasn't going to be on stage with her that night. If she got dizzy and stumbled, he wouldn't be there to catch her. She'd have to keep going. He just prayed that if it did happen, she'd only stumble, as opposed to fall.

Maddie coughed as she fought the dizzy feeling in her head. Once Lyle let go, she quickly turned before taking a few stumbled steps forward.

Lyle, Doc, Steve, Lori, and Kono worriedly watched her shake her head slowly hoping to shake off the dizzy feeling. Her eyes fluttered closed for a brief second worrying Steve further. He was terrified she was going to faint in front of his eyes. Something he wasn't sure he could handle again.

He exhaled a breath of relief as her eyes opened and she jumped right back into the performance as if nothing had happened.

"Damn," Doc cursed under his breath, however loud enough that he was heard.

Lyle quickly walked back, stopping near Steve and Doc. He sighed and shook his head. "Can you do anything about that?" he asked the doctor.

Doc sighed. "I really wish I could, but I'm afraid there's nothing I can do. She hit her head hard when she fainted last week. And, all the smaller falls where she hit it have only slowed down the healing process. She's just still not 100%. Not even close." He paused briefly. Long enough to take a deep breath and audibly release it. "Plus, she's completely exhausted." He watched her as he spoke, his eyes never leaving her. "To be honest, I think that dizzy spell has more to do with over exhaustion than the concussion. My bet is, get her to get some sleep and you'll see improvement in a lot of areas." He turned to Lyle and the two shared a worried look. Both men turned back, returning their attention to Maddie just as she and her dancers did a move that involved them to put almost all their weight on their right bare feet as they ground it into the floor.

"Oh, I bet that hurt," Doc winced, his eyes immediately going to Maddie's wrapped up and infected right foot.

"Damn sistah." Kono closed her eyes briefly, feeling Maddie's pain.

At Doc's observation, Steve repeatedly licked his bottom lip in concern. However, that was the only indication of his emotions. He was keeping them almost completely compartmentalized as he watched Maddie closely.

"I'm surprised she didn't let it show," Kono said. "I mean that had to hurt!"

Lyle glanced over at her and smirked slightly. "She wouldn't. Not when she's performing. I don't know how she does it, but she hides it. Even when she's not performing, for her to appear uncomfortable, in pain, or not feeling well, it means she's really not feeling good or whatever's going on is excruciatingly painful. Infinitely worse than she lets on."

As much as Steve hated what Lyle had just said, he knew it was the truth. Maddie was tough as nails. He revered that about her, but it only caused him to worry more, knowing that with her outwardly showing she felt awful and was in pain that it was abundantly worse than she was letting on.

**When you're re-e-a-dy  
>When you're re-e-a-dy <strong>

Steve was completely taken off guard as two men suddenly rolled a tall metal tower on wheels a few feet in front of Maddie. His eyes almost imperceptibly squinted as he tried to figure out what was going on. However, he didn't need to wonder long as Maddie ran up the stairs on the side closest to her. As she did she finished the chorus.

**When you're ready come and get it  
>Na na na na<strong>

**Na na na na**

**Na na na na**

"Be careful, Mads!" Lyle yelled up to her. The fact she'd just been dizzy made him extremely nervous. He didn't need, or want, it to happen again while she was up there, because if it did he knew she'd definitely fall.

He looked at the two men holding onto the tower, keeping it in place. "Make sure you hold it steady. I don't want it rolling around while she's up there. Not even a smidge. I mean it. The last thing we need is for her to fall off." He shook his head at the thought, his stomach tightening out of nervousness.

Maddie lip-synced the bridge as she stood on top of the contraption. Whenever she performed this part of the song, she was into it. She'd often times get on her knees or she'd open her arms wide and throw her head back. It was always different. It just depended on the moment and how she was feeling, how the crowd was affecting her. However, this was a run-through, so she didn't do any of that. Plus, she knew she needed to be extremely careful. She knew from past experience that the practice tower she was standing on could roll from the littlest movement, so she simply stood in place and lip-synced the bridge.

**This love will be the death of me, but I know I'll die happily  
>I'll know, I'll know, I'll know<br>Because you love me so…Yeah!**

As the chorus came back on, Maddie began rolling her body, her arms up in the air doing the exact same movements her six female dancers were doing down on the floor in the area marked off as Stage 2. Suddenly the tower abruptly jerked. She threw her arms out and bent her knees to try and steady herself as she nearly lost her balance.

"Careful!" Lyle yelled up to her as he watched her, by some miracle, regain her balance. There was a hint of panic in his voice. His eyes flicked to the men holding the tower. "I told you to keep it steady!" he hollered, the panic and worry coming out as anger.

The men's eyes conveyed their apologies while both their stances tensed. Quickly, they each got a better hold of the apparatus.

**When you're ready come and get it  
>Na na na na<strong>

**Na na na na**

**Na na na na**

Although he didn't move a muscle or let it show, Steve's stomach and chest constricted when he saw Maddie falter. From then on, he focused his eyes on every minute and microscopic movement she made, so that if she fell he'd be ready to jump up and catch her. He didn't like her up on that thing. The sooner she was off it, the better.

His wish was granted as he watched Maddie run barefoot down the tower's stairs to join her dancers on Stage 2 as they finished the song.

**When you're ready come and get it**

**Na na na na**

**Na na na na**

**Na na na na  
><strong>  
><strong>When you're re-e-a-dy<br>When you're re-e-a-dy**

**When you're ready come and get it**  
><strong>Na na na na<strong>

**Na na na na**

**Na na na na**

With the music stopped, the room was quiet. Maddie and her six dancers stood in the middle of Stage 2 trying to catch their breath. As soon as the song had finished, Maddie's right hand flew to her mouth and she started coughing. It had been taking an incredible amount of energy to stifle it while she'd run through the song, although she hadn't been completely successful and had coughed every thirty seconds or so.

"It was better," Lyle stated, approaching them. As he did, the two crewmembers rolled the tower away and to the side of the room since, for the time being, it wasn't needed.

He waited to continue and give his critique of the performance until Maddie stopped coughing. However, it didn't look like that was going to happen any time soon. He glanced back to the table, flashing Doc a concerned look.

"I was afraid this was going to happen," Doc mumbled as he stood. Before he could walk to Maddie, Steve caught his eye and outstretched his hand. It took a second to realize what the Navy Seal was doing, that he was handing him Maddie's inhaler, which he'd kept on him just in case. Doc smiled, nodding his head in appreciation before taking the object and walking quickly to where Maddie stood coughing. Her face was a light shade of red from lack of oxygen.

Although he wanted to, Steve forced himself not to go to her. Not only had he made the decision to back off a bit, but he knew it wasn't a good idea after what had happened when he'd helped her stretch. Plus, she was working. He knew she wouldn't appreciate the overprotective gesture while she was focused and working. And he couldn't blame her; he was very similar when he was working a case.

Given the circumstances and the current state of their relationship, Steve knew he'd need to choose his battles carefully in regards to Maddie. Knowing her as well as he did, and given everything that was going on, he had a feeling she was going to put up a fight at the end of the forty-five minutes. That she'd try to continue rehearsing, using it as a distraction from reality. He knew she wouldn't be able to handle rehearsing for much longer than her allotted forty-five minutes. Not if she wanted to be able to pull her show off that night. So, he decided that that would be the battle he'd fight, and although he knew it'd be incredibly difficult, he chose to keep quiet and not intervene until then. However, that didn't mean he wasn't watching closely or wasn't incredibly concerned.

Doc walked over to Maddie and gave her a puff from the inhaler. As Maddie breathed in the medication he turned to Lyle. "This is probably going to be the biggest hurdle we have to overcome for tonight. How do we keep this-" He tipped his head towards Maddie, still looking at Lyle while he continued. "-from happening during the show?" He paused as he watched Lyle's right hand come up and rub at his chin while he thought it over. "I mean running around and dancing and singing onstage is going to trigger her cough. There's no doubt about that. As she gets out of breath, her lungs will be forced to work harder. But they're already struggling. I mean she's sick. There's no way to fix that before tonight."

Lyle sighed. There wasn't anything he could do. Not hours before the show. Especially a show that was airing live on HBO. The show and choreography were set. They couldn't be changed. She needed to nail it if she wanted her vacation time. Which, they all agreed, wasn't about what she wanted, but about what she needed. She absolutely needed the time off. For her health and her wellbeing. "Is there anything you can do?" he finally asked Doc.

Doc was quiet for a moment as he watched Maddie's breathing begin to normalize. He pocketed the inhaler and shook his head before turning back to Lyle, his arms crossed. "Yeah, there is." Before Lyle could get excited he continued. "But… I'm already doing so many things to keep her going so she's able to perform tonight…" He paused, sighing loudly. "At some point you have to ask, 'will it do more harm than good'?"

Lyle was quiet as he thought about Doc's question. "I mean, you're right, but we're so deep into this and we're almost there. You just gotta keep her going until 11pm tonight. And what? That's another…" He glimpsed at his watch. "…almost 10 hours or so."

Steve's jaw clenched as he tried to keep his anger from erupting. He not only hated the way the conversation was going, but he hated what they were saying. _Just keep her going for another 10 hours?_ he thought, irritated. _She's a human being! An exhausted human being. You don't just talk about her like she's some robot or object or something_. But at the same time, they were right, and he understood that, which pissed him off on an entirely different level.

Steve forced himself to hold his tongue as he watched Maddie carefully. She looked so tired as she tried to keep herself from coughing. Her lips were pursed as she attempted to ignore the tickle in her throat until it became too much and she'd let out a small, tight cough before the pattern repeated itself.

Doc sighed. He knew Lyle was right. They were too deep into this. If he didn't do what he could, his efforts, along with everyone else's, over the last several days would be moot and pointless. A complete waste.

As much as he disliked it, he had to do what he had to to keep her going. He also knew that she needed to get some sleep before the show or his efforts would be pointless. He'd talk to Steve. If anyone was going to convince, or worst-case scenario, force her to get some sleep, it was going to be him. "Alright. I'll be right back. I just have to grab something. We'll test to make sure it's going to help."

"Okay. Great!" Lyle smiled, trying to hide his worry and concern over whether or not Maddie was going to be able to keep going long enough to pull the show off.

As Doc left and headed towards his makeshift office, Lyle turned towards Maddie and her dancers. "Mads, your timing continues to be a bit off on the second chorus. And your transition after you come back down the stairs from Stage 3 and join them is still a bit sloppy." He paused, feeling like an asshole for what he was about to say, but he had to. "And whether you get dizzy or not on those spins, you absolutely have to force yourself to keep standing and keep going. You have to ignore it. Now, more than ever, you have to focus on one single point as you spin. It will help. I promise."

_What the hell is wrong with Lyle?_ Steve thought, his temper flaring. _She can't help the dizziness._

"I know," Maddie said, her tone short and clipped. She clenched her jaw, irritated, but not with Lyle. She was irritated with herself. Irritated and disappointed.

Hearing Maddie's tone, Steve turned his gaze to her. He immediately saw how upset and disappointed she was with herself. He knew her too well, he could see it in her eyes. _Damn_, he thought, knowing she was now going to push herself that much harder. He knew because they were similar that way. _She's such a perfectionist. _He fixed his stare on her, hoping she'd feel it and look his way.

Maddie did her best to ignore the feeling of Steve's eyes boring into her, but eventually gave up and finally, annoyed, took a peek in his direction. It was unnerving and obnoxious; especially when she was trying to focus on the choreography and staging for "Come and Get It".

As she peered over at him, he immediately caught, and held, her tired, crystal blue eyes with his. He shot her a look. A look she understood completely. He was wordlessly warning her, telling her not to push herself too hard, to be careful.

Because Maddie was already extremely frustrated and mad at herself for continuing to not nail choreography she normally could have easily done in her sleep, Steve's wordless lecturing and warning look only proved to piss her off. Her dad's words were still running on repeat in her head. As well as how Steve had teased and made fun of her feelings for him ten minutes earlier. Now she wasn't just hurt, she was upset with him. He'd led her on and rubbed it in her face, and now he was trying to tell her what to do? _He can't do that!_ she thought, anger bubbling up inside of her. _ He can't think it's all just a funny game and then act like a concerned boyfriend._

Although she thought she was hiding it, Steve saw a bit of her stubbornness and anger peek through. It was in the way her eyes slightly, almost imperceptibly, narrowed at him. In the way her lip barely twitched, almost as if she was unconsciously snarling. He sighed, realizing his warning look hadn't had the effect he'd hoped. He knew she was going to do the complete opposite of what he wanted. _Awesome_, he thought sarcastically as he licked his lips in frustration. He fought to remain silent and not get into it with her. What helped was reminding himself he had to choose his battles wisely.

"While we wait for Doc let's run it again. We'll start at the second pre-chorus. You were great up till that part. And even then, it's just small issues here and there," Lyle explained as he walked back to the table while the women took their spots.

Now that Lyle was standing and scrutinizing every move Maddie and her dancers made as they ran through the song again, Kono took his vacated spot on Steve's left.

* * *

><p>I hope you guys enjoyed! I post the next update in 24 hours, probably sooner!<p>

Please leave a review!

xoxo


	40. Chapter 36, Part 5

****DISCLAIMER********:**** I do not own "Hawaii Five-0" or any of its characters. However, I do own Maddie, Pete, Tina, Ryan, Lyle, Harper, Carl, etc.

* * *

><p><span><strong>AUTHOR'S<strong>** NOTE****:  
><strong>As promised, here is another update! I told you I'd post it 24 hours after the last one, and it is! Almost to the minute! Again, this is lengthy and I experimented in this chapter (Ch.36 as a whole) with trying to show you guys what Maddie's doing when rehearsing. I want you to see it, but it's hard because what is only a few minutes takes pages and pages to say. At least for me, lol. I won't be doing this for the show because it just takes too long. I think it's fine to do little pieces here and there, but when writing it, I lose my drive after awhile because it moves so slowly and I'm sure it's kind of the same for you guys. It's hard to explain dancing when I don't know the proper wording. So what might really take a couple words to explain, takes me a paragraph. Anyway, I left it because I'd spent soooo much time writing it, but I won't be doing it in the future. It just moves too slow. I warned you guys about this in yesterday's update as well. There's a small amount in tomorrow's update, but that's the end of it and then things really pick up! And tomorrow's update ends...well I think you guys will LOVE IT! YAY!

So, know that things will be picking up! And don't worry the show is not going to be several chapters, just one update. lol. I just can't write it so you guys see it. It's too hard and ends up not coming across.

Anyway... enough about that...

In this update the song I used was Britney Spears "Gimme More". Again, please remember that I'm not saying Maddie sounds like Britney, I'm just using the song because I liked the way Britney arranged it for her Femme Fatale tour. I borrowed the theme from that tour, so if you want to hear it, youtube "Britney Spears Gimme More Live Femme Fatale Tour". Maddie isn't performing it how she does though. Plus, Britney isn't that good anymore. She lost her mojo.

Also, in this update, texts, flashbacks, and song lyrics are in **bold**. And, like always, thoughts are in _italics_.

Oh, and if you don't know what a Nebulizer is, look it up. It's a portable breathing treatment. Helps the lungs.

A big thing I want to say is that Maddie and Tina are not wimpy, immature, women who are always injured. I wanted to make it like that for the rehearsal chapters to show how hard Maddie's life is. And that it doesn't just impact her. Her schedule impacts everyone that works for her. If she doesn't sleep, neither does her assistant or her security. So you can see that they are a family. They feed off one another. They love one another and they'd do anything for one another. It's a unique world she lives in. You're gonna see in Ch.36 Pt.7 how much her feelings and her health don't matter when she's in the public eye. You'll see how it got as bad as it did. Anyway, I just wanted to explain why I've really made Maddie pushing through being sick and hurt. How Tina got hurt and why she's so exhausted. She's always with Maddie, so if Maddie doesn't sleep, neither does she. You're gonna see how these women really are and then you'll realize why Steve and everyone are so concerned about Maddie and her behavior. In Pt 7 you're gonna see a flashback to old Maddie. Enough about that...just so you keep that in mind.

Again, I cannot stress this enough... I am NOT a dancer. I've NEVER taken a dance class in my life, so don't ream me if I make any mistakes when discussing dance stuff. For example, Maddie puts on Pointe shoes in this and she wears them in the next update as well. I'm sorry if I explain things wrong or am not completely accurate. I did research a bit and asked a friend of mine who is a ballerina, so I did my best. So please be kind if I made any errors. :o)

Oh and, yes I know this is going slow...read above. lol. Remember, with the last update and this one, it's only been 30 minutes.

Anyway, I'll let you read on. I'll post the next update tomorrow, in 24 hours! Please review or send me a PM (private message). It's always nice to hear from the readers!

Enjoy!

xo

Laura

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 36, Part 5<strong>

"That was much better," Lyle remarked as the women finished their third run-through of the last half of the song. "Not a 100 percent accurate, but definitely close. And, the closest it's been." He smiled widely at the women. "Great job ladies. You should be proud."

Doc had arrived a few minutes before with a small device (a Nebulizer) in his hand and set it up at the end of the table. As Maddie stood with her hand covering her mouth while she coughed continuously, he called her over. She walked to the table, doing everything she could to not limp. Her knee, and more importantly her foot, were killing her.

"It looks awesome, Mads!" Kono exclaimed as she approached the table. Doc took hold of her upper left arm to assist her as she stepped over the bench to sit at the table.

"Tha-nks," she murmured in between coughs.

"Here, breath into this," Doc instructed, handing her a tube with a mouthpiece at the end. As she put it in her mouth Doc turned on the device from the small rectangular box attached to the tube. "I'm only going to have you do this for two minutes. Before the show you'll use it for ten. This should really help so that you can perform without experiencing coughing spasms. We're not gonna be able to eliminate the cough completely, but we can at least hopefully put an end to these uncontrollable spasms." He paused. "If your cough starts really aggravating during the show, we can give you little puffs from this in between the songs."

Steve watched her closely as she used the device, wishing he were sitting next to her, that he was able to touch her, let her know he was there for her, to provide her some comfort. But he reminded himself of his decision to take a step back from Maddie.

"Long time no see, Steve," Harper said as she approached, a sweet smile on her tanned face.

Reluctantly, Steve looked away from Maddie, bringing his attention to her dancer. "Yeah, it really has," he responded, giving her a small, closed mouth, but genuine smile.

Not liking the way Maddie's dancer was looking at Steve, Lori spoke up from her spot to his right. "Wow, you're really good!" she complimented. "How long have you been dancing?"

"Um," Harper said, no longer looking at Steve, or Lori for that matter, but instead looked up and to the left, a subconscious habit, as she thought over Lori's question. "Since the moment I could stand really, but I took my first class when I was two and a half," she answered, looking at the blonde, female member of Five-0.

"Holy crap!" Kono exclaimed. "That's crazy young!"

"Yeah, I guess," Harper shrugged, smiling. "But I can honestly tell you that I've been in love with dancing from that first moment. And you know what? I love it just as much now, if not more."

"That's wonderful," Lori stated. "It's always nice when you're passionate about what you do." She paused, her white teeth showing as she turned her head to Steve and smiled. "Don't you agree, Steve?" she asked as she used her left hand to subtly touch his right forearm.

"Yeah," he nodded, not really sure how to respond to Lori's question.

"I'm glad you're going to get to see the show!" Harper exclaimed as she gave Steve a flirty smile, ignoring Lori's subtle, but insecure, gesture, wordlessly warning her to back off.

"Yeah, me too," Steve grinned happily, excited at the thought of getting to see Maddie perform after so many years. Just because he was concerned about her didn't mean he wasn't anxious and psyched to see her show. He just wished she wasn't forced to do the show under the current circumstances.

* * *

><p>Pete pulled his right hand from Tina's, using it to hurriedly throw the black Cadillac Escalade into park while using his other hand to open the driver's side door. Pulling the keys from the ignition, he jumped out of the car and jogged around to the passenger door.<p>

"Tina," he said, opening the door and leaning inside. "T, come on. Wake up," he tried again. Nothing. "Damn it," he cursed, mad at himself for letting her convince him to stop. He should've taken her right back to the arena so Doc could look her over.

He was worried as he leaned further inside the car. Gently he reached his left hand up to her cheek and caressed it with the back of his hand. "Tina… come on now. Wake up." He continued lightly rubbing his knuckles along the soft skin of her cheek. "Tina…" He placed his right hand on her left shoulder and began to gently jostle her. He continued both movements, hoping they would help wake her up.

Relief filled him as her eyes began to flutter. She groaned softly. He wasn't sure if it was out of pain or because she was annoyed he'd woken her up.

Slowly, her stunning, but tired, green eyes opened. They widened briefly, surprised by his close proximity. However, they closed again; the exhaustion too hard to fight.

"No, no. Come on now. Gotta stay awake," Pete whispered, his knuckles still skimming the soft skin of her cheek while his right hand rubbed her left shoulder.

Her eyes opened again, however only halfway. But he was fine with that, as long as they were open. _Beggars can't be choosers_, he mused.

"Where are we? What's going on?" she slurred sleepily.

"You scared the crap out of me for the third time today," he admitted, giving her a small smile. She said nothing, only stared at him through hooded eyes. She loved the way he was rubbing her cheek so gently, so caring. She never wanted him to stop.

"You fell asleep T, and wouldn't wake up," Pete told her, finally answering one of her questions. "Let's not make a habit of that, okay?" he said, attempting a joke in hopes it would help his heart rate return to a much more normal and less dangerous level.

Tina nodded, seeing she really had scared him. It was in his eyes.

"We're here. Let's get the flowers and then head back. I want Doc to look you over ASAP."

"I'm fine, Pete. He already saw me and said I was okay," Tina told him. She couldn't help but lean the slightest bit into his hand as it continued gently rubbing her cheek. She wondered if he even realized he was still doing it.

Suddenly it registered that his hand was still on her face. However, he didn't pull away since she seemed to be fine with it, even like it.

He studied her face, her eyes, as she looked at him. Whatever was bothering her wasn't there. She seemed to have let it go for the time being, something he was grateful for. He forced himself back to their conversation. "Did you happen to tell him you were experiencing any dizziness?" he asked, a serious, no bullshit look on his face.

"It hadn't happened yet," she lied.

"Tina…" he admonished, raising his eyebrows.

She sighed loudly. She was too tired to lie or argue with him. "Fine… No, I didn't."

"Seriously, T? You could've been seriously hurt, or worse." He paused, the idea making his stomach churn and his heart ache. _Don't even go there_, he told himself, pushing the thought from his mind. _She's okay. You have her. There's no reason to even think about it. _"I told you to take someone from security with you… why didn't you," he asked, moving his left hand from her cheek to the top of her head. He rubbed down her thick, wavy chocolate brown hair.

Tina forced herself to ignore the goosebumps the gesture caused. "Maddie's the one who needs security. She's the one with the psycho after her."

Pete's jaw clenched, recalling the text, with picture included, he'd received from the stalker. The one who, in this particular instance, had threatened Tina, not Maddie. There was no way he was going to tell her. It would scare the hell out of her, something he didn't want. He'd just have the team keep a close eye on her. She wouldn't be going anywhere without security over the next several days. _Just gotta figure out what to tell her when she asks me why_, he thought. "Well then why didn't you call me when you started feeling like this? I would've come and gotten you."

Tina looked down. Suddenly everything came back to her and she tensed slightly, something Pete felt. Slowly, he pulled away, his hands no longer touching her.

_Because I'm upset._ _Because I found out you're dating someone when I'm in love with you and I'm acting like an immature girl about it, _she inwardly answered. _Yeah, can't really say that. _Instead, she shrugged her shoulders. She quickly glimpsed at him before looking back down. He was just staring, waiting for some kind of an answer. It was unnerving.

With the ache in her chest back full force, she couldn't stop herself from her response. "Because, I'm not your job. Your job is not to come get me if I call you. Your job is to keep Maddie safe. Not me. I can take care of myself."

Pete furrowed his brows as he studied her, trying to control the sudden anger her comment caused. _What the hell is going on?_ he questioned for what felt like the hundredth time over the last few hours. "Not my job, Tina?" he said. "You think I flew out of there like a bat out of hell when you didn't answer your phone because I think of you as part of the job? What the hell, T?"

He was upset. _How could she think I'm only here because I think of her as part of the job. _When she didn't say anything, he continued. "I came because I was worried about you. Because I care about you. You're my friend, and I don't want anything to happen to you."

_Friend, _she thought, devastated. _Yep. _She bit her lip before smirking sarcastically.

"Let's just do this." She turned her head and looked away. Squinting due to the sudden surge of pain from moving her head, she unfastened her seatbelt.

"Woah," Pete said as he reached out and stopped her when she turned to get out of the SUV. "Woah." He paused. "What just happened?"

Tina clenched her jaw, furious that she was so bad at hiding her emotions. "Nothing." She refused to meet his eyes, worried he'd be able to see how sad she was.

"Tina, what is going on?" Pete asked, sounding confused and concerned, but also exasperated.

"Nothing. I just want to get these flowers for Steve," she replied, still refusing to make eye contact. "You can wait here, I'll only be a minute. However, I'm gonna need my sunglasses."

He laughed sardonically. "You're funny, T. You think you're going in there by yourself?" He shook his head, smirking out of irritation. "You'd be staying in the car if I thought you wouldn't fall asleep." However, knowing she was at least right about needing her sunglasses, he handed them to her. His anger and frustration was apparent by the way he practically slammed them into her open palm.

"Thanks," Tina said, her tone curt as she briefly met his eyes before looking away. She began turning her whole body around, so she could reach into the backseat for her purse. She groaned at the spike in pain.

Hearing it, Pete reached out and placed his hand on the middle of her back, his anger forgotten. "T, stop. What are you doing? Let me help you." However, she didn't listen and reached her hand back, grabbing her purple bag.

"Son of a bitch," she whispered, her eyes completely squeezed shut as she turned back and faced forward. She leaned her pounding head back against the seat, waiting for the spike in pain to dissipate.

"You okay?" he asked, his left hand coming forward to push a few strands of hair from her face. She watched his hand warily from behind her dark sunglasses. _He's being super touchy feely_, she thought, confused. _You know what? Don't even think about it. Don't read into it. He's dating someone._

Without responding, Tina took a deep breath, preparing herself for the pain and dizziness she knew she was going to experience once she got out of the car. "Let's do this," she mumbled as she scooted forward.

Pete took a step back each time she moved forward, giving her just enough space to move, but still wanting to stay close. His gut told him she was going to need help walking. That the dizziness, nausea, sleepiness, and pain were going to be too much for her all at once.

His hands hovered near her as she slid from the car. Just like he'd predicted, everything was too much. "Holy crap," she whispered, her knees immediately buckling. Her right hand went to her head while she used her left to shield her eyes from the piercing sun. Even with her sunglasses on, the light was excruciating.

His strong arms immediately wrapped around her, keeping her from falling. She leaned her face against his upper chest, the top of her head and silky hair tickling his chin. "Dizzy?" he mumbled. She could feel the vibrations from his voice against her head. Her only response was a groan. He gave her a minute, waiting until it seemed the symptoms were lessening. Once he felt she was a bit steadier, he leaned his upper body away from her, wanting a good look at her face. "You think you can walk? Or you want me to carry you?"

With her eyes closed under her sunglasses, Tina scoffed. "I am perfectly capable of walking, Pete."

"Alright, then," he smiled, knowing she was doing all she could to seem like she was fine. "However, it might be easier to walk if you had your eyes open." Carefully he lifted her sunglasses a smidge. He chuckled at the scowl she shot him.

Once he was able to see her gorgeous green eyes, he dropped her sunglasses back in place. "Alright, just hang on and I'll do most of the work."

"I can-," she began.

"Walk just fine by yourself," he interrupted, finishing her statement for her while shaking his head at her stubbornness. _Women,_ he thought. _Why do both she and Maddie insist things are fine when they're not? Insist they can push through when all they need to do is ask for help?_

Tina glared at Pete as he maneuvered them so his left arm was tightly around her shoulders. Without realizing it, she leaned into him as she wrapped her right arm around his waist. With the tips of her fingers she felt his sidearm at his right hip. She wondered if just knowing he had it made Maddie feel safer like it did her.

* * *

><p>As Harper and Lori continued to flirt with Steve, Maddie sat at the end of the table having a short breathing treatment. Not once did she look or glance over at Steve. In fact, she looked only straight ahead while she tried to keep the fact that the two women flirting with the man she was head over heels in love with wasn't bothering her.<p>

_It's never bothered you before_, she told herself as she heard Harper tell Steve she'd really be giving each number her all during the show just for him. Maddie had known for years that Harper had a serious crush on Steve. It wasn't a secret. In fact, it was something they'd talked extensively about. But that was back then, and back then, Maddie hadn't realized she was hopelessly in love with him. _Who am I kidding? Who wouldn't have a thing for him? He's amazing! He's kind, sweet, strong, a hard worker, badass, incredibly loyal, funny, and of course hot as hell! _

The more Maddie thought about it, the more she realized she wasn't mad at Harper because in her defense, she had no idea what had been going on between her and Steve. And, she definitely had no idea she'd discovered she was in love with her best friend. She knew if Harper had known, she wouldn't have been shamelessly flirting with him, especially in front of her. Plus, she liked Harper. _She and Steve would actually make a cute couple. In fact, I like her for him better than Lori_, she thought.

Standing next to Harper, Doc glanced at his watch. Seeing it had been two minutes, he stepped away from the group and walked towards Maddie. "How do you feel?" he asked, stopping next to her. Maddie said nothing, nor did she make any movement. She just continued to sit and look straight ahead as she breathed in the medicine from the tube.

"Mads?" Doc said. When he got no response, he tried again. "Mads?"

Steve watched as Doc called her name a third time. He wondered what she could be so deep in thought over that would make her stare off into space, tuning out everything and everyone around her. He watched her nearly jump out of her skin as Doc gently touched her arm, trying to get her attention. _God she really is on edge. She is scared of something, that's for sure, _Steve angrily thought, knowing she'd never been a jumpy person or easily startled.

"Hey Mads, how do you feel?" Doc asked tentatively, taking the Nebulizer and sliding it out of the way.

"Fine," Maddie answered as she began to stand. She felt awful, but pushed it from her mind. She still had three songs to rehearse.

"Which one next?" she asked Lyle as she walked to where he stood in the middle of the marked off stage. Most of her female dancers were lying on the floor, absolutely exhausted.

As Steve, Kono, and Lori continued to talk to Harper, she had to sit down, saying she was so tired that she just couldn't stand if she didn't have to. Steve's eyes quickly flitted to where Maddie stood with Lyle three feet away. He noticed the way all the dancers were laying on the floor, some curled up with their eyes closed and others just resting while they waited to run the next song. _If they are that exhausted_, he thought, _she must be at least ten times worse. How the hell is she still going? Why doesn't she sit down too? _Steve was really worried about her. He didn't want her to push herself so hard that she ended up having to be hospitalized.

As his eyes quickly scanned her body, he noticed that although it appeared she was standing normally, at a closer look, she was barely putting weight on her right leg. _She must be in so much pain_, he thought, wishing he could take her back to her dressing room to rest. He glanced at his watch. _A little less than thirty minutes left_.

"Um-" Lyle glanced around. While they'd been rehearsing "Come and Get It" most of her male dancers had arrived. They were spread out around the tables, each having found a little area where they could stretch and prepare for rehearsal. However, as he looked around he noticed they were still missing one person. Ryan. "Ryan's still not here..." He paused, thinking and chewing his bottom lip. He cocked his head slightly as he set his eyes on Maddie. "Wasn't he here earlier?" She only nodded.

"Where'd he go?" Harper asked, speaking up from her spot on the floor in front of Steve, Kono, and Lori.

"Errands," Maddie answered, her voice even more raw from all the coughing she'd done. She wasn't exactly lying. He was running errands, so to speak.

"Huh, well," Lyle paused, debating his options. "With Ryan not back yet, we should run 'Shattered Glass', but I want to get 'Gimme More' done first. Once you guys are in your Pointe shoes, I want you to stay in them."

Maddie nodded in understanding and agreement.

"I imagine Ryan should be here any minute. I texted him fifteen minutes before rehearsal to let him know about it," Lyle informed them. "So, we'll run 'Gimme More' and I'll stand in for Ryan until he gets here. Okay?" Maddie nodded again.

Lyle turned to the two stagehands that had been holding the rolling practice tower in place. "Can you grab the throne for 'Gimme More'?" The two men nodded before hurrying out the door that led outside.

Lyle turned back to Maddie. "Your shoes are in that bag by the table. Why don't you get them on while they grab the throne?"

"Okay," Maddie quietly replied before walking to the table. Again, she forced herself not to limp, although it only caused her more discomfort.

As she reached the table, Kono started to slide to her left, giving Maddie room to sit next to Steve, a gesture he appreciated. He held back a smile, remembering how at lunch Monday she'd promised to help him with Maddie. That she'd "put in a million and one good words for him" as long as he promised to stop hurting her. Kono was a good friend, to both of them. He was lucky to have such trustworthy and loyal people on his team and in his life. However, his happiness was short lived as he watched Maddie reach her hand out and shake her head. "No, it's fine. Stay there," Maddie quietly instructed, stopping Kono before she moved too much.

Kono sent her a questioning look, but received only a small, brief smile in return as her friend took a seat to her left.

Maddie groaned lightly as she began reaching down to grab the number's shoes from the bag. Without saying a word, Kono bent over and peered inside. "The gold ones?"

"Yeah," Maddie quietly answered, sadness in her voice. Harper was still sitting on the floor in front of Steve chatting and flirting, which of course caused Lori to do the same. All she wanted to do was start rehearsing again. She needed the distraction. More like she was desperate for it.

"These are awesome, sistah!" Kono exclaimed as she stood and knelt down in front of Maddie, the shoes in her hands.

Slowly Steve slid towards his best friend, closing the gap left open by Kono when she stood. He smiled inwardly, knowing his colleague had stood for that very reason.

"Do these match the costume?" Kono asked as she guided Maddie's left foot into the four-inch heel.

"Yeah," she answered again.

Although closer to Maddie than he was a minute before, Steve didn't look over at her. He was afraid to. The sound of her voice was making his chest tight and he wasn't sure he wanted to see the matching look on her face. Especially because he knew he was the reason behind both.

"Let me know if I hurt you," Kono instructed, carefully guiding her injured and wrapped up right foot into the heel.

"Mm hm," Maddie muttered. Although it did hurt a bit, she said nothing.

Once both shoes were on, Kono helped her stand. "Thanks Kono. You didn't have to do that. I could have managed," Maddie sheepishly told her friend, feeling bad.

Kono only smiled as she wrapped her left arm around Maddie's right shoulder. "No worries, sistah! Plus, you didn't fight me on it even a little bit, which means you really needed help!" Kono chuckled, as did many of her dancers. Even Steve couldn't help but smirk at the fact his teammate had just called Maddie out. However, it fell from his face the second he really thought about her statement. _Kono is right. Maddie is in a lot of pain if she didn't fight the help_, he thought. He no longer was worried about the sadness he would see in her face as he turned his head to the left to study her. Although she was trying to hide it, he could see the discomfort she was feeling by the way the muscles in her face were tight. His eyes roamed down to her upper body. Even those muscles were tense.

Lori was surprised at how tall Maddie suddenly seemed. Her eyes automatically dropped to her feet. They bulged at the sight of the exquisite heels she was now wearing.

Finding this a perfect moment to interact with her female teammate and the singer, Lori cried, "Wow! Those are gorgeous!" Maddie took a few careful steps forward, keeping herself from limping, which was even harder in the high heels.

"Holy crap!" Lori exclaimed, still in awe over her shoes. They were stunning. Each shoe was entirely gold. There was not one, but four gold, leather straps that went up to the middle of her calf with two inches space between each. Each strap was covered in square, gold mirrors with Swarovski crystals between, and around, them. Ten strands of Swarovski crystals attached to the strap around her ankle. Five of the strands draped along the outside of her foot and attached to the outer edge of the shoe's sole, while the other five strands draped down the inside of her foot, attaching to the inner edge of the sole. Coming down the middle of the top of her foot, also attached to the ankle strap, were a handful of squared, gold mirrors surrounding long rectangular ones. They draped down the top of the foot and attached to a final gold leather strap that went over her dark purple painted toes. This final strap looked identical to the four that went up her leg, however this one did not have a buckle, whereas the others did. The shoes were exquisite, to say the least.

"Who makes those?" Lori asked, her eyes transfixed on the shoes.

"Christian Louboutin. He made them to match the costume for this part of the show," Maddie answered, looking down at the shoes herself. _They are beautiful_, she thought, a smile tugging at her mouth.

Like most women, she loved shoes. Getting a new pair of shoes always cheered her up when she was down. Sure, it was absurd and incredibly materialistic, something she usually never was, but they could be a light at the end of a dark tunnel at times. They made her happy when she was having a bad day, simple as that. She especially loved these because she'd helped Christian design them, letting him know what she wanted and was looking for. Then he took her ideas and guidance and added his own unique twist and ideas to them. She had to say, he nailed it; they were much more than she had ever envisioned.

"They're really amazing!" Kono told her. "I don't know how you walk in them, but they're super sexy! And I mean, supah sexy!" She smirked at her friend, wiggling her eyebrows up and down suggestively.

"Seriously," Lori added.

"Thanks guys," Maddie replied, smiling politely, her face a bit pink from Kono's statement being said in front of Steve. She coughed, her hand going to her mouth.

"Aren't they sexy, Steve?" Kono stated, looking to her silent boss. She knew he was really worried and was fighting to keep from going into overprotective mode on Maddie. Plus, she knew he was also concerned about Tina. By the men's behavior back in the dressing room, she knew something more was going on than just Tina not answering her phone. A hunch confirmed by the fact her quiet boss had repeatedly glanced at his cell since he'd sat down. She assumed he was waiting to hear from Pete or Chin.

"They look high. Don't hurt yourself," Steve answered, glancing at Maddie's shoes.

Deep down Maddie knew that he didn't mean anything more by his comment except that he really did want her to be careful, but it still hurt. It was the fact that that was his answer to Kono asking him if they looked sexy. _Just further proof that he doesn't see me like that_, she thought to herself, her heart aching. It felt like he had just twisted the knife further into her or poured salt into her already bleeding wounds.

"I'll be fine," Maddie said, knowing she needed to say something. She did her best to sound normal. To act unhurt or keep the anger she felt from slipping into her voice. She did remarkably well considering how she really felt. However, she wasn't completely successful and some hurt slipped into her severely hoarse voice.

Steve's eyes narrowed slightly. He tried to catch her eye, but she wouldn't look at him. However, he didn't read anything into it since she hadn't met his eyes since she'd finished running through "Come and Get It".

"Ready, Mads? Harper? Everyone?" Lyle asked as he walked over to the chatting group.

Maddie sniffled and coughed while she nodded.

"Good," Lyle smiled before reaching his hands out to Harper and pulling her off the floor. He glanced down at her feet. "Good, you're in the shoes too." He eyed the other dancers slowly gathering. "Everyone is," he happily stated seeing them all in shoes similar to Maddie's. However, instead of heels, they were flat, Gladiator sandals. Their versions also didn't have the long rectangular gold mirrors on top of their feet, only the small square ones. They also didn't have the hanging strands of Swarovski Crystals.

With all the male and female dancers around him, except for Ryan, Lyle said, "I'm not gonna have you guys perform the entire thing, only the middle part." He looked to Maddie. "The part you've been struggling with. The rest of it's fine. I just want Doc to tell me whether he thinks the reason you're struggling is because of the tailbone stiffness. I know there's been changes in the choreography for you, making it slightly more difficult, but I don't think that's why you aren't getting it."

Maddie nodded, her frustration with herself and not being able to get the choreography evident on her face.

"Mads, don't be too hard on yourself," Lyle told her, seeing the look on her face, and knowing exactly what she was thinking. "I don't know how you're able to do anything with how tired, sick, and injured you are. So, having a little difficulty here and there is nothing to be ashamed of."

"Whatever," Maddie snapped, clenching her jaw. "Let's just do this." Not wanting to talk about it any further, she turned and began silently walking to her starting position.

They were all surprised by her curt tone. They all knew her and as hard as she was on herself, she wouldn't get like this. However, Kono knew a part of it was because of Steve's comment a minute earlier. She had a feeling it had just served to remind her of everything that had happened between them and where she stood in his eyes. Or at least where she thought she stood with him.

Lyle watched Maddie with a concerned look on his face. He sighed. "Let's go."

Before joining the other dancers, Harper flashed Steve a flirty smile, one he returned with a smile of his own, before she turned and rushed to catch up to Maddie and the others.

It took everything Kono had not to smack her boss. _God, he is so bad when it comes to this stuff_, she thought. _Completely clueless._ She plopped down onto the bench next to Steve, sighing extremely loudly out of irritation and frustration.

"You okay?" Steve asked, cocking his head to look at her. She glared at him, refusing to soften at his look of concern.

"You're an idiot," she quietly mumbled before looking away and staring straight ahead at Maddie and her dancers.

"What?" he asked, too surprised to hide the shock in his voice. Kono had never spoken to him like that and it had completely thrown him for a loop.

"I'm starting to wonder if maybe we were all wrong," she replied, whispering so no one, especially Lori, would overhear.

"Wrong about what?" he asked, confused. He had no idea what she was talking about or why she was suddenly upset with him.

"You do only care about her as a friend," Kono whispered. "Since that's the case. Stop playing hot and cold. Treat her only as you would a friend. Don't insinuate or say or do anything that could make her think you feel anything more."

"Wait, Kono… I… um," Steve began, his heart hammering at Kono's words. His eyes flitted to Maddie across the room. Lyle was talking quietly to her, his hands on her shoulders as she looked down at the floor. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw four male dancers carry something large and gold to the center of Stage 1, right in front of the start of the catwalk.

He looked back to Kono. "No… I…" He stopped. He wasn't sure what to say. He'd only actually admitted his feelings for Maddie to Joe and that had been difficult. _What did I do?_ he wondered while watching his coworker and friend glare at him. Finally her angry and disappointed look became too much. He sighed and leaned towards her, not wanting to risk anyone overhearing. "No, that's not true," he whispered.

Kono shook her head, frustrated with him. He couldn't even verbally tell her he had feelings for Maddie. "I gave you the perfect opportunity to say something that would help her begin thinking she was wrong about how you feel, but you screwed it up… again!" she whispered, her voice growing slightly louder by the end.

"Wait! What?" His eyes grew large, afraid she was right, that without realizing it, he had screwed up again. However, he wasn't sure how that could have happened. He and Maddie had barely spoken since she'd started rehearsing. "When?"

"The shoes comment. All you had to say was 'yes'! A simple one word answer!" Kono hissed, her forehead and eyebrows wrinkled in anger. "I couldn't have made it easier for you, and yet you still messed it up!" She paused at his look of confusion and saw she was going to have to spell it out for him. "Normally, she wouldn't have thought anything of your comment, but because of everything you've done and said, she's gonna read into every little thing. I know it seems dumb, but she's a woman. A hurt woman. And that's what they do."

Steve's eyes closed as he processed what she was saying. "Oh… damn," he whispered.

"Yeah, way to go Boss," Kono snapped, turning her head to watch Maddie and her dancers.

"Kono, I," Steve began; however, she cut him off, pointing to Maddie.

"She's about to rehearse, and I want to watch," Kono whispered, her tone still harsh and irritated.

Steve sighed loudly and turned his head to watch his best friend. His stomach felt heavy at the thought that he'd hurt her again. However, his thoughts on the subject immediately disappeared, replaced by worry as he watched Lyle and one male dancer help Maddie up onto the large, gold object he'd seen a minute earlier while four other male dancers each held it in place.

His eyes intently studied it, wanting to be sure it was safe for her to be on. At closer inspection he realized it was a portable throne (a palanquin). It looked like something ancient Egyptian kings and queens were carried on. It was gold and quite elaborate. Some sort of red, soft, velvety looking material covered the top of it, the area she was on, making it look plush and comfortable. There was a long handle at each of the four corners accompanied by a male dancer tightly holding it. He was too far away to see more detail than that, although he could tell that it was definitely fit for a queen.

Steve watched as Lyle spoke to Maddie, who was kneeling on the red material. He found himself hoping it was as soft as it looked since he assumed kneeling on her injured knee was excruciating. He watched her face closely for signs of discomfort. He had to give it to her; she was pretty good at hiding things when she wanted to. A fact that also scared the hell out of him. However, because he knew her so well, he picked up on her occasional jaw clench and the stiffness in her body. But, more importantly, he noticed the way she was trying to inconspicuously put more weight on her left, uninjured knee.

Maddie nodded at whatever Lyle was saying until someone pulled her attention.

Ryan rushed into the room, tossing his bag down by Kono. He hurriedly pulled his shoes off before he quickly grabbed his gold, Gladiator sandals from the bench and slipped them on. Lyle had brought out all the shoes they'd need to rehearse the numbers from the wardrobe room. Although Maddie's shoes had buckles up her legs, the dancers were Velcro, making it easier for them to put them on quickly. The amount of time they had to change into this costume was much shorter than the time Maddie had.

"Sorry! I got back as soon as I could!" Ryan declared, jogging towards them. As he reached the group, he immediately began stretching.

"It's fine," Lyle told him. "Perfect timing. We're about to run through the middle of 'Gimme More'. Starting right before the second verse."

"Got it," Ryan answered, nodding his head as he rushed through a few quick stretches.

"Do you need to stretch more?" Lyle asked, not wanting him to get hurt.

"Um…" Ryan debated. "I'm okay. This part isn't too strenuous for me. I'll stretch more before the next song."

"Alright, sounds good!" Lyle smiled before focusing on the entire group. "Well, luckily Ryan arrived in the knick of time, saving you all from having to have me stand in," Lyle joked, earning him laughs and teasing comments. "Alright, you guys, you know what to do!"

He walked back to the table, stopping between a seated Kono and a standing Doc. "Ready?" Lyle called out before hitting 'Play' on the small remote in his hand. Music immediately came out of the speakers. He hit fast forward, looking for the spot they would be starting from.

"This show is gonna be amazing!" Kono suddenly squealed as the familiar song came on. However, it sounded a bit different than it normally did. The instruments and track now had a more Egyptian influenced feel.

"I get the shoes now!" Lori cried, a genuine smile on her face.

"I bet the costumes are incredible! And I bet the performance on the actual stage and under the lights and with all the props is so badass!" Kono added, her excitement apparent.

Steve looked between his two female co-workers and found himself unable to keep grinning. It was a very rare occurrence that he saw this girlier side to them, especially Kono. Lori hadn't been with the team long enough for him to really have many opportunities to see another side of her. _Except for the two times we've gone out_, he thought, making him feel guilty for leading her on when he had strong feelings for Maddie. _But I didn't lead her on… I had feelings for her…. or have feelings…. or, I don't know._

The more he thought about it, something he'd done a lot of over the last several days, the more he was beginning to think he'd just been lonely. That he confused the two. But then again, he found himself wondering whether he would have developed those feelings if he'd gone out with Lori more and gotten to know her. _I'll never know now_, he thought. Other men might have felt regret at this, but he didn't. As much as it scared the hell out of him, he had feelings for Maddie. And he found himself realizing they were pretty intense feelings, which, of course only freaked him out more.

After having the last three and half days to think on it, he realized that that was why he'd reciprocated Lori's flirting at the barbeque. Why he'd agreed to meet her for drinks after making out with Maddie. He was scared of what he was feeling for Maddie. So scared that he went to the arms of another woman hoping they'd go away. However, they hadn't and it had only caused him major problems with Maddie and hurt her.

Steve was pulled from his thoughts as Lyle found the right spot in the song. He stopped fast forwarding and let it play. Steve clenched his jaw as he watched Maddie carefully stand on the portable throne while four dancers held it in the air. _And she's in high heels_, he thought, his heart pounding. _Please don't fall, Mads, _he mentally told her, worried.

Here she was exhausted, sick, and in pain, with a concussion, and she was now standing on a moving object four feet in the air while wearing heels. He sighed and subconsciously licked his bottom lip out of nervousness as he straightened, his back and shoulders tensing as he crossed his arms and watched her.

At the front and center of Stage 1, the beginning of the catwalk directly in front of them, Maddie stood in the center of the throne as four of her male dancers held it high in the air. Four more, including Ryan, were standing in front of it, spaced out. Two to her right and two to her left. Her remaining two male dancers were on each side of the throne, three feet away. Maddie was standing sideways on it, facing the direction she would be if she were laying on her side and looking straight ahead. The throne was being held so that it was parallel with the stage. Four female dancers, two on each side of the throne, book-ended the male dancer on each side. The remaining two stood behind the four dancers in front of Maddie. However, Maddie was in the center of them all, completely unblocked.

Standing, Maddie looked straight ahead and began lip-synching the second verse, while her dancers, except for the four holding the throne, danced.

**The center of attention**

The four dancers holding the portable throne began moving it to the music. Instead of it being parallel to Stage 1, they'd moved it so it was now perpendicular. This way they could carry it down the catwalk.

The remaining twelve dancers moved and danced as the throne's position changed. Disguising it in the choreography, Maddie made a quarter turn to her left, so that she was facing the audience again.

**Even when we're up against the wall**

The four men carrying Maddie on the throne began slowly walking forward, making sure to keep it as steady as possible. Two female dancers followed by two male dancers were in front of the throne as it began moving down the catwalk. Behind it were two more female dancers, with two male dancers behind them. All of whom were evenly spaced out. One each side of the throne was one female dancer with a male dancer behind her. These twelve dancers walked at the same pace as the portable throne. However, their walk was slightly jerky, staying in theme with the rest of the choreography and music.

With the throne now moving, Maddie took a deep breath. _You can do this_, she told herself as she swayed her body and hips back and forth on the next line.

**You got me in a crazy position**

Steve tensed even more at her movements. He couldn't believe she was going to dance while standing on a moving object high in the air. He was suddenly realizing that this must be why they were rehearsing this part of the song. Lyle had said it was because she was having difficulty with it, struggling with her balance.

Maddie continued slightly dancing as she finished singing the second verse.

**If you're on a mission**

**You got my permission, oh oh**

By the end of the verse they'd all reached the start of Stage 2. The four dancers carrying the throne turned it so it was once again parallel with the marked off stage. Four female dancers positioned themselves towards the front of Stage 2, closer to where the audience would be. The first two, three feet apart, and the other two, three feet behind them, but in the exact same positioning. It looked as if they were beginning to form two lines. If you looked down the center of them you could see Maddie standing on the throne, perfectly positioned between the two 'lines'.

Four male dancers were spaced two feet from one another to the right and left of the female dancers. However, they were a bit further back, closer to the throne. One of these was Ryan. He stood in front of Maddie and a bit to her right. A male and female dancer stood three feet apart on each side of the throne.

The music changed and Kono and Lori suddenly glanced at one another, huge smiles on their faces as they realized the song wasn't just different because of the Egyptian like style, but was a different arrangement all together, made specifically for this tour. They returned their focus to the rehearsal, watching as the four men holding the throne starting swaying back and forth, the throne swaying with them. Seeing this, Steve swallowed hard, a nervous lump caught in his throat.

Maddie began lip-synching to the track as they broke out into a sort of dance break, a part that wasn't in the album version of the song. She made sure to stay focused as she began her choreography while the throne continued to sway beneath her feet.

**I just want more**

**More**

**More**

**More**

**More**

Lyle watched Maddie intently, worried, but also happy. So far, she was pulling it off and there wasn't too much left on the dance break, the part she'd been struggling. However, no sooner had he had these thoughts than he watched her stumble in the choreography. "Oh, come on Mads," he whispered to himself, cheering her on. "You can do this." A smile appeared on his face as he watched her recover. He exhaled a sigh of relief.

In rehearsals, Maddie had either fallen on that part or gotten past it. However, the next part she had never nailed in rehearsals and sure enough this time was no different.

The next move involved a small, hop-like step while the throne continued to sway. For Maddie to nail it, timing was key. "Ryan," Lyle yelled the second he realized she wasn't going to make it.

The second he heard his name, Ryan knew what was happening although his back was to Maddie. He immediately turned just in time to see her falling off the throne. He took a rushed step forward and caught her, keeping her from hitting the floor. As his arms made contact with her back, he pulled her tightly to his body.

"Thanks," she whispered as she wrapped her arms around his neck, her face inches from his.

He smiled at her. "Any time."

Steve watched, his entire body tense. He'd almost jumped up when he saw her begin to fall. Although he was grateful Ryan had caught her, he was also a bit unnerved by it. He found himself getting irritated as the two smiled at one another, their faces almost touching. _She should absolutely not be doing choreography that is difficult for her right now. She can't afford to fall again, _he seethed. He told himself that that was why he was angry. That it was because she was putting herself at risk, not because he was jealous.

Trying to calm himself down, Steve brought his left hand to his face. He slid the side of his left pointer finger back and forth along the skin above his upper lip as he clenched his jaw and watched Maddie and Ryan.

"You okay?" Ryan asked her, not wanting to let go until he knew she'd gained her balance again.

"Yeah," she softly answered, releasing her arms from his neck and taking a step back. "Thanks again."

"Of course, Inspector," he smirked.

Maddie shot him an irritated look, however he could see the light smile behind it. He knew she didn't mind the nickname, although she always pretended she did.

Lyle had paused the music once Maddie had fallen. He turned to Doc standing to his right. "What do you think?"

Doc was quiet for a minute while he thought about the question. "It's either that or dizziness caused from the concussion," he answered. "I'd need to see it again to give you a more definitive answer. However, I'll need to get closer to her for a better look."

Steve closed his eyes as he tried to breath through his need to put a stop to the rehearsal. Kono glanced at him out of the corner of her eyes. She could see how hard he was trying to fight to be quiet. Although still irritated with him, she felt bad. Subtly she reached her right hand out and patted his left forearm where it rested on his thigh.

"She's fine," Kono whispered to him. "This is her job. She can handle this." She paused, trying to think of a way to relate Maddie's job to his. "It's like when you take crazy risks to catch a suspect. You do it for the end result. Well, that's what she's doing. This is for the end result… the show tonight."

"I know," Steve quietly said, sighing. "But I don't have to like it."

"Of course not," Kono smiled at him. "You know, you're doing a good thing right now. Just letting her be."

"Debatable," he scoffed, turning to look straight ahead at Maddie as Ryan and Justin, another one of her male dancers, helped her back up on the portable throne. Steve shook his head, absolutely despising what was going on. He turned to look back at Kono. "I'll tell you right now… I'm not gonna watch this for too much longer." He glanced at his watch, checking the time, something he'd done over and over. "She has twenty more minutes before I step in."

Kono smirked as she fought to keep from laughing. "You really think you're gonna make it another twenty minutes before stepping in? You think you'll really last that long?"

He clenched his jaw. "Probably not," he stated honestly.

She chuckled. "Yeah, that's what I thought."

"Alright, let's do it again!" Lyle called out to them as he started the music at the same spot as before.

Maddie and her sixteen dancers started at the second verse again. Steve, Kono, Lori, Doc, and Lyle watched on as they did exactly what they'd before.

As they started making their way down the marked off catwalk with Maddie on the portable throne, Steve felt his phone buzzing in his pocket. He quickly pulled it out and saw a text message had come in from Chin. He immediately felt his anxiety double. He'd been repeatedly, and casually, checking his phone, hoping for news on Tina. He was worried about her. Actually, extremely worried. However, he couldn't let it show. He didn't want to scare Maddie. That was the absolute last thing she needed at the moment.

Swallowing hard and taking a deep breath, Steve opened the text and quickly read it. **We found Tina. She's safe. He never got to her.**

_Thank God_, he thought, relief washing over him. His eyes fluttered closed as he released a deep breath. "Tina's okay," he whispered to Kono and Lori.

"Thank God!" Kono replied, smiling.

"That's wonderful!" Lori exclaimed happily as she squeezed his knee with her left hand. "I bet you're so happy!"

Steve inwardly tensed at her touch.

"Oh crap!" Lori exclaimed, causing Steve's head to shoot up, looking straight ahead at Maddie. She'd fallen at the same part she had a moment earlier, but luckily Ryan had caught her again. However, it wasn't as clean a catch. He'd just barely kept her from hitting the ground this time.

Steve groaned softly as he shook his head, clenching his jaw. This was torture. All he wanted to do was intervene. He glanced at his watch again. _Seventeen minutes_, he thought. This was the slowest forty-five minutes he'd experienced in a long time.

"What do you think?" Lyle asked Doc.

"Yeah, it's her tailbone. Her hips are stiff and it's affecting her balance," Doc answered, shaking his head.

"And you can fix it?" Lyle asked hesitantly.

Doc paused. "Fix it? No." Before he could continue, Lyle interrupted.

"What do you mean? I thought you said there's an injection you'll give her that will help?" Lyle exclaimed, his worry and concern coming out as slightly panicked. _If he can't fix it, she's going to be falling all over the place tonight, _he thought miserably.

"Yes, it will help her, but it won't fix it. She's still going to struggle with it during the show, but at least the injection will give her a shot at being able to keep her balance enough so that she won't fall. But, in those moments, she's going to have to focus to keep her balance. I mean really focus…. But it will help her," Doc assured, noting Lyle's worried look.

Lyle was quiet as he digested Doc's words. "Okay. That's better than nothing. Thank you!"

"Uh huh." Doc gave him a sympathetic smile. He knew Lyle was extremely stressed and worried beyond belief over whether Maddie was going to be able to pull off the show.

Lyle sighed before turning his attention back to Maddie and her dancers. He hated what he was about to say, especially because he knew Steve would argue. Because of that, he walked to the dancers so the Navy Seal couldn't overhear. "We're gonna run it once more before moving on to 'Shattered Glass'. However,-" He paused, taking a deep breath. "Ryan, keep going. Don't turn around." He looked to Maddie. "If you lose your balance, you lose your balance. You need to know what you're gonna do if it happens in the show. You're just gonna need to keep going. Improvise." Ryan made a move to argue, but the look he shot the dancer kept him quiet.

As he walked back to the table, Lyle glanced at his watch. They had a little bit more than fifteen minutes left. He already knew they were going to need an extra ten minutes and he could only imagine how well that was going to go over with Steve. He groaned at the thought as he hit the 'play' button.

While Maddie and her dancers rehearsed the same part of the song for the third time in a row, they watched. As they performed, Steve's phone vibrated again. Glancing down, he saw it was another text message from Chin. **She really must have hit her head. We're pretty sure she's got a concussion. We're on our way back. Can you let Doc know he needs to check her out as soon as we get there?**

Steve texted back. **Yes. I'll tell him. How bad is she? Is it obvious she's not feeling well?**

He didn't have to wait long for Chin's response. **Yes. It's obvious. She's really sleepy. She got sick once. Maybe more since I left.**

Steve glanced up at Maddie. He didn't want her to see Tina hurt. He knew it would upset her. Wanting to protect her and keep her as calm as possible, he texted Chin. **Can you not bring Tina through the main room? Maddie is rehearsing some numbers here. I don't want her to see T like that. Not today. **

Chin immediately responded. **Say no more, I get it. I completely agree. I'll let Pete know. He's driving her in the other car. We should be there soon.**

Steve texted back, thanking him and letting him know he'd see him soon. He stood, slipping his phone back into his pocket, and walked past Lyle and around to Doc's left side. He leaned forward and whispered to him, letting him know what was going on.

"Damn, I should've checked her out further," Doc quietly said, shaking his head.

"It's not your fault. She kept it from all of us," Steve responded. "I was with her right before she left. She was acting strange and I should've stopped her. I was too focused on Maddie and missed it."

It was true. He should've known something wasn't right with Tina. That something more was going on besides whatever was bothering her. However, he hadn't paid much attention because he was too busy watching Maddie's every move. It reassured him that he made the right decision to take a step back from her. He didn't want to miss someone watching, following, or lingering around Maddie because he was too focused on Maddie herself. Of course, that wasn't the only reason for the decision, but it was the main one.

"What made you guys go looking for Tina?" Doc asked, pulling Steve from his thoughts.

"She wouldn't answer her phone," he replied, keeping it simple.

"Really? That's all?" Doc remarked.

"Yeah," Steve lied, not mentioning the photo and accompanying message Maddie's stalker had texted. No one outside of Pete, the rest of Maddie's security team, and Five-0 needed to know that information. He didn't want to risk it getting back to Maddie. He knew she'd completely freak out if she knew, feeling like it was her fault.

Steve didn't understand why Maddie's stalker was focusing on Tina now. It would've made more sense if he'd sent it to Maddie, but to Pete? It was weird, and worrisome. It only showed that they were not dealing with your typical, everyday stalker. This guy was good. He knew what he was doing and every single move he made was meticulously thought out and planned. It was becoming more apparent that there was more to his agenda than just stalking Maddie, something that worried Steve tenfold.

"Don't Ryan," Lyle ordered, seeing the dancer begin to turn to watch as Maddie reached the part she continued to struggle with.

Lyle's voice brought Steve back to the moment. He watched as Maddie performed the move and, just like the other two times, stumbled. His eyes widened as he watched Ryan continue on with his choreography, making no move to try and catch her. "No," he mumbled as she fell.

It was as if the world suddenly began moving in slow motion as Maddie stumbled and began falling from the portable, swaying throne. Knowing she was going down, she at least tried to make sure she landed on her feet. And, by some miracle she did. However, her landing wasn't exactly graceful and her arms flew out and waved around as she tried to keep herself from falling. Justin, who was positioned a couple steps behind and to Ryan's right, saw what was going on. He took a few hurried steps towards her, masking them as choreography, and sidled up to her. He placed his left hand on her back while he used his right hand to caress down her body. Maddie smiled, thankful for his help as she continued lip-syncing the song.

Knowing she needed to improvise and get back up onto the throne, she gave him a look and pushed him away. She then walked to Ryan and caressed his face before also pushing him away. With two male dancers left in front of the throne, she interacted with them similarly. However, she only pushed the third dancer away. Once she'd interacted with the fourth, Leo, he lifted her as if she were a queen, since in this number she was, and helped her back onto the throne.

The music stopped, causing them all to cease dancing. They turned their attention to Lyle.

"Good job, Mads," Lyle smiled happily. Although she'd fallen, she'd made it work, of course with the help of her dancers. The way Justin had come to her and the way she'd interacted with her dancers made it seem like the fall was part of the choreography. Like it was supposed to happen.

Maddie smiled at him before beginning to cough. Ryan and Justin turned around, and reached their arms up to her. She slowly leaned down and hopped off into their arms. Once safely on the ground, she and her dancers walked to the table where Lyle was waiting.

As Maddie approached, her eyes darted to Steve. She knew he'd be upset Ryan hadn't caught her and she knew he was, most likely, going to make a scene. _Suck it up, Mads_, she told herself, knowing what she needed to do, no matter how hard or painful it was for her. So, taking a deep breath, she pushed her hurt feelings deep down into the pit of her stomach, hoping to bury them, and walked towards her long time best friend.

Steve was fuming as he walked to where the dancers were, stopping in front of the space he'd vacated earlier between Kono and Lori. His arms were crossed and every muscle in his body was contracted. Why hadn't Ryan tried to catch her that time? He didn't understand.

As Ryan came to a stop in front of Lyle, Steve caught his eye. Just as he was about to ask him what the hell his problem was, he felt a small hand on his right forearm. His head whipped to the right and was surprised to find Maddie standing beside him, her hand on his arm. She met his eyes. With one look she warned him not to say what he was about to say, but at the same time, she let him know she was fine, completely safe, by giving him a small smile and lightly squeezing his tense arm. His jaw visibly clenched as he looked at her. Although his anger had slightly dissipated by her mere presence, he was still angry. _She could've been seriously injured_, he thought, the idea causing his stomach to churn.

Seeing he was still upset, Maddie swallowed her uneasiness, reminding herself she needed to act like she used to with him. Before everything. _You can do this,_ she told herself, needing the encouragement.

Taking a deep breath, she cocked her head slightly and gave him a big smile, flashing her dimples. She rubbed his forearm several times before sliding her small, delicate hand down his arm, past his wrist, and to his hand. Hearing Lyle begin speaking, she looked forward towards her choreographer and creative director. Her heart was both pounding and aching as she slipped her small hand into Steve's larger one.

As much as he wished he didn't, Steve felt the anger fade as she took hold of his hand. To say he was surprised was an understatement. She'd already been distant since they'd met with her father, but after he'd helped her stretch, she'd been more than distant. She had barely even looked at him since. And now suddenly she was holding his hand?

Although he was surprised, and of course, a little confused, it was a welcomed gesture. He found himself wishing she was still looking at him, so he could try and read what was going on in her head. Whether this was just her pretending everything was fine, or if she was really starting to come around, maybe dropping some of the walls she was using to keep him at arm's length. However, his gut unfortunately told him it was her pretending everything was fine. _That and she doesn't want me yelling at Ryan and Lyle_, he mused, mentally smirking.

"Mads, that was great!" Lyle repeated, his happiness and excitement heard in each word he spoke. He looked to Justin. "Quick thinking Justin! That was fantastic!" Turning his head back to Maddie, he continued. "And you, immediately finding a way to play off it and make it work. Seriously, great job!" He paused, looking to each dancer. "All of you!" He glanced at his watch and then down to Maddie's legs to see if he noticed her favoring her right anymore than she had been. She seemed to be standing the same way she'd been all of rehearsal, so he took it as a sign that the injection was still doing it's job. "Let's do 'Shattered Glass' right into 'If You Seek…". Okay?"

"Sounds good," Maddie replied, still holding Steve's hand. A huge part of her wanted to rip her hand from his, the part of her that was so hurt and humiliated by everything he'd said and done the last week. But there was also a small part that wanted her hand to stay safely tucked inside his larger, rougher one. It was the part of her that kept reminding her that, even after everything, she was still hopelessly in love with him.

_You might be in love with him, but he's repeatedly let you know that he feels nothing more than friendship for you_, she reminded herself.

That thought served as a wake-up call and she suddenly tensed. _Why am I holding his hand? Why did I think that that was the thing to do? _Her heart raced and her breathing quickened as she began to slightly panic over how stupid and embarrassed she felt. Unknowingly, her hand, safely tucked inside Steve's, began wiggling around as her embarrassment over the situation intensified.

As soon as Steve felt her hand tighten, he worried she was going to pull away. Wanting to study her face, in hopes he could figure out exactly what she thinking, but not wanting her to see him, he glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. _She's a little tense_, he immediately noticed. His brow furrowed as he saw her tense even more. _God, I wish I knew what goes through her head when she does this. _It wasn't the first time this had happened. Throughout the day, Maddie had suddenly gone stiff after they'd been touching, in one way or another, for an extended period of time.

Before he could think too much on the subject, Steve felt her hand begin to nervously move in his. Not ready, or wanting, to break contact with her, he began gently rubbing his thumb along the soft skin on the top of her hand. His stomach slightly clenched as he felt her hand tense even more. _DO something_, he told himself. _Use this moment to try and get through to her without pushing her too hard. Even if it's just a little bit, it's better than nothing._

Maddie's heart ached as his thumb rubbed gentle circles on her hand, reminding her how badly she wanted more from him than just friendship. _Pull away_, she ordered herself, the pain becoming too much for her. That and she was still embarrassed she'd held his hand to begin with. She just hoped that with every day that went by it would become easier to act normal around him, like she wasn't head over heels in love with her best friend, and that he hadn't shattered her heart.

Urgently needing to get away from Steve, Maddie began to pull her hand from his, reminding herself not to let her desperate need to flee come through in her movements.

The second he felt her try to pull her hand away, he tightened his hold, not letting her go. At the same time, his thumb continued to stroke the top of her hand.

_What the hell?_ she thought, confused by his actions. Nervously nibbling her bottom lip, she tried pulling her hand away again. However, he only continued to hold her small, delicate hand firmly in his larger one.

Puzzled, Maddie's head turned to look at him. His demeanor only further baffled her. _He's just standing there, completely relaxed_, she thought, her eyebrows knitted together in confusion as he looked straight ahead while listening to Ryan and Kono's conversation.

However, just because it looked that way, didn't mean that's what was actually going on. Because Steve was definitely not paying any attention to Kono and Ryan, or anyone else for that matter.

After feeling her eyes on him for a minute, he finally nonchalantly turned to look at her. As their blue eyes met, he felt her hand tense even more before she tried pulling it away again. He shook his head at her while squeezing her hand lightly. Her forehead wrinkled as her eyebrows drew together. He was confusing her more and more as the seconds went by. Seeing this, Steve unconsciously licked his bottom lip while he gave her hand a good tug.

Still looking into his eyes, Maddie's eyes widened in both surprise and uncertainty as the force from his tug brought the left side of her body colliding into his right side. She couldn't help but think how hard, but yet how soft, his body was, which caused her to think how badly she wanted to be pressed against him, but without the barriers of clothing.

Steve smiled slightly at the look of utter shock on her face as he sent her barreling into his side. (Of course, he made sure to do it in such a way that she wouldn't fall or hurt herself.) Seeing the sudden desire flash in her eyes, his smile grew. He imagined, or hoped, they were having similar thoughts.

_Does he know what I'm thinking?_ she worried as she watched his smile grow. The fantasy immediately disappeared from her mind. Panicking, she tried to pull her hand away again, but just like the other times, he wouldn't let her go. Instead, he leaned towards her, bringing his free hand to rest on her right shoulder, a move that forced their bodies to partly face one another.

Bringing his mouth close to her left ear, Steve whispered, "Stop." He paused briefly before continuing slowly. "Stop pushing me away, Madeline." He paused again, letting his words sink in. "Saturday night, after the barbeque, you agreed to stay three weeks after the show."

_Don't remind me_, she thought miserably. She had no idea how she was going to handle Steve staying with her for three weeks. _I mean, just his whispered voice is driving me insane. The low growl. _She closed her eyes and clenched her jaw in frustration. _Great, now all it takes is him whispering to turn me on. God, I want him_…. She opened her eyes, hoping he hadn't noticed. _I'm never going to make it three weeks without completely losing my mind._

"And," he continued, whispering, "you agreed to stop pushing me away." He paused, a bit concerned at how she'd react to what he was about to say. It was his segue into letting her know they'd be addressing what had happened and what was going on when they got home that night. "And we both agreed to go with the flow."

She swallowed hard, too panicked by what she was afraid he'd say next to notice the pain in her raw throat. With her heart racing, she tensed and tried to subtly pull her hand away again.

"No," he said, a bit harshly, making her inwardly flinch. "I know I screwed up. I'm sorry, Mads." Before she could even open her mouth to respond, he beat her to it. "Let me guess? You have no idea what I'm talking about?" he sarcastically whispered as he rolled his eyes. Although she couldn't see him with the way his mouth was nearly touching her ear as he whispered, she knew he'd done it. She could hear it in his sarcastic and slightly smart-ass tone.

At first Maddie thought it was a rhetorical question, but when he was still silent nearly a minute later, she realized he was waiting for a response. So, she simply nodded, her body completely rigid.

Steve sighed. "Yeah, that's what I thought," he whispered, his tone slightly clipped out of frustration. He was quiet as he debated his next words, how to phrase them.

His breath on her neck was making her inwardly shiver with want as goosebumps spread over her body. She debated using all her strength to pull away, but it hadn't worked out well the last time she'd tried, when she'd been stretching. She also worried that if she did roughly pull away then he'd know he was getting to her, and she didn't want to give him the satisfaction. Plus, she got the feeling he wasn't done, and as much as she wished she wasn't, she was curious as to what else he was going to say.

"I'm not gonna force you to talk about it. At least not right now. But believe me, we will have a conversation about it… and other important things," he whispered, his tone and face serious. Just because she couldn't see his handsome face didn't mean she didn't know what it looked like. She could tell just by the sound of his voice. He was in 'dead serious, there's no getting around it' mode.

_Like the eating disorder rumor, taking off on Pete, _Maddie told herself, already knowing what the other 'important things' were. _But, we will __not__ be talking about 'us', or lack thereof. It's too humiliating._

"Until then, stop pushing me away. I know I screwed up and hurt you, baby," Steve said, purposely calling her by the pet name to try and get to her. "But give me a chance to show you and prove to you that I didn't mean what I said. But that can only happen if you stop keeping me at arm's length."

Steve was silent, wanting her to digest and think about everything he'd just said. He continued holding her hand while his left hand rested on her right shoulder. After nearly thirty seconds, he spoke again. "Okay?" His left hand reached up and tugged lovingly on her ponytail before resting back on her shoulder.

Maddie knew he was done by the way he pulled his head away from hers. He met her eyes as she stared at him, her guard completely up. She didn't know what to say. She wanted, more than anything, to believe him. Believe he really hadn't met what he'd said to Carl. But it wasn't just about that. It was the circumstances surrounding it. The kiss and its unspoken promise the night before along with all the other times he'd hurt her. Simple little comments that had dug deep and slowly chipped away at her heart. His response to Carl had just been the last straw. When she thought about all the things he'd said or done collectively, they led her to the conclusion that he felt only friendship for her. Plus, she just couldn't handle another let down from him. Her heart could only take so much and it was already at its limit.

She swallowed roughly, wincing at the pain in her throat. _Just focus on rehearsing these songs. Focus on the show_, she told herself. At the moment, and for the time being, she just couldn't do what he asked. She couldn't risk it.

Maddie forced herself to continue to look into his eyes. "I need to rehearse the next song."

_Damn_, Steve inwardly cursed, disappointed. She'd given him her answer. She wasn't going to let him in, at least not anytime soon. Instead of hiding his emotions, which is what his instincts and years of training urged him to do, he let her see he was upset. He licked his bottom lip before briefly clamping his teeth down on it and then releasing it. He sighed while shaking his head in frustration and disappointment. "Okay." He let go of her hand slowly and she forced herself to ignore the fact she immediately missed the warmth and contact.

Seeing he was hurt, she felt bad. Although at the same time she was kind of happy he was upset. _He's hurt me enough_, she mused. _He can hurt a little._ However, thinking that only made her feel worse and immature. She just felt so unlike herself lately. "You know, I don't know why you keep apologizing. We're fine Steve." She smiled at him, but he could tell it was forced.

He chuckled out of frustration as he shook his head. "Are you hoping that if you keep saying that, then it'll suddenly be true?" he retorted, his voice slightly icy and much harsher than he intended.

She leaned away, as if his words and tone had physically stung her.

_Crap_, he thought. He'd let his frustration get the best of him. "Mads," he began, his tone apologetic as he reached for her.

She stepped away before his hand could make contact with her. "I gotta finish this," she said, her demeanor and tone distant. He sighed as she walked away, hurrying towards Lyle who was standing in the taped off part of Stage 2 talking with two male dancers. Seeing her approach, he eyed her feet before bringing his eyes to meet hers. _She seems upset_, he mused, before looking behind her to Steve standing near the table frowning and looking frustrated. "What are you doing?"

"What do you mean?" she asked, confused.

"Aren't you forgetting something?" he looked at her, a slight smirk playing at his lips.

Maddie began nibbling her bottom lip in uncertainty as she racked her brain for what Lyle was referring to. However, not only was she still flustered and upset over her conversation with Steve, but her head was pounding, her body ached, and she had the most unbearable pain in her right foot and knee, all of which were keeping her from focusing or thinking clearly. That and she was utterly exhausted. Then throw in the fact her thoughts were completely consumed with Steve.

Seeing she wasn't figuring it out, Lyle said, "Your shoes."

Maddie's head immediately dropped, and she stared at her feet. "Right," she mumbled, lifting her head to meet his amused eyes. Her face immediately flushed pink, embarrassed she'd been so desperate to get away from Steve that she forgotten to change her shoes. Especially for these next two songs. It was the whole reason for the type of choreography.

Maddie immediately, and reluctantly, turned and began walking back towards the table she'd left Steve standing in front of.

Reaching it, she quickly plopped down in the large space between Kono and Lori and unhooked her gold, custom heels while Steve stood, watching her closely. She reached down and grabbed the tan shoebox with white writing from the bag and set it next to her on the bench, ignoring Steve's eyes on her.

"Wow! More Christian Louboutin's?" Lori asked, her eyes wide as she stared at the box.

"Yeah," Maddie mumbled, taking the lid off and digging into the tissue paper. She felt nervous and awkward as she continued to feel Steve's eyes on her. Part of her wanted to look up at him, but she was scared of what she'd see when she did. _You just had to hold his hand. Look what it led to_, she chastised.

Finding the shoes, Maddie pulled them from the light beige box. To Lori, and Kono's, surprise, they weren't really shoes, they were Pointe ballet slippers. Red satin ones to be exact.

"I didn't know Christian Louboutin made ballet slippers," Lori stated, as she watched Maddie begin to put the left one on, lacing the satin, ribbon-like strands up her leg and snapping it securely.

"He doesn't," Maddie responded. "He custom makes them for us for this tour. All the shoes actually."

"Wow," Lori mumbled.

"They snap? Don't they normally tie?" Kono asked.

"Yeah, but the costume change is too fast, so Christian put a few snaps to make it easier," she answered. "But once they're on, you can't tell. They look like they're tied."

"Cool! Makes sense… Uh… Christian Louboutin… is that good?" Kono hesitantly asked.

Without thinking, Maddie glanced to her right meeting Lori's eyes. The two women shared a genuine smirk before Lori looked over at her teammate with a knowing smile. "Yeah, that's good."

Satisfied the left slipper was comfortable, well as comfortable as Pointe shoes could be, Maddie grabbed the right one. Just before she began easing her injured and painful foot into the constricting shoe, she turned her head to her left to look at Kono. "There's a lot we need to teach you, Kono. You don't hang with enough girls." Maddie smiled at her friend. "Good thing I'll be around the next few weeks."

Steve had been listening to the women's conversation and couldn't help but smirk at it. _What is the deal with women and shoes?_ he found himself wondering. However, he didn't have to wonder long when he heard Maddie mention she'd be around for a few weeks. _Oh, thank God_. He exhaled a quiet sigh of relief. He hadn't realized how worried he'd been at the possibility that Maddie had changed her mind and decided to leave with Pete and not stay in Hawaii. _I can get her to realize how I feel in three weeks_, he told himself, a large chunk of anger, worry, and frustration disappearing at this revelation. _I just can't screw up anymore or she really might decide to leave._

"Seriously sistah, you're telling me!" Kono shook her head, a grin on her face. "However, I can tell you anything you need to know about every kind of gun there is."

"Stop hanging out with Steve," Maddie joked while fighting the hiss that so badly wanted to escape as she tried to force her wrapped foot into the Pointe shoe. However, it wasn't going to fit; not with the bulky wrap on it. _Crap_, she thought. _I'm gonna have to take this off, but man is it going to hurt. Plus, if Steve or Doc sees me they're going to lose it. _

Taking a deep breath she decided to dare a quick glance in Steve's direction. Maybe if she was lucky, he was no longer paying attention to her and she could quickly pull the wrap off.

In that moment, someone was answering her prayers because just as she looked up, she saw Steve's focus pulled to the door. He wasn't the only one either; they all were.

Although she was curious to see what they were all looking at, she decided it was her only chance to pull the wrap off and get the slipper on without being seen.

Maddie wasn't sure how she was able to keep the cries and whimpers from escaping as she began hurriedly tugging and pulling apart the wrap. It rubbed at the infected wounds on the bottom of her foot just right, causing an incredibly amount of pain. She did her best to ignore it and push forward.

As she heard someone approaching, she dropped the discarded wrap into the bag at her feet and quickly jammed her foot in the slipper. She thought what she felt before was pain. However, it was nothing compared to what she was experiencing now. She could have sworn her vision blurred at the angry pain radiating from the bottom of her foot. Although she tried her hardest not to react, she let out a puff of air. She prayed no one had noticed, but it seemed that whoever had been listening to her prayers only a moment before was gone.

Steve's head immediately shot in Maddie's direction. "You okay?" he asked, only letting a hint of the concern he was feeling into his voice.

"Uh huh," Maddie managed to get out as she tried to inconspicuously breath through the pain as she laced up the Pointe shoe and snapped it.

With the way she was bent over her foot, Steve was unable to see it, so he didn't notice what she'd done. However, it didn't take a genius to figure out that putting the right Pointe shoe on had caused her pain.

Although he didn't believe her, he let it go. He'd promised himself that he'd take a step back. He'd also promised he'd try to reach her one more time before the show. He'd done that and she'd pushed him away again. As hard as it was, he was going to have to let it go until he got her home.

"Hey cuz," Kono greeted, bringing everyone's focus to the new arrival.

"Hey," Chin replied, smiling.

The second Maddie saw him, she quickly asked, "Did you find Tina? Is she okay?" The fear she'd forced herself to ignore while rehearsing rushed out of her and was apparent in the way she nearly tripped over her words.

Chin smiled at her, feeling Steve's eyes on him. Remembering that his boss didn't want Maddie knowing Tina wasn't doing well, he nodded at the singer. "Yeah, we found her. She's fine." Noticing her eyes flick to the door he'd just walked through, he continued. "She and Pete are in the other car. They should be here soon."

Although he agreed that Maddie should be kept in the dark, he felt bad for lying to her. Wanting to change the subject as quickly as possible, he asked, "What's going on here?"

"Rehearsing a couple numbers," Lyle answered, joining the group. "In fact,-" He glanced at his watch. "We need to run this."

Steve also checked the time. _Not too much longer. Seven minutes_, he thought before taking in Maddie's appearance. She was looking more tired by the second.

Lyle looked to Maddie. "Just run through 'Shattered Glass' one time. You know it. Your solid on it. My concern is the new choreography in 'If You Seek…'. However, it's crucial to go from one to the other because how tired you are from the first one will affect that new choreography in the second one. You need to find a balance in these two numbers," Lyle explained. "Even if that means taking 'Shattered Glass' back a notch… if that gets you through 'If You Seek…' and the new, harder choreography, then that's what you need to do."

Maddie nodded as she thought over his advice and direction. Knowing these two numbers were going to be agonizingly painful for not only the bottom of her foot, but her knee and tailbone injuries, she took a deep breath before rising. She swallowed the moan that so badly wanted to escape at the pain in her foot. _Oh man, Pointe shoes alone with this injury? But, having nothing protecting it? No wrap? _she thought, the pain worsening with each step.

"Starting positions," Lyle ordered as he looked for the songs on the iPod.

Maddie, and her six female dancers made their way to the marked off Stage 1.

As he watched her walk, Steve felt a knot of worry build in his stomach. He could see that she was walking differently in her Pointe shoes. And not because they were a bit awkward to walk in, but because she was obviously in a lot of pain. _Only a few minutes left_, he told himself as he fought the urge to stop rehearsal. _Then you can take her back to her dressing room._

"Steve," Chin whispered, pulling his attention from his best friend. He glanced towards his co-worker. Chin subtly shook his phone. "Pete and Tina will be here in a few minutes. Let's meet them at the other entrance."

Steve turned his head to Doc. "They're almost here," he whispered.

Doc nodded and turned to both men. "Okay, come with me," he instructed as Lyle began playing the song.

As both men followed the Doctor towards the hallway, Steve couldn't help but watch Maddie dancing out of the corner of his eye. It had been a long time since he'd seen her dancing in Pointe shoes, and she was even better than he remembered. As worried as he was, he was still incredibly proud of her. _God, she's amazing_, he thought before he disappearing through the doorway and into the first long hallway.

* * *

><p>Steve, Chin, and Doc waited for Pete and Tina outside the other entrance to the arena. This way they could get her right into Doc's makeshift office since it was only a short hallway away. Plus, this entrance was out of the way and, besides a couple members of Maddie's security team, no one would see Tina in her current state.<p>

"So, where was she?" Steve asked Chin as the three men leaned against the outside wall, waiting.

"She must've gotten really sleepy because she was pulled over on the side of Kalakaua Avenue, passed out in the driver's seat."

Steve and Doc's heads whipped to their left and they stared incredulously at Chin.

"Are you serious?" Steve asked, surprised it had been that bad. _Wow, she really had us fooled_, he thought, disappointed with himself. He was a Navy Seal for crying out loud! And a cop! How had he not seen through her façade?

"Yeah," Chin replied. "In fact, we think she actually fell asleep while driving because the right front tire and rim are scuffed as if she hit a curb."

"Oh my God," Doc mumbled, his eyes closing as he digested the information. "I should've questioned her more when I looked her over." He shook his head, angry at himself.

"No, it's not your fault Doc," Steve assured him. "I should've realized she wasn't feeling well. I was just too…" He took a deep breath before loudly releasing it. "I don't know…"

"Preoccupied with Maddie?" Chin finished for him, a knowing smile pulling at his mouth.

Steve said nothing, only shot his co-worker a narrowed look.

"If we're gonna play the 'blame game', then I'm to blame too. I saw Tina before she left, and I had no idea it was that bad," Chin stated.

"Well, I'm just glad you guys found her in time," Steve said.

"Yeah, I'm glad we got to her when we did," Chin admitted. "It could've been so much worse."

"Is there something you guys aren't telling me?" Doc finally asked. He'd gotten the feeling there was more to the story when Steve had filled him in earlier. And again, he was getting that same feeling.

Before either could respond, they spotted Pete driving towards them.

Steve immediately pushed away from the wall. "Here they are." He walked forward, Chin and Doc following close behind, as Pete pulled into the parking spot closest to the door. The three men approached the car.

Steve opened the passenger door. "Hey there, T," he greeted, making sure to keep his voice soft. She slowly turned her head towards him.

"Hey," she replied, her voice no more than a whisper.

He let his eyes roam over her, making sure that besides the concussion, she was unhurt. She was pale. That he immediately noticed. Much paler than she'd been when she left. Although they were in the shade, safe from the brutal mid-afternoon sun, she was squinting, a sure sign her head hurt. "How ya feeling?" he finally asked, satisfied that, for the most part, she was okay.

"Fine!" she replied, trying to act normal as she shifted the roses on her lap. "Pete's completely overreacting." While Steve had been checking her over, Pete had exited the car and was now standing directly behind him. She shot him a narrowed look over Steve's shoulder, her annoyance evident.

Pete rolled his eyes. "Yeah, completely overreacting." He smirked at her. "Normal people take naps on their steering wheel, throw up, and can't keep their eyes open. Those are all signs of someone who's totally fine," he countered sarcastically.

Tina glared at him.

"She got sick?" Doc asked, concern in his voice, as he peered in the car from his spot beside Steve.

"No, he's lying," Tina lied.

"T!" Pete exclaimed, his eyes widening as he shook his head at her. He then turned to look at Doc. "She's lying. She's been sick twice with me. I don't know if she was sick before." Tina's eyes narrowed even further at him. "Glare at me all you want, T. It's not gonna change a thing."

"I thought your job was to hover over Maddie," she retorted, obviously angry with him, and not just because he was tattling to Doc.

Pete only sighed as he shook his head. He really wished he knew what was bothering her. "Alright, let's go."

"Here," Tina said, handing him the two-dozen sparkly roses.

"Thanks, T," Steve replied, feeling a bit on the spot. He was grateful when no one asked any questions. Suddenly he smirked, narrowing his eyes at her jokingly. "Card?"

"Oh right, I totally forgot," she said, smiling brightly as she pulled his credit card from her pocket and handed it to him.

"Yeah, I'm sure," he laughed. The fact she was joking around made him feel a sense of relief. _She's gonna be just fine_, he thought, smiling at her as he stepped back, giving Pete access to her. He knew he wanted to be the one to help Tina.

She began sliding out of the car, but before her feet hit the ground, Pete had her in his arms.

"Pete! I can walk!" she cried, pushing at his buff upper body.

"Good for you!" he retorted, smiling, which only earned him an exasperated groan from her.

Chin couldn't help but smirk as he shut the passenger door before they all walked into the arena.

As they walked down the hallway, Tina gave in to the exhaustion and finally laid her head against Pete's shoulder.

He didn't have to look at her to know she was falling asleep. "T, stay awake. Open your eyes," he instructed. When she didn't respond, he quickened his pace.

Steve looked over to see her eyes still closed. "T, gotta open your eyes." He reached over and tapped her nose in a very brotherly manner. She opened her eyes and smiled, surprised by the gesture.

"How's Maddie? She asleep?" she asked him.

He chuckled sardonically. "Yeah, right," he replied, shaking his head. "What do you think she's doing?"

Tina smirked. "Rehearsing."

"Yeah." It was obvious by his tone and the look on his face that he wasn't happy about it.

"How is she still going?" Tina asked in disbelief. "Maybe I should go talk to her. I'm worried about her."

"Don't worry, T," Steve said, turning his head to meet her sleepy, half open eyes. "I got it covered. Just worry about yourself, okay?"

Tina hesitated, knowing Maddie needed her. But then again, what good was she to her when she couldn't keep her own eyes open? _Maybe I'll just take a quick nap_, she thought, her eyes fluttering closed. "Mmkay," she murmured as Pete carried her through a door that Chin held open.

"Put her here," Doc instructed, pointing to the cream-colored, leather doctor's chair she'd sat on earlier.

Gently Pete set Tina on the cushiony chair. Although he took a step back to let Doc take a look at her, he remained close.

The three men watched as Doc had her open her eyes so he could take a look at her pupils and run a neurological test.

"It's customary to allow one privacy when seeing a doctor," Tina stated, glaring at Pete.

"Ha! If you could be trusted to tell Doc the truth, then I'd follow customs, but since you've been taking cues from Maddie today, you're stuck with me," Pete replied, smiling at her pale and scowling face.

Doc asked her questions about how she felt, and every time she hesitated to lie, Pete loudly cleared his throat. As much as she disliked doctors, she knew lying would only prolong the exam, so, reluctantly, she answered the questions honestly.

"Alright," Doc said, finishing. "Almost done, T. I just want to look at the back of your head." Carefully, he leaned her head slightly forward and studied the same area he'd looked at only a couple hours earlier. "What are the odds? You must've hit it in the exact same spot," he stated, seeing the small wound was now a bit larger. "Did it bleed more this time?"

Tina hesitated. "Yeah," she finally admitted.

"Bleeding? What the hell, T?" Pete exclaimed. He leaned his head back, showing his exasperation.

Tina ignored him, confused why he was acting like a worried boyfriend. _Whatever, just don't even think about it_, she told herself. _Don't let it get to you. Remember, he's seeing someone._

"It still doesn't need stitches, but I am gonna clean it up a bit, okay?" Doc told her, grabbing a couple supplies off the small tray attached to the chair. "It might be a little tender, but shouldn't be too bad."

Tina gripped the arms of the chair while he cleaned the small wound. He was right, it wasn't terrible, but it also wasn't comfortable.

"Alright." Doc leaned back and watched as she fought to keep her eyes open. "The concussion is really very mild. You're just overly tired, making it seem much, much worse than it is. You just need to get some rest and I guarantee you'll feel like a completely new person!" He smiled at her.

"Does she need to be woken up every so often?" Pete asked, his eyes never leaving Tina's pale face.

"No, she'll be fine. It's really not that bad. She just needs some rest," Doc reassured Maddie's head of security. He studied Pete, finding his overprotective behavior interesting. He was behaving similarly to the way Steve had been with Maddie. _Wonder if there's something going on between him and T?_ he wondered. However, the more he thought about it the more he dismissed the idea. He'd seen Pete around Tina a ton and he'd never shown anything more than friendship towards her. _Must just be the pressure of everything going on. The show, Maddie's stalker..._

"You sure?" Steve asked, the first couple days of Maddie's concussion still fresh in his mind.

"I'm positive. Let her get some sleep and you'll see a huge difference." He smiled at the worried men. "I know you don't want Maddie knowing about what happened, so why doesn't she stay here and rest. The couch is actually really comfortable. I've taken several naps on it over the last few days."

Pete, Chin, and Steve eyed one another as they thought through their options. Leaving Tina in Doc's office was a great idea. She'd get quiet and be able to sleep without Maddie knowing what had happened. However, they all had the same big concern. Doc's office was really close to the door leading outside, the one they'd just used. They didn't want to give Maddie's stalker easy access to Tina.

The three walked towards one another and huddled close together.

"I'll put a guy outside the door," Pete whispered.

"Either way, wherever she is, you need to do that," Steve replied, his arms crossed.

"This room is really close to the outside door, where else besides Maddie's dressing room could she sleep?" Chin asked.

"Both the male and female dancer's dressing rooms are an option, but they're too loud. Same with the security room. Guys are in and out all day, some of which taking quick naps when the opportunity presents itself," Pete replied. "There's a handful of places she could rest, but they're all going to be loud and I don't want her being disturbed." He glanced back at Tina, her eyes closed, her face pale. "She needs to sleep." He turned back to Steve and Chin. "This is the perfect place. Quiet. Comfortable. Only issue is that it's too close to that outer door."

Steve left his right arm across his middle, but brought his left arm up and rested his elbow on his right forearm. He placed his hand to the left of his mouth and rubbed his index finger above his top lip while thinking over their predicament. Once he had a plan, his hands dropped to his sides. "Alright, we leave her here. But, Chin…" He looked to his friend and Five-0 coworker. "You stay with her while she sleeps. You good with that?"

"Of course! You read my mind boss! I was going to offer anyway. I can look over some more of Maddie's fan mail," Chin replied, more than happy with the plan.

"Okay, great!" Steve looked back to Pete. "Even though Chin is in here with her, there still needs to be a man outside the door as well as another one at the outside door. I know you had one placed a bit up the hall, but move him to just inside the door and have that door locked. No one needs to be using it anyway. Not with some psycho out there. The fewer entry points, the better."

"Alright, sounds good," Pete replied, feeling confident with their plan. "Thanks," he said to Chin, knowing Tina would be safe with him.

"No problem, bra!"

Satisfied they had it all worked out, the three moved away from one another to see Doc watching them suspiciously. Now more than ever, he was convinced there was something they hadn't told him. _There's more to the _story, he mused. He had a feeling that whatever it was, it was the real reason Pete and Chin had gone rushing out to find Tina. _I'll have to ask about it later._

Chin walked to the couch and began moving pillows around while Pete approached Tina, who appeared to already be asleep.

"I'll be right back. I'll go grab a blanket from the dressing room," Steve stated before hurrying out the door.

_I'm so glad she's okay_, Pete thought, sighing. Although he tried to fight the urge, he brushed a strand of hair away from her face. Carefully, he reached forward and scooped her into his arms. She groaned. "You're okay, T," he murmured. As he walked towards the other side of the room, she nestled her head against his shoulder, a gesture that, to his surprise, warmed his insides.

Gently, he laid her on the couch making sure he was careful with her head.

While they waited for Steve, Chin began gently pulling Tina's boots off.

"Here," Steve announced as he entered and walked over to them. Just as he was about to hand the blanket to Pete, Tina's eyes flew open and she started groaning.

"What's wrong, T?" Pete asked, his brow furrowed in concern as he sat on the coffee table in front of her.

"I think I'm gonna be sick," she mumbled.

"Here," Doc immediately passed Pete a trashcan before walking back to the other side of the room and pulling open some drawers.

"Here ya go, T," Pete quietly said as he set the trashcan down between his legs. No sooner had he said that than she leaned over and began dry heaving in the object. Pete rubbed her back while Steve held her hair and Chin soothingly rubbed her feet and ankles.

After a couple minutes of dry heaving, Tina laid back down on the couch. This time on her side. Pete looked at her green eyes, glassy from unshed tears, and could tell she felt terrible. He glanced over at Doc rummaging around in his "office". "Is there anything you can do about the nausea?"

"Yep!" Doc answered, walking towards them with a small tray. On it was a syringe, a small vial of liquid, and a square packet. He came around the back of the couch, setting the tray on the top of the cushion next to him. He ripped open the small packet from the tray to reveal an antiseptic cleansing pad. He reached down and began cleaning the skin of Tina's upper right arm. She immediately tensed, knowing exactly what this meant.

"No!" she cried, jerking her arm away.

"T," Pete began. "It's okay. It's gonna help you feel better."

Tina shook her head, but immediately regretted the pain it caused.

"Come on now," Pete told her. "Calm down. You're gonna make everything worse."

As much as they didn't want to, Steve reached down and held Tina's upper body in place while Pete grabbed her arms and held them still so Doc could do his job.

"Pete," Tina whimpered, looking at him, a sense of betrayal in her eyes. "No."

"I know. We're sorry. We're doing this because we want you to feel better," he explained.

While Doc hurriedly finished cleaning the area on her arm, Steve and Pete held a struggling Tina in place. Quickly he filled the syringe with the liquid from the vial. "Just relax, T," he instructed, knowing it would hurt a lot more if she continued to fight and tense her muscles.

"Please, don't do this," Tina begged, terrified.

"It's okay, T. He's not going to hurt you. I would never let him do that," Pete told her, hoping to calm her down. He knew why she hated doctors, why they terrified her, and he didn't blame her. "I'm not gonna let anyone hurt you."

Something about his statement upset her even more. If she'd been in a rational state of mind, she wouldn't have said a word, but she wasn't. "No, you do that yourself!" she spat him. Here he was taking care of her, being overly protective, and he was dating someone. She knew she didn't have a right to be mad at him. That she was being ridiculous. They'd only ever been friends, but she couldn't help her feelings. She was jealous. Jealous of a woman she'd never met. Hell, she didn't even know her name!

Pete looked at her with hurt and confusion in his eyes, but it was only there for a split second before he hid it. After all, he was trained to compartmentalize just like Steve.

_When did I hurt her?_ he wondered. _What did I do?_ He knew that whatever she was referring to was why she'd been weird with him for most of the day. "T," he began, however was interrupted by her.

"Ow!" she cringed as Doc stuck her with the needle. She whimpered, squeezing her eyes shut as the liquid was pushed into her system.

"Sorry, T," Doc apologized, pulling the needle from her arm and placing it on the tray while the two men let her go. "That's gonna kick in really quickly." He walked to the office side of the room to dispose of the used materials.

"You're okay, T," Steve said, smoothing her hair back with his hand. Seeing that Pete seemed to only be able to stare at her, obviously bothered by her comment, he decided to fill her in. "You're gonna stay here and get some rest. Chin's gonna stay with you."

"But Maddie," Tina began to argue.

"Don't worry about Maddie. I got her. She's gonna be doing the same thing you are in just a few minutes," Steve assured her, flashing her a gorgeous smile. "Just worry about getting some sleep."

"Will you come get me if she needs me?" she asked.

Knowing she wouldn't sleep if he didn't agree, he nodded. "Of course!"

"I'm just gonna be at the table working," Chin told her, standing behind the couch.

"Okay," she murmured. Now that she was calm again, she was finding it increasingly difficult to keep her eyes open.

Steve and Chin walked to the door, talking under their breaths about Maddie's stalker.

Finally Pete snapped out of his thoughts. He reached for the blanket Steve had brought back, opened it, and very gently placed it on Tina. As he tucked her in, making sure she was completely covered from her toes to her shoulders, she watched him through hooded eyes. Once he was satisfied, he brought his hands to his sides and sat back down on the edge of the coffee table. He met her eyes, but remained silent while debating whether to address her comment.

For what felt like minutes, but was really only seconds, they just watched one another. Finally, he sighed. "Feel better, T." He was just about to stand when he changed his mind. "I'm sorry I hurt you. I don't know how I did it, but I'd never intentionally hurt you. You know that, don't you?"

Tina averted her eyes. She was silent as she considered her response. She could claim she had no idea what he was talking about, that he hadn't hurt her, or she could just ignore his comment and change the subject. Or… she could tell him the truth. _Ha! Yeah, right. Like I'm going to tell him I'm in love with him and have been for years and that I'm jealous he's dating someone else_, she thought, the idea so ridiculous she nearly laughed out loud.

She wondered if he might just leave if she didn't respond, but when she glanced out of the corner of her eye and saw he was still looking at her expectantly, she knew that wasn't going to happen. She sighed, knowing she'd need to say something. "I know, Pete," she finally whispered, feeling it was a fairly safe answer.

Pete wasn't sure what to say to that. He'd been hoping she'd tell him what was wrong. "T…" He paused, unsure of what to say. He watched her eyes flutter closed only for her to force them back open. He sighed. She needed rest. This could wait. "We'll talk about it later. But, we will talk about it… For now, just get some sleep, okay?"

Tina nodded as he stood. Before he turned to walk away, her voice stopped him. "Pete?"

He turned back to her. "Yeah?"

"Thanks for coming to get me."

He gave her a small smile. "No problem. Anytime." His smile grew. "But next time, and there better not be a next time, just call me if you don't feel good and I'll come get you. Deal?"

"Deal," Tina smiled.

"Okay. Get some sleep. Call or text me if you need me." He placed her phone on the coffee table beside her, but not before flipping it to silent.

Pete and Steve walked out, leaving Tina with Chin and Doc.

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><p>I hope you liked it! Please leave a review!<p>

xoxo


	41. Chapter 36, Part 6

****DISCLAIMER********:**** I do not own "Hawaii Five-0" or any of its characters. However, I do own Maddie, Pete, Tina, Ryan, Lyle, Harper, Carl, etc.

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><p><span><strong>AUTHOR'S<strong>** NOTE****:  
><strong>As promised, here is another update! Also, as I mentioned two updates ago, you will LOVE the end of this update! I told you guys! :o)

A couple things to keep in mind for this update... **PLEASE READ!**

**1.** The song rehearsed is Britney Spears "If You Seek Amy". The song is referred to as "If You Seek..." in dialogue because artist's usually shorten the names of their songs when talking about them. Just know I'm referring to the same song. Also, it's mentioned that Maddie rehearses another song, but I don't go into detail or show her rehearsing it. That one is called "Shattered Glass" and again it's sung by Britney Spears. Haha. I'm not a huge Britney fan or anything. I know it must seem like that since I've used 3 of her songs so far. I just happened to have a cool idea for the performances for them. That's all.

Again, I'm not saying Maddie sings like Britney. Mads actually has a killer voice.

**2.** When song lyrics are in parentheses (), they are being sung by backup singers.

**3.** I mention Adam in this chapter. I just wanted to remind you who he is. He is one of Maddie's bodyguards. One of the new ones she hired. He was the one who stopped Maddie's father when he entered the main room. It was in Ch.36 Pt.2

**4.** A jarhead is in the Marines. A sailor is in the Navy.

**5.** In this update, Steve recalls Maddie's reaction to a comment he made when she joked around and freaked Pete out. When Pete was asking where Ryan had gone. It was in Ch.36 Pt.2. Below is the excerpt I'm referring to. In the excerpt it also references when Maddie jokingly threw a handful of clothes at Steve and he freaked when her bra got stuck to him. She took it like he was grossed out because it was hers, but in reality he was freaking out because he was envisioning her in it, with nothing else on. When the following excerpt is mentioned, Steve also recalls what Tina refused to tell him in his office. She refused to tell him exactly how Maddie was feeling. That Maddie was convinced Steve thought of her as a joke and pathetic, among other things. These are all referenced in the end of this update.

...START OF EXCERPT...

Seeing the girls laugh, Lori joined in, not wanting to be left out. She was trying to bond with them. And not just to keep her enemies close, but also because she needed friends. Everybody needs friends.

"That was amazing, sistah," Kono managed to get out in between laughs.

"I wish I could've seen his face," Tina giggled, rolling her eyes.

Feeling Steve's eyes on her, Maddie looked across the coffee table and met them. He couldn't help but grin widely seeing the sparkle in her gorgeous blue eyes. A sparkle that used to always be there, but had been missing for months. _It's good to see her a little more like herself_, Steve thought. _Even for just a moment. _

"That was mean, Maddie," Chin said, although he too couldn't help but chuckle as he shook his head in amusement.

"Was any of that true?" Lori asked, still laughing lightly.

Knowing she couldn't admit that it had all been a lie because Steve, and she imagined Chin as well, would start questioning where Ryan had really gone and why she had had to lie about it to Pete. With everything going on she knew she had to keep their plans a secret.

"Yeah," Maddie lied, still laughing although it was dying down. She coughed a couple times, sniffling when she was done. "But I definitely exaggerated." A dimpled smile broke out on her face as she started cracking up again. The mere image of Pete's poor face was enough to send her into hysterics. "He probably thinks I'm hemorrhaging…" _Guys can be so clueless sometimes_, Maddie mused.

Her statement caused the other three women to break out into a fit of giggles again. In fact tears began running down Kono, Tina, and Maddie's faces they were laughing so hard. Lori was laughing, but it was more just her trying to fit in.

"Gross, Mads," Steve said, a look of disgust on his face.

She wasn't sure why, but his statement and the look on his face upset her. Reminding her of how he'd played her. Her chest ached at the memory. The memory of everything he'd said and done that hurt her since she'd arrived in Hawaii.

Steve watched the sparkle in her eye immediately disappear as her laughter rapidly dwindled until it was no more. _What just happened?_ he wondered.

Maddie was hurt. So hurt that she didn't realize what she'd said until it was too late. "Especially cause it's me, right? Just like my bra." She recalled the morning of the barbeque when she'd been sorting through her laundry when Steve walked in. Joking around, she threw some clothes on him, one of which was one of her lacy bras. It stuck to him and he'd gotten weird, disgusted by her bra because it was hers. At least that's what she thought. That's what she'd assumed, but wasn't really the case.

Steve's eyes widened as surprise and confusion appeared on his face. He'd kept his mouth shut so many other times either because he was waiting to talk to her at home or because they weren't alone, but what her comment insinuated, what he was worried she was thinking, he felt it shouldn't be ignored. "Wait, what?" he asked her. Tina and Kono immediately quieted as the air in the room thickened. Everyone, except Lori of course, wondered if they should excuse themselves to give the two privacy to talk.

...END OF EXCERPT...

**6.** Lary Kern is the new head of the record label Maddie is signed to.

**7.** Charlie Fong runs forensics in the lab.

**8.** In a text Pete sends to Steve, he says "rhsl". This means, rehearsal.

**9.** Just so you know, here are all the names of Maddie's dancers, both male and female.

MALE: Ryan, Justin, Leo, Tyler, Nathan (Nate), Jackson, Mason, Jensen, Elijah (Eli), Nolan

FEMALE: Claire, Amy, Mia, Harper, Naomi, Nancy

**10.** I mentioned this in the last update, but I want to remind everyone. I am NOT a dancer! I wish I was, but I'm not. NO ONE wants to see me dance. This is the last update where I am describing Maddie rehearsing/performing because it is sooo hard for me when I don't know any technical terms. Maddie is in Pointe shoes for this chapter. Pointe shoes are what ballerinas where when they are on their toes. You can google it as I am sure that's not a very good explanation. haha. Anyway, I did my best in this area. Please, be kind if I made any mistakes.

**11.** Flashbacks/memories, lyrics, and texts are all in **bold**.

**12.** Thoughts are in _italics_.

**13.** Both versions of the story are the same for this update. I didn't change anything because I didn't think what I wrote was graphic enough. HOWEVER, if any of the T-Rated version readers feel it is, please let me know and I will make sure to not go as detailed in adult themes for future updates. It's hard to judge what's appropriate for the rating by the information given on the site. I've done my best and yes, I have left a few things out on other chapters . (Only a few). However, there will be more times that the updates are slightly different for each version given what is going on in the story.

I think that's all you need to know for this update.

However, because I have worked my ass off on this story, I'm not posting the next update until I get at least 10 reviews. I know that may seem super lame and harsh, but I have on average 1,000 new views every update, over a 100 people that have my story on "alert", and 80 people that have it marked as a favorite story of theirs. If 10% of the people that have it alerted of favorited took 2 seconds of their time to leave a review, then you have more than 10 reviews. I'm not asking for much. A sentence... A few words. I just can't stress enough how nice it is to hear feedback when you spend hours and hours and hours of time you really can't afford to write a story.

You can imagine with the way this update ended, that things are about to get good and interesting... so take 2 seconds of your time and leave a review. Or you can PM (Private Message) me. I have readers who have asked me all kinds of questions and left me their reviews and advice (both positive and negative). It's really wonderful, because I'm trying to become a better writer by doing this and all the help I can get is great. Or if you simply like what I'm doing, say that! Just something!

Thank you soooo sooo much to the readers that continually review! I so appreciate the time you take to do that. I don't know how else to say it. If I had your addresses I would actually send you a hand written thank you card for each review as they mean THAT MUCH!

Anyway, I'll be busy writing away all day as I have posted all I had for you. 118 Microsoft Word pages. Again, what took me so long to write these was describing the performances/rehearsals and I won't be doing that anymore as it's just too hard for me! So, things are picking up!

I really hope you enjoy this update! ;o)

Enough rambling!

xoxo

Laura

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><p><strong><span>Chapter 36<span>**

**Part 6**

Maddie had continued rehearsing while Doc, Steve, and Chin were with Tina and Pete. She had struggled through the next song, "Shattered Glass", a number she normally aced with no problems whatsoever. But, she was tired. No. She was exhausted. And, in pain. Everywhere. It wasn't just her foot, knee, and tailbone, but her entire body. She was pretty sure the Advil Steve had given her hours earlier was wearing off because the body aches the medicine had dulled were returning with a vengeance as well as her fever.

_Oh man, I feel terrible_, she thought, sniffling as she rubbed her temples, her head pounding.

"Mads, what's the problem?" Lyle asked as he walked towards her and her six female dancers. He was baffled by the mistakes she was continuously making. "This number is easy for you. You never have a problem with it. What's going on?"

"I don't know," she lied, frustrated with her failing, and ailing, body.

Lyle sighed, also frustrated. They'd run through the number three times already and Maddie was still missing choreography she'd never struggled with before.

He glanced at his watch. They'd been rehearsing for almost an hour and hadn't even started going over the changes in "If You Seek Amy". He glimpsed at the door to the hallway. He'd been expecting Steve to be right there at the forty-five minute mark, forcing Maddie to stop, but he hadn't. He had disappeared with Chin and Doc and none of them had been back since. He didn't really care where they were, he was only grateful Steve hadn't returned. He wasn't in the mood to fight with him, something he knew he'd have to do if they didn't finish before he got back.

Knowing they'd been lucky to make it almost an hour without Steve stopping them, Lyle decided he couldn't count on them having much more time. He was confident Maddie knew the choreography to "Shattered Glass" and decided it was pointless to continue running it. He suspected her repeated mistakes were caused by the fact she was so tired. They needed to work on "If You Seek Amy" before Steve got back and before Maddie was too exhausted to continue, something he knew could happen at any moment. Plus, he knew the injection Doc gave her was only going to last an hour and fifteen minutes. And they were nearing that.

Lyle turned back to Maddie and her dancers. "Enough with 'Shattered Glass'. You know it. Let's not worry about it. Let's just go into 'If You Seek…'." He turned to the male dancers sitting at the tables behind him. "Get up here and into positions."

Kono and Lori watched Maddie rub at the back of her neck, hoping to help alleviate her headache, as the male dancers walked towards the area marked off as Stage 1. "She's not gonna last much longer," Kono murmured, glancing at the hallway door. She didn't know why Steve wasn't back yet. "If Steve isn't back soon, we might need to intervene ourselves. I need you to have my back because she'll fight us."

"Of course," Lori replied. She could see Maddie wasn't doing well, that it was obvious she needed to stop.

While Lyle gave individual instructions to different dancers, Carl stood from his spot at a back table. Pete had sent him a text asking him to keep an eye on Maddie while he, Steve, and Chin dealt with Tina. As he approached her, he took in her pallid face. "Hey, Mads."

"Hey Carl, what's up?" she mumbled, sniffing and coughing. _Where'd he come from?_ she wondered, having not realized he'd been watching her for the last twenty minutes.

"How ya doing?" he asked, his eyes drifting to her leg. He'd noticed she was babying it, putting more weight on her left. He knew she was in pain, even if she refused to admit it.

"Fine," she lied, forcing a small smile.

He sighed. "Shorty, let's go back to the dressing room, get some rest. You're exhausted. You gotta think about the show."

"I'm fine, Carl. I promise. Plus, I'll be done rehearsing soon. Just one more song to go," she argued. Her hand flew to her mouth as she coughed several times, wincing at the surge in pain not only in her body, but her head and throat.

"It's either go with me now, or go with Steve in a few minutes. And, you know it'd be better to go with me and avoid the scene with Steve," Carl tried to reason with her.

Maddie knew he was right, on so many levels. She knew she should just go back to her dressing room. She felt awful, and the idea of getting to lie down was more than a dream come true. But, she still had work to do. Plus, she couldn't help but want to force herself to continue knowing Steve wanted her to stop. She knew it was childish, but he'd hurt her so much. He didn't get to act like the overprotective boyfriend. It wasn't fair. Her jaw clenched out of irritation.

Maddie shook her head slightly, her anger apparent. "Steve isn't the boss of me. He can't just come in here and force me to do whatever he wants. I have a job to do, and I'm not done with it," she seethed. She took a breath, her anger growing the more she thought about the situation. "It's not fair. Not after everything," she mumbled to herself.

Carl studied her carefully. He could see that her anger towards Steve was just her way of dealing with how much he'd hurt her. _Do I say something? Try and make this better?_ he asked himself. He wanted to help, but wondered if staying out of it might be better in the long run. However, he felt a bit guilty. Like he was partly to blame for how bad things had gotten between the two. After all, he was the one that had put Steve on the spot Sunday morning.

_Oh, what do you really have to lose_, he finally decided. _Things are already bad, how much worse could I make them? _

"What do you mean, after everything?" he asked, playing dumb as if he hadn't already spoken to Steve.

"What?" she asked, meeting his eyes with a look of confusion. She realized he was talking about her last statement. Her face lightly flushed. She hadn't meant to say it out loud, only think it. "Oh, um… nothing," she stuttered.

"Mads," Carl began, his tone slightly hesitant. She immediately noticed the change.

"Yeah?" She waited, wondering where this was going.

"I ran into Steve a little bit ago…" He paused.

"Oh yeah?" she asked tentatively.

"Well…." Carl was quiet again as he tried to find the right words, but ultimately decided it was better to just spit it out. "Mads, he didn't mean what he said Sunday," he blurted.

"Not you too," Maddie groaned, rolling her eyes out of frustration. "If he said it, he meant it. What did he do? Ask you to talk to me? I told him it's fine… I'm fine… and we're fine… We're friends. I get the picture. No need to talk about it. I don't wan-"

"Maddie," he interrupted, his voice forceful, but not raised. Although they were off to the side, away from Lyle and her dancers, and any prying eyes or eavesdroppers, they'd been speaking in quieter tones.

He waited to continue until he was sure he had her full attention. "He didn't mean what he said," he spoke slowly, hoping she'd recognize the statement as the truth.

Maddie closed her eyes. She didn't want to talk about this. She was too tired, in too much pain, and felt too terrible. And, her heart was in too many pieces. She had too much on her plate and couldn't handle discussing this again. "I don't want to talk about this," she whispered, her voice breaking from the emotion she was trying so desperately to keep buried.

"Mads." Carl placed both hands on her shoulders, but kept her at arm's length. "He screwed up."

"Carl," she whispered, clenching her jaw as she felt all the emotion she'd been trying to hide well up in her throat, begging for release. Her bottom lip trembled slightly as she battled for control over her emotions. Her father's words echoed in her head. **Steve, he'll never love you… He'll always see you as damaged and broken.**

Maddie shut her eyes, trying to will his words away. Finally she opened them and met Carl's. The look in his finally broke her. There was so much compassion, so much understanding, concern, and worry, but what did her in was the guilt she saw.

_What does it hurt?_ she asked herself. Carl had always been someone she went to if she really needed to talk, if she needed someone unbiased. He was a great listener and even better at dishing out advice, something surprising for a Navy Seal. There was something about him. He had a way of getting you to talk about things you'd never in a million years tell someone. She always thought he would've made an excellent, and successful, therapist.

"He laughed at the idea of us together. After he led me to believe he felt it too," she whispered, the suppressed emotion slightly leaking into her voice.

She sounded so broken it nearly ripped his heart out. "He does feel it too. I talked to him. You gotta trust that you know him. That he would never do that to you." She bit her lip and looked down. He squeezed her shoulders gently. "You know Steve." He paused. "Tell me something… When can you always count on him to kind of freak out?"

Maddie took a deep breath hoping it would keep the tears welling up in her eyes from falling. "When there's an incredible change in his life," she whispered, meeting his eyes.

He gave her a small smile, his eyes matching the expression. "Exactly. And tell me… would deciding to completely change his relationship with the one person who's stayed constant in his life be considered an incredible life change?"

Maddie said nothing as she tried to swallow the block of raw emotion clogging her throat. Sniffling, she finally nodded slightly. She covered her mouth and coughed several times.

"You know what he told me?" Carl asked her. She shook her head slightly as she nibbled her bottom lip nervously. "He told me he's terrified he screwed up for good. That he lost you." He paused, letting his words sink in.

_If that's really true, he wouldn't have said what he did_, she thought, refusing to allow herself to believe what Carl was telling her. She couldn't afford to. She couldn't get hurt again. Not with everything going on.

"Tell me one last thing…" He smirked as he continued. "Have you ever known Steve to willingly talk feelings with another Navy Seal?" He lightly squeezed her shoulders again, trying to drive his point home.

Maddie was silent as she thought it all through. _Holy crap_, she thought. _How did I not realize that before? Getting him to talk to me about feelings is hard enough. He'd never open up like this to another Seal. Not that much. Even to Carl… unless something was really bothering him._

By the look on her face Carl realized he was close to getting through to her. "And can I just add, I didn't have to badger him into it." He paused again, letting his words sink in. "I think you know now that he really is sorry, that he didn't mean it."

As much as she wanted to believe Steve had just made a mistake, she was too scared. Too scared to believe him only for him to hurt her again. She didn't think she could handle it. Not with everything else going on. "I don't know, Carl… it wasn't just that."

"I know. He's an ass!" Carl told her, trying to get her to smile. He could tell he was so close to getting through to her. _Just a little more_, he told himself. "What do you expect? He's a guy, AND he's a squid!" he joked. She smiled, rolling her eyes slightly. "There's that smile." He grinned back at her as he rubbed his fingers against the backs of her shoulders. "Just give him a chance to fix this. To prove to you that it was just a stupid screw up."

He immediately felt Maddie tense as the smile slipped from her face. She shook her head quickly, wincing at the pain it caused. "I can't," she whispered, slightly panicked. She bit her lip. _Don't cry, don't cry_, she inwardly chanted.

"Why not?" he asked, his tone gentle and soothing. He knew losing his patience would only undo any kind of progress he'd made.

Her eyes fell to the floor as she hesitated. "I'm sca-red," she admitted. Her voice cut out from the emotion she'd been suppressing. To her frustration, a lone tear escaped her right eye. She angrily brushed it away, still unable to meet his eyes.

"Hey, I get it," Carl replied. He hated seeing her like this. She was hurting so much. Her behavior over the last several days, the way she'd pushed herself to rehearse, the way she'd run off several times, it all made sense now. "I don't blame you." He paused, trying to think of another way he could break through that final barrier and get to her. He knew he was so, so close. Suddenly it dawned on him. "I just-" He sighed, already feeling guilty for what he was about to do. "I feel horrible, Shorty. This is all my fault."

Maddie's head shot up. She stared at him, her brow wrinkled in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

"If I hadn't put him on the spot… It was stupid. I wasn't thinking," Carl answered. "I'm really sorry."

"No, Carl! This isn't your fault," she tried to tell him, but he just shook his head. "You didn't force him to say what he did."

"It is my fault, and I feel awful." He was quiet for a second before continuing. "Can you do me a favor?"

Maddie narrowed her eyes slightly, wary of what exactly his favor would be. "Depends…"

"I get why you won't give him another chance. I do. I don't blame you. But, can you stop pushing him away? Cut him a little bit of a break? For me?" He saw her about to refuse, so he tried again. "Come on. I feel horrible. This is all my fault." He knew playing the 'I feel guilty, do this for me' card was low, but he was desperate to help them. He and, well, everyone else, had been waiting years for Steve and Maddie to realize they were in love with one another. He refused to let his stupid mouth be the reason they never gave it a shot.

Maddie narrowed her eyes at him and shook her head slightly. "Fine." She took a deep breath. "I'm not saying I forgive him or anything like that. But-" She sighed. "I'll stop pushing him away… at least I'll do my best. I'll really try."

"Hey, that's all I ask," Carl smiled. _Yes! Nailed it_, he thought triumphantly. With his hands still on her shoulders, he pulled her to him and wrapped his arms around her small body. Her left temple brushed against the side of his chin and he nearly jumped from shock at what he felt. Instead of making a big deal out of it, he decided to play it cool. "Mads, I think you have a fever."

She squeezed him before drawing away. "I'm fine." She flashed him a smile. "But I need to finish rehearsing."

He shook his head at her, a small grin tugging at his lips. "Stubborn." She shrugged her shoulders, her smile growing. "He's gonna come in and then you're gonna regret not coming with me."

"Ready Mads?" Lyle called out. While she'd been talking to Carl, he'd been speaking to her dancers, giving them advice on where they were going wrong and how they could help Maddie nail the bridge to "If You Seek Amy", the part she hadn't successfully gotten yet. It was the entire reason they were running the song.

"Yeah," she replied. She turned back to Carl. "Thanks…"

"Anytime. You know that." He gave her an encouraging smile before she walked away. He returned to his spot at a back table, the one that gave him the best view of the entire room, including Maddie.

As Maddie and Lyle approached her dancers, Lyle gave her pointers and instructions for the changed choreography. "Got it?" he asked. Maddie nodded as she tried to ignore, and hide, how awful she felt.

"Great! Positions, everyone! Let's get through this so you can all relax until show time," Lyle called out as he walked to the middle front table where Kono, Lori and the speakers were. Each of Maddie's sixteen dancers immediately hurried to their starting positions around her. Maddie shut her eyes trying to breath through a small dizzy spell. With how exhausted she was and how bad her headache had gotten, she'd begun experiencing more frequent dizzy spells. _This is __not__ gonna be easy_, she thought the split second before the music started.

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><p>Steve and Pete waited outside of Doc's room for Tom, one of the newer members of Maddie's security team. Pete had texted him, changing his location assignment to Doc's room.<p>

Steve glanced at his watch. Maddie had been rehearsing for an hour and he was anxious to get back to her. He'd been gone a lot longer than he'd intended. It wasn't that he was really worried about her safety; he knew Kono and Lori were with her, as well as Carl. It was her health he was mainly worried about. He knew she was exhausted when he'd left and hoped she wasn't too much worse for wear.

"You can go ahead," Pete said, knowing Steve was anxious to get back, even if the only outward sign was that he had subtly glimpsed at his watch a couple times. "I'll meet you there."

"It's fine," Steve replied, acting like didn't have a care in the world. He gave his long time friend a small smirk filled with humor. "Plus, I'll probably need backup when I shut down rehearsal."

Pete chuckled. "Good point."

"Hi Sir!" Tom greeted as he arrived.

"Hey, Tom," Pete replied, giving the younger man a smile. "And we aren't in the military. It's Pete." He liked Tom, even if he was a Marine as opposed to a Sailor. But, better yet, he trusted him. He was several years younger than both Steve and himself. He hadn't been out of the military for more than a few months when Maddie had hired him. Just like Adam, he was incredibly grateful for the job as he'd had a difficult time finding work since leaving the service. In fact, he and Adam had been in the same unit and were great friends.

"How's Tina feeling?" Tom asked, glancing at the closed door.

"She's gonna be fine. Just needs some sleep. However, because of the text message, I want eyes on her at all times as well as Maddie," Pete explained. The entire security team had already been brought up to speed about everything with Tina, including the text Pete had received. "So, I just need 1you to keep an eye on the room. Detective Kelly is inside with her, as is Doc, but I imagine he will be in and out most of the day, treating a lot of the crew who've caught Maddie's bug."

"Sounds great!" Tom replied. "I'll keep an eye on her, sir… I mean, Pete!"

"Thank you!" Pete smiled.

"And we've had that outer door locked," Steve added, pointing in the general direction of the door in reference.

Tom nodded. "Good! Gives us more control over Maddie, and Tina's, safety."

"Exactly," Steve replied, giving the young man a small, but genuine smile. "And you'll immediately know if something's wrong if anyone you don't recognize, whether they have the correct passes or not, comes from that hallway."

"If only we could be that lucky," Pete shook his head, frustrated. He thought of the incidents that had occurred over the last several days and felt his temper, and guilt, flare. He couldn't believe the psycho had gotten through security. He still had no idea how it had happened. He was just grateful Maddie had been relatively unharmed. He didn't know how he could ever face Steve if something serious happened to Maddie while under his protection. He was already feeling guilty that the psycho got through him, and on top of that, he felt like a traitor for keeping it from Steve. _I don't know how I let Maddie talk me into that,_ he thought. _He's going to lose it when he finds out._

"That's for sure," Tom agreed, also remembering the incidents. However, Pete had briefed the team, making sure they were aware that Steve was currently in the dark about what had been going on and they were not to mention anything. Having to do this only made Pete feel slimier, like he was betraying one of his best friends.

"By the way, I don't think you officially met Lieutenant Commander Steve McGarrett," Pete introduced.

Tom immediately held out his hand. "I've heard a lot about you, sir," he smiled as he shared a strong handshake with the Navy Seal.

"Uh oh!" Steve hissed in a deep breath, jokingly. "Who's your source? If it's Maddie, I'm in trouble," he joked.

"And you're not if it was us?" Pete quipped, smirking at his buddy. They had had a lot of crazy times together

"That's true." Steve looked back to Tom, narrowing his eyes in a friendly manner. "Was it good or bad?"

"All good, sir," Tom answered, smiling slightly. He had already liked Steve just from the stories he'd heard, but from their brief encounter, he was a fan. He looked up to both Seals and couldn't help but revel in the fact that, at the moment, he felt like they were all buddies. It'd been a rough few months before he'd gotten the job on Maddie's security team. Not only had he had a difficult time finding employment, but he'd had a really hard time adjusting to civilian life. He'd done several tours overseas, had lost countless "brothers", seen things one couldn't even imagine, things he'd never forget for the rest of his life no matter how hard he tried. It had definitely been a tough adjustment. And, if he was honest with himself, he was still adjusting. However, he found that being surrounded by so many ex-military men (although none of them considered themselves "ex"-military) had made his transition into civilian life much easier. In particular, moments like these. Moments he felt that bond he'd shared with his "brothers" in his unit.

"It's Steve, Tom. Or McGarrett," Steve replied. He liked the kid. He'd still check him out, just like all the other new security members Maddie had hired herself (he couldn't, and wouldn't, risk her safety), but he liked him.

"Thanks," Tom smiled.

"Well, we're off to end Maddie's rehearsal. I'll check in in a bit," Pete told him.

Taking his position outside Doc's door, Tom nodded before the two Navy Seal's turned and headed in the direction of the main room.

* * *

><p>"Stop!" Lyle yelled. "Leo, you're too far forward… <span>AGAIN<span>! Maddie won't be able to get to you. She'll fall! You absolutely have to be exactly on your mark. You can't even be an inch off. She'll get hurt otherwise... Get with it!"

Lyle was frustrated, and it was showing. For the last several minutes they'd restarted the song 3 times without having gotten through the entire number once.

He turned to look at Maddie, not realizing Steve and Pete had just walked through the door. She was growing paler by the minute. It was obvious she wasn't feeling well. He felt bad, but he still had to do his job. And that, unfortunately, sometimes involved being hard on the dancers as well as her. "Pull it together, Madeline! You just need to nail this number, then we'll be done. I know you're tired. I know you're in pain. Suck it up! You're making stupid mistakes. You're better than this."

Steve tensed as he and Pete neared the table Kono and Lori were seated at. He clenched his jaw at Lyle's harsh remarks to Maddie while his temper flared. _Let me break his knee and then tell him to suck it up_, Steve inwardly seethed.

Pete glanced back to Carl still seated at the back table. The two men's eyes met, Pete nodded slightly, and then Carl stood and exited.

"She won't need to worry about sucking anything up since rehearsal is over," Steve stated, his biceps flexing as he crossed his arms.

Lyle nearly jumped. He hadn't realized Steve had returned. "Steve, we're almost done. We have to run this song. It's the last one."

At the sound of Steve's voice, Maddie's heart began to accelerate. She remembered Carl's words. In fact, she hadn't been able to get their conversation off her mind, which was one of the reasons she'd consistently been screwing up. She wanted to let Steve in, but what she'd told Carl had been the truth. She was scared. _More like terrified_, she mused. However, Carl had gotten through to her. For the first time, she was entertaining the notion that maybe Steve hadn't meant what he'd said Sunday.

"No. Rehearsal's over," Steve stated, his arms still crossed in an intimidating, 'my answer's final' way. He looked to Maddie, studying her. He could tell she was exhausted by the way she held her body as she walked towards him in her Pointe shoes. It looked like it was taking every ounce of effort and strength she had just to walk.

_Remember what Carl said_, she told herself as she neared Steve. _Give him a little bit of a break. Don't push him away. Ignore being scared… You can do this. _As she reached him, she prayed her inner pep talk had worked. "Steve, just ten more minutes," Maddie said, standing in front of him. A rush of desire involuntarily spread through her so powerfully that she almost outwardly groaned. _All I'm doing is standing in front of him_, she thought, confused, and terrified, by her body's strong reaction to him.

"Mads, we had a deal. Forty-five minutes. It's been an hour," Steve replied as his eyes raked over her slowly, studying her. She looked horrible. She was so pale. Really pale. He took a step towards her, not wanting prying eyes and ears to hear their conversation, or at least make it more difficult for any eavesdroppers to overhear. "You look tired, Mads," he whispered, his voice softening. He uncrossed his arms and jammed his hands in his pockets to keep from reaching out and touching her, something he desperately wanted to do.

Her heart ached at the concern and worry she heard in his voice and saw in his eyes. Although she was terrified to get hurt again, she was doing her best not to push him away. However, because she wasn't ready to acknowledge the other emotions in his eyes, she didn't even notice them. If she had, many of her doubts regarding him would have disappeared.

"In four days I haven't gotten this right. I'm gonna be stressing out about it the rest of the day if I can't go through it a bit more," Maddie tried to reason with him as she fought to ignore the pounding of her heart in her ears. "I just need ten minutes. That's all."

Steve said nothing. He couldn't believe he was even considering it. However, there was something different about her. He couldn't completely put his finger on it, but she seemed to not be as closed off from him. She had no attitude and he wasn't able to detect any hint of anger in her voice. _That's different_, he thought, happy with the slight change.

"If I give you ten more minutes, that's it. At the end, there's no fighting me," Steve said. He smirked. "Because, you'll lose." Pete and Kono chuckled quietly, picturing exactly what Steve would do if Maddie tried to fight him.

"I won't fight you," Maddie replied honestly. She was desperate to stop rehearsing, but she still had to do her job no matter how awful she felt. And right now, her job was to get this number right.

Steve was silent again as she gave him a small, but genuine smile. _Something has definitely changed_, he thought. _Or maybe she's just too tired and focused on the song and she's forgetting to be mad at me. Forgetting to emotionally distance herself. _However, at the moment, he didn't care why she wasn't pushing him away. It only mattered that she wasn't.

"Alright. Ten minutes. But that's it. No more," he announced, shocked to find himself agreeing given her current state. But he figured if she was going to make an effort to not push him away when he knew she was still incredibly hurt, then he could do this for her.

"However,-" His tone changed, hardening. "If I see things aren't going well… I'll end rehearsal before the ten minutes are up."

"Okay," she agreed. She let her smile grow before turning and walking back to her dancers.

He glanced quickly at his watch, noting the time. "Better get to it! The clock starts now!" Steve called out. _I wonder what happened while I was gone?_ he wondered, confused by the change in Maddie, but also happy.

_Come on Madeline… Pull it together_, she told herself as she walked back to her dancers. She knew she had to "suck it up", as Lyle had said, if she wanted to finish this song. Lyle was right, the mistakes she'd been making the last several minutes were stupid. But that wasn't what she, or Lyle, were worried about. It was the bridge to the song.

Changes had been made throughout the entire number, but they weren't huge. Nothing to really sweat or worry about. Except the changes in the bridge. Not once over the last four days had she gotten through the bridge without falling. She knew the majority of the problem was her injuries. They were affecting her balance, and in this new choreography, balance was key. But she also knew that with the bridge's new level of difficulty, it would've been hard for her if she wasn't injured. She knew she would have gotten it, but it would have been a challenge and taken work. Now? With her injuries? She wasn't so sure she could get it at all. However, she refused to admit that to anyone.

"Because we don't have a lot of time, we're gonna start at the top of the second verse," Lyle informed them as he walked towards the iPod at the table. "The lead up time is crucial to make sure you are in the correct positions," he continued, his eyes on the male dancers. "You know if just one of you is the littlest bit off, she can get hurt. So, pay attention!" He wet his lips and took a deep breath, exhaling it loudly while he located the correct spot in the song. Finding it, he glanced back to Maddie. "Mads, I'm gonna walk you through this first run through, just like in rehearsals. I'll help you with your balance."

Standing in the center of Stage 1, Maddie nodded as she nibbled her bottom lip. All she could think about was how awful she felt. Especially the burning hot fury that was the bottom of her foot as it rubbed raw along the inside of her new, red, satin Christian Louboutin Pointe shoes. She knew if they'd been a light color the blood she could feel coming out of the wound would most likely be showing.

Steve was forced to look away from Maddie when his cell began to ring. He peeked at the display. _Fong_, he thought. He glanced back at Maddie. As much as he wanted to stay and keep an eye on her, he had to take this call. He'd had Charlie working on tracing the text Pete had received and wanted to know what, if anything, he'd found.

Knowing loud music was about to be played, he rose and met Pete's eyes. Pete nodded, understanding the silent communication.

Steve finally answered the ringing object. "One sec, Charlie," he spoke into the phone as he began walking to his left, towards the door leading to the parking lot. He looked back at Maddie and found her watching him. With the cell still to his ear, he stopped and gave her a small smile then, almost imperceptibly, nodded his head in the direction of the parking lot.

While nibbling her bottom lip nervously, she nodded, understanding what he was wordlessly telling her.

He glimpsed at his watch before bringing his eyes back to hers. Lifting his eyebrows he mouthed "ten minutes" to her. She nodded back, having every intention of honoring their agreement.

"Alright, places… right before the start of the second verse!" Lyle called out, breaking Steve and Maddie's moment. She turned her head to Lyle before bringing her attention back to Steve. She felt a sense of disappointment as she stared at his retreating figure. _You're being ridiculous, _she told herself as she made her way to her mark. _He'll be back in a few minutes._

Seeing that Maddie and her dancers were in their positions, Lyle pressed play.

Maddie and her female dancers were immediately up on their toes. She began to lip sync, her female dancers arranged around her in a way that kept her front and center. Their movements were sharp and sassy, but also elegant and beautiful as they danced on Pointe for the male dancers around them. It was obvious to their small audience that this number was choreographed so that the men were being toyed with, so to speak, by the women. It showed in their movements as well as on the women's faces as they sent the men flirty, saucy looks.

**Amy told me that she's gonna meet me up  
>I don't know where or when and now they're closing up the club, oh<br>I've seen her once or twice but boy she knows my face  
>But it's hard to see with all the people standing in the way, oh<strong>

Pete watched closely, looking for any changes in the choreography. Although this wasn't a new song, it was one of the songs Maddie hadn't let him see rehearsed over the last few days, which worried him. He hoped she wasn't doing anything risky in it, however his gut told him she was.

The male dancers came up to Maddie and her female dancers. They made moves to reach out and touch them, but the women batted them away using choreography. Ryan approached Maddie. She placed her elbow on his shoulder while remaining on her toes. She gave him a flirty look as she sang to him while continuing to dance on Pointe.

**Oh oh, tell me have you seen her, cause I'm so oh  
>I can't get her off of my brain<strong>

Ryan reached out trying to stop Maddie and keep her close as she spun away. Kono and Lori couldn't help but think that she looked like a ballerina during the move.

Out of Ryan's reach, Maddie continued with the jerky, but beautiful, movements while her female dancers joined her.**  
><strong>

**I just want to go to the party she gonna go  
>Can somebody take me home?<br>Ha ha, he he, ha ha ho**

Now singing the chorus, Maddie and all of her dancers began dancing the same choreography, the formation changing to include everyone. Slowly they made their way down the area marked off as the catwalk and to the second stage.

**Love me hate me, say what you want about me  
>But all of the boys and all of the girls are begging to if you seek Amy<br>Love me hate me, but can't you see what I see?  
>All of the boys and all of the girls are begging to if you seek Amy<strong>

The formation changed. While continuing to dance, Maddie's ten male dancers began to space out slightly from one another as they formed a single line in the center of Stage 2. Their "line" matched up to the catwalk, making it appear as a continuation of it. While they did this, the women continued dancing on Pointe.

As Maddie lip-synced the next part, Lyle made his way from the table to the male dancer's right sides. He stood and waited next to the male dancer furthest away from the front of the stage, Justin. He was the one closest to the catwalk.

"I don't know what she's about to do, but I got a bad feeling," Pete murmured. The fact that Lyle was there to help her only made him more nervous.

"You haven't seen this number?" Kono asked, surprised, as she quickly turned her head to glimpse at Pete.

"Not the changes," he sighed. "She refused to let me see them until now." It was obvious by his tone that he wasn't happy, and he was nervous.

**Oh, so what you want about me?  
>Oh, but can't you see what I see?<br>Oh, so what you want about me?  
>La la la, la la la<strong>

Between the end of the chorus and the start of the bridge, there was a short space without vocals where the music began to slow. During this, Justin squatted and leaned forward, making sure to keep his back as straight as possible, as parallel to the floor as he could. (They referred to it as making their backs into a tabletop.) Maddie leaped, landing on Pointe on Justin's back with her arms out elegantly at the start of the first line of the bridge. Just like he'd promised, Lyle grabbed her right hand and held it firmly, using himself to help her keep her balance.

As she continued to sing the first line, Justin rose steadily while she leaned forward on Pointe, lifting her right leg straight behind her while holding tightly to Lyle's hand. Of course, while Justin rose he made sure to keep his back flat and in tabletop so she wouldn't fall.

**So tell me if you see her**

"Bad feeling verified," Pete muttered, shaking his head, his jaw clenched in anger. Seeing her male dancers positioned in a straight line, he knew exactly what the choreography would be for the rest of the bridge. He didn't need to see the entire thing. She was going to jump from back to back down the line while doing ballet.

"Yeah," Kono agreed. "But if she pulls it off it's gonna be awesome!" She shrugged her shoulders as Pete glared at her.

"More like amazing if she pulls it off," Lori corrected, watching Maddie closely.

The next line was sung by back up singers, so Maddie didn't lip sync. Instead, she came down off Pointe while lowering her lifted right leg. She then quickly rose back on Pointe on her left. Lyle let go of her hand although he remained close. Justin rose quickly as Maddie pushed off his back and spun once in the air before landing on Tyler's back. Tyler was another one of her dancers, and the next in "line". He was in the same tabletop position Justin had been in.

As soon as Maddie landed safely, Lyle immediately grabbed her right hand again as she went up on Pointe. She used her arms gracefully as a ballerina would.

**("Let me know what she was wearing and what she was like")**

Before Maddie sung the next line, she leaped forward onto Leo's back (the next dancer). Although Leo was in position this time, his back was slightly rounded when she first landed and had she not been holding Lyle's hand, she would have slipped off.

"Leo, flatten your back!" Lyle called over the music, feeling Maddie's grip on his hand tighten as she tried to use his strength to help her find her balance.

Leo immediately responded, going into the proper position.

As she lip-synced the next line in the bridge, and while still holding Lyle's hand, Maddie leaned forward slightly on Pointe as she brought her left leg back and up. Gracefully, she reached her left hand above her head and behind her and grabbed her left foot. She looked gorgeous with her back arched as she held her foot.

_In. Out. In. Out_, she thought, reminding herself she needed to breath as the pain in her injured right leg, currently bearing her entire weight and balancing her, skyrocketed.

**'Cause I've been waiting here forever**

Maddie felt relief as she released the position while Leo lowered his body by bending his knees. Lengthening her limbs she stepped forward onto Jackson's waiting "flat" back, her next male dancer in "line". She looked almost like she was gliding.

Lyle waited until he saw Maddie go back up on Pointe before letting go of her hand, knowing that was the sign she felt balanced.

Because the next line would be sung by her backup singers, she didn't lip-sync while she used her arms and upper body to make beautiful movements as Jackson, still bent over with his back flat in tabletop while she stood on it, slowly straightened his legs, causing her to rise in the air.

**("Let me know if she was going out tonight")**

Pete had never been so nervous and anxious when watching her rehearse. He had absolutely no idea how she was going to pull this off in the show. For the life of him, he couldn't figure out why it had been made so difficult when she was injured. However, his gut told him Lary Kern was behind it.

Maddie grasped Lyle's hand as she began lip-syncing the next line. She lengthened her right leg and stepped forward onto Jensen's waiting back, the next male dancer, and then quickly released Lyle's hand. Up on her toes and with her arms close to her sides, she moved and rotated her shoulders in time to the music.

As she sung the last word of the line, "tonight", she lowered her heels to Jensen's back and then quickly jumped straight into the air before landing back on Pointe.

**Oh baby baby if you seek Amy tonight**

Lyle grabbed her hand again as the next line began. Like before, she lengthened her leg and stepped forward onto her next male dancer's back, Elijah, most often referred to as Eli. She let go of Lyle's hand as she rose up on Pointe and moved her upper body and arms in time to the music, similar to the line before.

Repeating what she did on the previous line, she sang the last word of the line, "like", then lowered her heels to Elijah's back and jumped straight in the air before landing down on Pointe.

**Oh baby baby we'll do whatever you like**

As she sung the next lines, she continued down the "line" of male dancers, elegantly stepping on Nolan's flat back. Once again she held Lyle's hand until she felt balanced and then released it. She moved and danced, both on her toes and not. The choreography was a similar style to what she'd been doing during the rest of the bridge.

**Oh baby baby baby  
>Oh baby baby baby<strong>

There was a break in the vocals as the music began to slowly speed up now that the bridge was ending. Maddie swallowed hard as she mentally prepared herself for the end of the bridge. Without looking, she reached out her right hand and found Lyle's. She gripped it as she rose onto Pointe and pushed her shoulders back. She took a deep breath as she began to elegantly and gracefully walk forward onto Mason's back. However, it wasn't just a walk. It was somewhere between a walk and a quick march, however she didn't bring her knees up like one does when marching.

Unlike the other times she walked forward onto another male dancer's back, she didn't stop and do any kind of movement or pose. Instead, she continued forward onto Nathan's back, "walking" the same way. Her shoulders and upper body added a sassy, but slightly jerky manner (similar to the beat) to the walk.

Again, she didn't stop, but continued forward, stepping onto Justin's back. He had been the first dancer and, like the others, had come forward from the back to extend the line. There were only ten male dancers and because of the length of this sequence, she needed more than that. So, they "reused" them.

What made this particular part of the bridge even more difficult was that because they were going to run out of stage, the men, bent over with their backs parallel to the floor, were slowly walking backwards while Maddie walked forward across their backs. The dancers at the back of the line rushed forward and into position just in time for Maddie to step forward onto their backs.

Maddie continued her sassy "walk" forward, still holding Lyle's hand, as the lyrics came back in.

**La la la, la la la la la  
>La la la, la la la la la<strong>

While Kono, Lori, and Pete watched Maddie's male dancers come forward to add to the "line", it suddenly dawned on them that Ryan hadn't been part of it yet.

_That's odd_, Kono thought, knowing Ryan was her main male dancer. For a sequence so difficult, she was surprised he hadn't been a part of it, especially because of the exceptional trust level between him and Maddie.

No sooner did she think this than Ryan stepped into the last position in the "line". He bent forward, his back perfectly parallel to the floor. The split second Maddie made contact with his back he lowered quickly, squatting, while his back remained flat. Maddie gripped Lyle's hand at the movement since she wasn't quite balanced.

Lyle let go of her hand as she lowered her heels to Ryan's back for a nanosecond before pushing up quickly into Pointe. At the same time she did this Ryan pushed up, straightening his legs, supplying her with more momentum as her feet left his back. She spread into the splits as she leaped through the air. And not a small leap, but a massive one.

When Maddie landed near the neon pink tape marking the front of Stage 2, the chorus began. What made her landing even more difficult was that she landed in the center of her female dancers, who were already in their spots for the chorus. Barely getting a second to recover from the bridge and leap, the chorus began and Maddie started to lip-sync as she and her dancers immediately began the chorus choreography.

**Love me hate me, say what you want about me  
>But all of the boys and all of the girls are begging to if you seek Amy<br>Love me hate me, but can't you…**

The music abruptly stopped. Standing near the speakers set up on the table, Lyle yelled, "Great job everyone! You were all right on your marks!" He looked at Maddie. Her back was slightly hunched, her face still pale. In fact, she looked a bit worse than she had when they'd started this run-through. Knowing they still needed to run it a couple more times, he pretended he didn't notice. "Good job, Mads!"

She sniffled and coughed. "You were helping me." By her tone it was obvious she was annoyed with herself. She absolutely hated that she'd still needed Lyle's help after running it for a few days. They'd rehearsed it a lot during that time and she still hadn't gotten the bridge on her own. Not even once. And, she wasn't sure she'd be able to before, or, more importantly, during the show.

"So! You still had to do most of the work. I was just there as insurance," he replied, hoping to ease her frustration. He knew what a perfectionist she was and having her injury, along with everything else, slow her down was really getting to her.

"That was insane!" Lori exclaimed, genuinely impressed.

"Seriously, sistah! I don't know how it's even possible to do what you just did!" Kono chimed in. "And you guys," she continued, looking at Maddie's male dancers. "Doesn't that hurt? Having her dancing like that on your backs?"

"It doesn't feel fantastic," Jensen chuckled, the other guys joining in.

"I'd prefer a massage," Tyler added, smiling.

"Sorry, guys," Maddie apologized, genuinely feeling guilty for hurting them.

"Don't even worry about it, Shorty," Justin told her, putting his arm around her shoulders. "You're not on each of our backs long enough for it to really matter." She looked at him, uncertainty and guilt in her eyes. "Seriously," he said, "don't even think twice about it. We're fine! I promise!" He eyed her until she finally nodded and flashed him a small smile. He leaned forward, planting a brotherly kiss on her forehead.

"Alright, let's do it again!" Lyle boomed, enthusiastically.

As Maddie and her dancers got into their positions, he glanced at his watch, then up at Maddie walking. He knew the injection Doc had given her wasn't going to last much longer. Maybe ten minutes, at the absolute longest. _Seems okay_, he mused as he studied her movements carefully. It was apparent she was in pain, but she could still walk, signaling the injection was still working.

"Same spot!" Lyle called out as he found the correct location in the song. "And, I'm staying back here this time, so, guys, be sure you are exactly on your marks. You won't have me there to help you." He paused. "And Maddie, I'm not there. Whatever happens, happens." He watched her jaw clench in a mixture of both determination and frustration before she quickly nodded. "Alright. Here we go! And… 5… 6… 5. 6. 7. 8." He hit play.

They all watched as Maddie and her dancers repeated exactly what they'd just done.

Lyle, Pete, Kono, and Lori watched as Maddie successfully got on to Justin's back, without help, as the bridge began.

**So tell me if you see her**

Lyle watched carefully. Not only Maddie, but also her male dancers, making sure they were all hitting their correct marks. He didn't focus on the subtle parts of her female dancers since he knew they were solid on their choreography. This bridge was about Maddie and the men.

**("Let me know what she was wearing and what she was like")**

Kono tensed, knowing something was wrong when she heard Lyle's sharp intake of breath. However, she didn't have time to figure it out before she saw Maddie slip off Leo and fall to the floor. She hissed, feeling her friend's pain.

"Leo!" Lyle yelled. "You have to be in the right spot! You were just an inch off, but, as you just witnessed, it's enough to cause a major problem!"

Although he'd been speaking to Leo, his eyes had been on Maddie, watching to be sure she was okay. She appeared to be as she quickly stood. "Mads, you alright?"

She nodded, coughing. "Ye-ah!" she called back in a whispery, hoarse voice.

Pete's jaw clenched as he studied her carefully. She appeared to be telling the truth. It seemed like the fall hadn't hurt her. _This time_, he thought, hoping there wouldn't be a next time.

"Sorry, Mads," Leo told her, pulling her in for a quick hug.

"It's okay, Leo. I'm fine." She smiled at him. "No harm done!" She could see he still felt horrible for the mistake that caused her fall, so as her smile grew, she gently tugged on a strand of his wavy dark hair that had fallen into his eyes. When he smiled back, she wrinkled her nose. "Ready to do this again?" she asked.

"Definitely!" Leo grinned back, grateful he worked for such a down to earth boss.

Maddie looked back to Lyle and nodded as they once again got into their positions. He waited to start the music until they were all ready.

This time, Leo was in his correct spot and Maddie made it past him, but lost her balance on Jackson's back and fell. However, Leo had seen it happen and was able to catch her and keep her body from completely hitting the floor.

Although frustrated with herself, Maddie smiled at him. "We're even," she joked.

"Again!" Lyle called out before starting the music.

Like the other times, Maddie successfully made it onto Justin's back at the start of the bridge.

**So tell me if you see her**

She jumped, with Justin providing momentum, and spun forward through the air towards Tyler's back. Although Tyler was in the correct position, his back flat in tabletop, something went wrong with her landing and she fell. Lyle winced, along with everyone else, as her back and right side of her body slammed into the ground.

"Ow," Maddie mumbled to herself as she laid on the floor. "I'm okay!" she called out before anyone started to worry. _I'm glad Steve isn't here for this_, she thought, knowing he would have stopped rehearsal after the first fall. _Who am I kidding? He would have stopped it the second I stood on Justin's back._

Tyler reached his hands down to her and pulled her up. Standing, she straightened her shirt and went to her starting position. "Again!" she ordered in as loud a voice as she could muster, which was nothing more than a raspy whisper-like yell. She sounded like someone who'd been smoking since they were a kid.

Lyle nodded and pressed play.

"I know I've never had a knee injury, but I'd imagine dancing on her toes is brutal on her knee… but then jumping and landing on their backs while on her toes? She's gotta be in excruciating pain," Lori commented. Even though she was a fan of Maddie the singer, she had her issues with Maddie the woman solely because she and Steve were so close. But seeing her rehearse the bridge and fall repeatedly while seriously injured, she couldn't' help but have a lot of respect for her. In fact, she was impressed and enthralled with her work ethic and dedication that she wasn't even thinking about Steve.

"I know how badly my knee felt when I wasn't putting any weight on it, so I can only imagine," Kono added. "I know she's in agony. She has to be! I don't know how she's not letting the pain show? She's badass!"

Although she was impressed by her friend, she was also incredibly worried. She didn't want her to injure herself further, and she worried if she continued rehearsing like this, she very well might.

Pete turned his head to the left and met Kono's concerned eyes. "Not a good time for Steve to get a call," he said, incredibly concerned at what they were seeing.

"Nope," she agreed. "Not at all."

Both knew that Maddie would just continue to get up and run it again and again, no matter how many times she fell. They knew she wouldn't stop until she nailed the sequence, and not just once, but several times.

Shaking their heads in concern, they turned their attention back to the rehearsal.

As Maddie and her dancers began running the bridge again, Doc walked in and stood near Lyle at the table. He was surprised to see Maddie still rehearsing. He had been sure Steve would've already ended it.

He glanced down at his watch. "That injection is going to wear off in less than ten minutes," he reminded Lyle. "Probably sooner."

"I know," Lyle responded, his eyes never leaving Maddie as she landed successfully onto Tyler. "Good job, Mads," he muttered under his breath as she continued through the choreography without falling. Sure, she'd wobbled a couple times, almost imperceptibly, as she'd fought for balance, but she hadn't fallen, and that's all that mattered.

"She's gonna do it!" Lyle exclaimed, a proud smile on his face as she stepped onto Ryan's back. He held his breath as she soared through the air in the splits. "Oh crap," he muttered when he saw she'd begun closing the distance between her legs just a hair too late. He knew there was a chance she was going to fall on the landing because of it. Not only that, but she hadn't jumped off Ryan in a straight line causing her to veer slightly to the left while in the air. He winced as she careened into her female dancers, knocking half of them down.

"Strike!" Maddie joked as she laid on the floor with her dancers. She fought to block out the pain the fall had caused. "Sorry, guys!" she apologized to her friends lying on the floor with her. They all individually let her know everything was fine and they were okay.

"What the hell?" Doc cried, rushing towards her. "You can't be falling with your knee the way it is!"

"I'm fine, Doc," Maddie assured as he helped her to her feet. Pete's eyes widened and his body tensed as he watched her wobble slightly. He glanced at the door leading outside praying Steve would walk back in. He knew rehearsal needed to be stopped, but knew Maddie, and Lyle, would ignore his attempts. Steve on the other hand? He knew he could successfully put an end to the madness.

Each step back to her starting position took Maddie's complete focus as she tried to ignore the dizziness she was experiencing. That, and the horrible pain throughout her body. That last fall had hurt. A lot. However, she told herself it didn't matter as long as her dancers were okay.

Reaching her starting position, she closed her eyes as the dizzy sensation began to ebb. Relieved, she took a deep breath. _Damn it!_ Maddie inwardly cursed. _I almost had it that time! _

"You were close, Mads! So close! The closest you've been!" Lyle called from his spot back at the table."You were just a bit late coming out of the splits. A nanosecond earlier and you would've landed it, no problem." He smirked. "But, uh, make sure you leap straight. You're not a bowling ball, and they're not your pins." The dancers chuckled at his joke.

He could see Maddie was tired. The energy she'd had left was dwindling, and rapidly. He glanced at his watch and saw they had five more minutes before Steve stopped rehearsal. However, he was concerned she wasn't going to make it that long.

While they ran through it again, Doc turned his anger towards Lyle. "What the hell is this, Lyle?" he fumed. "She can't be falling like this!"

"I know it's not ideal, but-" Lyle began, but was interrupted.

"Ideal? ...Ideal?" Doc cried. "Are you kidding me right now?" Doc took a deep breath hoping it would help him calm down. "If she falls just the littlest bit wrong on her knee, that's it! There's no show! Not only that, but she could cause permanent damage, never dancing again… not at this level!"

"I understand," Lyle told him, his face somber. Before he could continue, he saw Maddie fall out of the corner of his eye. She immediately stood and went back to her starting position. Doc watched her, shaking his head, his anger escalating.

Lyle started the music over before returning his attention to Doc. "The situation sucks, but she hasn't gotten this number. The new choreography for this is difficult. Even more so because her injuries are affecting her balance, and this is all about balance and timing."

"So, change it back!" Doc exclaimed. "It's not worth the risk of permanently damaging that knee!"

"I tried already. Days ago. Kern said no. That the changes have to stay if she wants her extended impromptu vacation," he explained, fighting to keep his own anger and frustration from showing. "I'm not happy about this either, but I'm doing all I can to help her… We all know she needs those few months off. She's tired. Plus, you know as well as I do that she's gonna have to have surgery on that knee this time. There's no avoiding it. Not like last time."

Doc shook his head, furious and frustrated at the entire situation. "This is absolutely ridiculous. Kern is being completely unreasonable. I don't know what the hell his problem is!" He winced as he saw Maddie fall again. Lyle said nothing, only started the music once they were all back in position.

"I know," Lyle agreed. He didn't know what else he could say. There wasn't anything they could do.

"And yes, she's gonna have to have surgery, but please don't say anything. I haven't told her yet. I thought I'd wait until this show is behind her," Doc admitted what he'd been keeping to himself.

Over the next minute, Maddie and her dancers ran through the bridge another three times. However, Maddie fell each time, never making it even halfway through. She seemed to be getting up slower and slower each time. And she was falling on simple things in the choreography as opposed to the harder things that had been giving her trouble. Things she'd already successfully gotten through several times.

Pete shook his head as she went to get on Justin's back and fell, a move she'd never missed. Seeing Maddie's drooping eyes as she slowly pushed herself up, he looked back at the door. He, as well as Kono, had been repeatedly glancing at it, hoping to see Steve walk in. However, seeing the state Maddie was in, he knew he couldn't wait anymore.

He quickly pulled his phone from his pocket and texted his fellow Navy Seal. **Get in here NOW! You gotta stop this rhsl! **Little did he know, Kono was sending her boss a similar message.

Lyle and Doc watched Maddie nervously. Lyle knew it was time to stop, that she couldn't handle anymore. He was just about to tell her rehearsal was over when she called out, "Again!" When the music didn't start, she glanced at her choreographer and creative director. Seeing the hesitance in his face, she yelled, as loud as she could, "AGAIN!"

Reluctantly, Lyle started the music and Maddie and her dancers rehearsed the sequence for the umpteenth time.

They were all surprised when she made it further down the "line" of dancers than she had during the last five run-throughs.

**Oh baby baby we'll do whatever you like**

As Maddie successfully made it to Elijah's back, lip-syncing, Steve walked through the door, having received the two texts.

Stopping just inside the doorway, his eyes went to Maddie. His jaw clenched as he saw her on Pointe on a dancer's back. _What the hell is this?_ he fumed. _She's just asking to get hurt. _

No sooner had he thought this than she jumped straight in the air hoping to land back on Elijah's flattened back while on Pointe. However, she slipped and fell, her body colliding with the floor.

Steve's eyes widened as both anger and concern coursed through his body. "You've gotta be kidding me!" he muttered, fuming, but also worried. He watched Maddie closely, trying to discern if she was hurt, as he walked further into the room, heading towards Lyle at the middle table.

He hadn't realized he'd been holding his breath until he felt his body release the held air at the relief of seeing Maddie stand up, seemingly unharmed. "AGAIN!" she ground out through clenched teeth as she dragged herself to her feet. She mentally shook her head hoping to shake away the dizziness and exhaustion. To no surprise, it didn't work. However, she just kept moving, focusing everything she had on walking to her starting position without stumbling or wobbling, something extremely difficult. She felt like she was battling physics and gravity, hoping to come out on top.

"Mads," Lyle began hesitantly.

"Again!" Maddie interrupted, already in her position ready to begin.

Not seeing Steve approaching from behind, Lyle shook his head and glanced at his watch. _Three minutes left,_ he thought. _Steve should be back any second. He'll get her to stop. _Until then, Lyle would do what she said. Had the circumstances been different, had Steve not been there to stop her in the next few minutes, Lyle and Pete would have put their feet down and stopped the rehearsal, dealing with a frustrated Maddie. But he knew Steve would be back and could get her to stop with a lot less of a battle.

Lyle sighed as he pressed play.

As Maddie made it safely onto Justin's back at the start of the bridge, Steve appeared next to Lyle. "What the hell is going on?" he barked.

Lyle jumped, having not realized he was back, let alone right next to him. He'd been too focused on Maddie. "Stop her," he said simply. "She's frustrated and just going to continue to do this over and over. She's too tired. She's going to keep falling."

No sooner had he said that than Maddie jumped off Justin's back and spun in the air. However, she didn't quite make it to Tyler and went barreling to the floor, landing on her side and slightly hitting her head.

"Son of a bitch," Steve cursed. His brows furrowed, worried she'd hurt herself when she didn't immediately get up.

Maddie knew she needed to get up, but she wasn't sure she could. Her entire body was killing her, as well as her knee and foot. Not to mention her head was suddenly much worse, feeling like it was going to explode. _Did I hit it?_ she asked herself as she laid on the floor. She focused on her breathing, hoping it would distract her from all the pain. _I'm so tired, _she thought as her eyes fluttered closed. _No, you can't. _She forced them open. _You gotta get up. Do it again. _

Although everyone wanted to hurry to her, they decided it would be better to give her a second and see what she did. They knew if they rushed to her it would only frustrate her further, as well as embarrass her.

Finally Maddie forced herself to her knees, however immediately regretted it as the room began to spin. _Uh oh_, she thought, closing her eyes, remaining on her knees. She was absolutely positive she'd faint if she stood right then.

Steve exhaled a sigh of relief when she got to her knees. Not going to her had nearly driven him insane. His brow furrowed as she closed her eyes and hung her head before shaking it. He assumed she was trying to control her anger over falling before she forced herself to run it again.

When the dizziness didn't fade, even a small amount, Maddie decided she'd just have to push through it.

"You okay, Mads?" Ryan finally asked from his position a couple feet away. He and the other dancers had been watching her, waiting to see what she did. However, his concern for her finally got the best of him.

Maddie swallowed, wincing at her sore throat. She opened her eyes only to close them again. "Yeah," she sighed as she began to push herself up. "Again!"

"That's good. We're done," Lyle said as he walked towards the group of standing dancers.

"But-" Maddie began to argue. However when she lifted her head to look at him, she saw Steve standing in front of the table, his arms crossed, his body tense, and his jaw set, with an absolute furious look on his face. Their eyes met and he shook his head at her. She knew there was no arguing with the fury in his eyes, not that she'd been planning on it.

She felt relieved knowing rehearsal was over. Sure, she was still frustrated with herself for not being able to get the bridge, but she was so tired. She wasn't even sure how much longer she'd be able to stand.

Maddie looked to Lyle as he reached them. "Okay."

_No fight?_ Steve thought, surprised. He knew she'd promised not to fight him when he called rehearsal, but he knew better. She would've still argued, at least a little. "Something's off," he murmured as his eyes narrowed, studying her closely.

Maddie and her sixteen dancers stood in a group as they listened to Lyle. What he was saying, he wasn't sure, and he didn't care. He cared about Maddie. The second he saw her slightly sway he started towards her.

"Leo….. position….. the barge…. bouncier…" Maddie squinted at Lyle. _What's he saying?_ she wondered, confused. _He's not making any sense! _She could see his lips moving, but for some reason she was only hearing every few words. She squeezed her eyes shut and rubbed at them before opening them again. She was still dizzy and it was taking so much to fight it. _What the hell is going on? What's wrong with me? _

"Mads," she heard someone say her name behind her. She wobbled a bit as she turned her head. _Steve_, she thought, relieved. He was staring at her, concern in his eyes. _Why's he in slow motion_, she wondered, staring at him with a funny look on her face. _Everything's spinning behind him, but he's the opposite._ She squinted, trying to figure out what was going on.

Steve's concern for her was growing by the second. _Why's she looking at me like she has no idea who I am? _he wondered, worried. "You okay?" he whispered while Lyle continued talking.

Maddie said nothing, only continued to stare at Steve. Feeling the sensations worsening, she fought to stay upright. Plus, it didn't help she was in her Pointe shoes. She placed her right hand against his rock hard chest to keep herself steady as she continued to stare at him in an odd and confused manner.

"And Maddie," she heard Lyle say. She turned back around, bringing her attention, or at least trying to, back to her creative director. _I'm so tired,_ she thought. The way the room was spinning was making her feel so sleepy. She yawned and, without warning him, leaned her back against the front of Steve.

Feeling her lean all her weight against him, Steve immediately placed his arms slightly around her, resting his hands on her forearms at her sides. He fought the intense urge to slide his hands past her wrists and lace his fingers with hers.

Feeling safe, as well as loving the contact with him, she relaxed and leaned her head all the way back, so the top of it was right under his chin.

Steve immediately felt his body react to their close proximity. His heart pounded as his stomach clenched in need. As he inhaled, he smelled her shampoo and fought the smile that wanted to appear. As soon as he felt his pants start to tighten, he came back to reality, forcing himself not to focus on their close proximity. _Think about her health… the way she just looked at you like she'd scrambled her brain and had no idea who you were_, he told himself, thankful that it worked.

It was taking everything Maddie had to try and keep her eyes open and listen to Lyle as she continued to lean against Steve. However, after a minute she just couldn't do it anymore. She was too exhausted, she felt too awful. And no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't keep her eyes from closing.

"Woah," Steve suddenly said as Maddie's knees began to buckle and her body completely relaxed against his. He immediately lifted her into his arms, his right under her knees and his bandaged left around her back. "I got ya," he whispered as her head fell to his left shoulder.

"I'm surprised she made it over an hour before that happened," Doc said, suddenly appearing next to him.

"Me too," Lyle agreed, shaking his head in both disbelief and admiration as he interrupted his own speech.

"Stubborn," was all Steve said as he looked at Maddie's colorless sleeping face out of the bottom left corner of his eyes. In her sleep she nestled her head closer to his. "Shit, she's burning up," he stated, feeling her fevered skin against his.

"Advil's worn off by now," Doc said, glimpsing at his watch.

Maddie moved in Steve's arms, groaning in pain and discomfort. "I'm taking her back to her dressing room."

"I'll meet you there in a few minutes," Doc said as Steve turned and walked towards the entrance to the hallway with Pete at his side.

* * *

><p>"I'm gonna go check on some things," Pete said while Steve gently laid Maddie on the pull out bed in the room attached to her dressing room. "You got her?"<p>

"Yeah," he replied. He turned to his longtime friend. "I'm gonna stay. I have some work in my truck. I'll work on it at the table in the other room while she sleeps."

"Sounds good," Pete said. "Give me your keys, I'll get what you need."

Steve pulled a ring filled with various keys from his pocket and tossed them to Pete. "It's a box in the backseat.".

"I'll be back in a minute," he answered, jangling the keys in his hand. "If you're still in here, I'll leave it on the kitchen table."

"Thanks."

"No prob, McG," Pete said as he turned and exited the small makeshift bedroom, closing the door behind him.

Now alone with Maddie, Steve looked down at her. With her asleep, he took the opportunity to study her openly. Her hair was in a messy bun with several strands having escaped and fallen around her face. He clenched his hands into fists as he fought the intense urge to brush them away and tuck them behind her ears.

She was pale, practically colorless. _She looks sickly_, he noted. Even though her eyes were closed he could clearly see the dark shadows beneath them, evidence of just how little sleep she'd been getting. How she'd even been able to function and perform her high-energy show night after night for months with no sleep boggled his mind. However, with the worry came a rush of respect and pride for her work ethic and commitment to her career.

His eyes scanned down her body, subconsciously making sure she was unharmed from the falls she'd taken. He imagined she'd have quite a few nasty, purple bruises by tomorrow morning, if not sooner.

_She is tiny_, he observed nervously. The rumors and articles he'd skimmed through had constantly remained on his mind. He was uneasy and, to be honest, scared of the prospect that they could be true. _Eating disorder? Wouldn't I know? Wouldn't I have picked up on it?_ He recalled 5 years earlier when he'd gotten upset at how thin she'd become. He'd made a big deal and forced her to stay with him on base on the mainland (where he'd been stationed at the time). He'd put her on a daily regime of healthy calorie heavy meals for two weeks and had been relieved when she'd gained a bit of weight. _Is that what that was? Is that why she was so thin? Has this been going on for five years? Or even longer? _He reminded himself that he'd watched her like a hawk just in case she had developed a "bad habit", but he'd never seen any evidence of one_. And, I haven't noticed anything since. I mean she's thin now, but not like back then. _

As he thought back to what she'd looked like over the last five years he realized he hadn't seen her very much. Not enough to have noticed if she had a problem. The muscles in his jaw visibly tightened as his stomach sunk. Had he been so consumed with hunting down the Hess Brothers all those years that he'd missed the signs? Had she not just needed him over the last four months, but for years and just never said anything? The thought made him feel physically ill. He swore that as soon as the show was over and he had her to himself that he'd make up for the time he hadn't been there. He'd make sure she was okay, that if the rumors were true, he'd help her through it. _How do I figure it out? What are the signs besides the obvious ones? I thought I knew, but I obviously don't or else I wouldn't have missed it._

_Hold on,_ Steve told himself. _Just take a deep breath. You're getting __way__ ahead of yourself. You don't even know that she actually has an eating disorder. It came from the press. It's not like it came from Pete, or Tina, or Ryan. Wouldn't they be the ones to notice something like that? I mean, they're with her nearly 24/7. _He took a deep breath as he thought back through the last several hours. No one seemed worried with her lack of appetite. Not like they would if they'd known of an eating disorder. _Plus, if any of them knew, they would've told me_, he decided.

Although that thought made him feel slightly better, he couldn't help when his eyes roamed down her legs. He noticed that, while they were solid muscle, they were tiny. He also noticed that her knee was really swollen. Much more so than it had been at the start of her rehearsal.

_I could get my fingers around her wrists_, he mused, his eyes settling on her delicate and tiny hands. Even her fingers were petite and thin he observed.

Steve's eyes made their way back to her face. He fought to hide his surprise at seeing her watching him through incredibly tired eyes. _I wonder how long she's been watching me?_ he wondered, slightly embarrassed she'd caught him openly studying her, however, he didn't let it show.

He sat on the side of the bed. Leaving his left foot on the floor he turned his body so he could face her more, bending his right leg and bringing it up on the mattress. "Hey," he greeted, his tone gentler than usual as he gave her a small smile. "I thought you were asleep."

Maddie yawned, still watching him through heavy eyes. She'd caught bits of his study of her and had wondered what was going through his head. Unlike how he normally was, he'd had no "mask" on. His worry and concern had been written all over his face. But what exactly had him feeling that way when he looked at her body, she wasn't sure. The millions of "what if's" running through her head only had her feeling self-conscious, something she knew could be dangerous for her with everything in her life currently so out of control. She mentally shook the unhealthy thoughts away. "I was," she replied, yawning again as her eyes closed. "Light sleep."

"Well, go back to sleep," Steve instructed softly, finally losing the internal fight as he tucked a loose strand of her silky reddish-brown hair behind her ear. Her eyes opened at the gesture, however she said nothing, only stared at him before her eyes closed again. She forced them open, however barely. It was obvious she was falling asleep, and he knew that no matter how hard she fought, she was eventually going to lose.

_She's exhausted_, he thought, staring down at her. _How the hell is she going to pull this show off?_

"There's too much to do," she mumbled suddenly, moving as if she was going to get up.

Steve placed his left hand on her slightly raised right shoulder and applied gentle pressure. She immediately laid back down and gave up the fight to keep her eyes open. The fact that she didn't resist him even slightly both concerned and relieved him. He knew she was in bad shape if she didn't even fight him a little. "Nope. There's only one thing on your 'To-Do List' right now and that's to sleep, baby," he told her, smoothing some more escaped hair away from her face. She sighed, a small smile appearing on her face at the pet name she loved so much.

Seeing that she seemed to be surrendering to sleep, he scooted down towards the foot of the bed and reached for her left ballet slipper. Carefully he unsnapped the red satin ribbons around her ankle, eyeing her occasionally to make sure he wasn't disturbing her. Once off, he placed the Pointe shoe away from her, but still on the bed.

Just as his fingers made contact with the red satin ribbon at her right ankle, he noticed her bandage was gone. "Tell me you didn't, Mads," he said aloud, more to himself than to her, as he unsnapped the Pointe shoe.

"Hm?" she murmured, half asleep.

Positive her foot was bleeding, he stood and walked to the adjoining bathroom and grabbed a hand towel.

Steve shook his head as he sat back on the bed, silently praying she hadn't worsened the infected wounds. "Damn," he cursed, cringing as he eased the slipper from her foot. She whimpered in pain in her half-asleep state. "Sorry, baby," he murmured, tossing the Pointe shoe next to its mate, never taking his eyes from her bleeding foot. He spread the small towel on the bed, knowing she wouldn't want to get blood all over it, before slowly, and gently, lowering her injured foot to it.

Although Doc had told him he'd be in in a few minutes, he texted him, letting him know what she'd done.

* * *

><p>Ten minutes later Doc sat at the foot of the bed to the right of Maddie's feet while Steve sat to the left watching exactly what he did when cleaning her foot. Just in case he had to do it when it was just he and Maddie.<p>

"Okay, you're good to go," Doc sighed as he grabbed the dirty towel before setting her now clean, bandaged foot on the soft mattress. It was obvious the doctor was still angry at her stupid stunt. When he'd first arrived, he'd let her know just what a brainless thing she'd done.

"Thaaaa-nks," she said while yawning. She was now propped up with pillows as she leaned against the wall. Her eyes were hooded as she held a bowl of oatmeal on her lap.

"I never took you for a moron, Maddie, but you proved me wrong with this stunt," Doc told her, half joking, half serious. "I told you how important it was to keep your foot wrapped up." He knew he'd already given her an earful, but he couldn't help himself. He wanted her to understand how dangerous this could get if she didn't start being careful. "It needs to stay clean and dry."

"I couldn't get my Pointe shoe on," Maddie defended.

"You should have said something. I would have bandaged it differently," Doc replied, carefully sliding her big knee brace under her right leg while Steve held it up, not wanting her to do any of the work.

"My foot won't be bandaged in the show," she countered.

"No, not like this. But it will be covered," he said while he took her leg from Steve and then gently lowered it into the massive brace. Satisfied by the positioning, he fastened all the straps and then flipped the switch on the tank next to her bed. Ice water immediately filled the tubing, sending it into the brace.

"I don't want a big ugly bandage showing in my show. Because, it will with most of the shoes for each costume, especially the numbers I'm barefoot. Plus, I won't be able to get my foot in a lot of them with a bulky bandage, just like with the Pointe shoe."

"I know exactly how it will be bandaged. No one will see it, and you'll be able to get all your shoes on. But, you will have one," he informed, not giving her any further information. His tone told her there would be no arguing.

While she scowled at him, he reached his hand to the small end table acting as a nightstand and grabbed the small tray filled with pills and medicine. While Steve had brought her back to the dressing room, Doc had gone back to his office and dished out all the meds she needed to take. He handed her the Advil first. "Take these. Let's get this fever back down."

Steve, who had walked out a minute before, returned carrying a glass of milk. "Here, Mads," he said, handing her the glass. At her look of displeasure, he added, "You didn't eat all the oatmeal, so you get milk instead of water. Gotta have something in your stomach with these meds."

Sighing, she took the glass, threw the pills in her mouth, and swallowed them with the aid of the milk.

Doc's phone buzzed and he quickly looked at it before returning it to his pocket. He looked to Steve. "You got this?"

"Yeah," he nodded.

"Alright, just have her take all the meds on the tray. It's not time to repeat everything she took earlier, but these should definitely help her feel better."

"Sounds good."

"Text if you need anything," Doc said, looking at both Steve and Maddie before heading to the door.

"Okay," Steve replied, sitting on the side of the bed.

"Mmm hmm," Maddie answered belatedly, a split second after Doc had exited, shutting the door behind him.

At the sleepy sound of her voice, Steve turned his attention back to her. Seeing her eyes closed and her head beginning to droop, as well as the hand holding the full glass of milk, he quickly grabbed it before it could spill. "Mads," he said. "Stay awake for a few more minutes. Gotta take the rest of these."

She forced her eyes open, although only slightly, and groaned in displeasure.

"I know," he smiled. He handed her the next pill and then the milk, watching to make sure she didn't start to doze as she swallowed the medication. He repeated these steps until she'd taken everything and finished all the milk, of course only because he'd forced her to.

"Be right back," Steve told her as she laid back down.

While Maddie got comfortable, as comfortable as she could while wearing the big knee brace, she thought back to her conversation with Carl and everything he'd told her. She then recalled what Steve had said to her during rehearsal, asking her to please stop pushing him away, to give him the chance to prove to her he hadn't meant what he'd said.

More than anything she wanted to just be able to forget everything and let him in, to stop pushing him away, but she was too scared of getting hurt again. _Not just hurt,_ she thought,_ but getting my heart stomped on._ With everything going on, she knew she wouldn't be able to handle being toyed with again. Not by him. Not Steve. He was too important to her, not because she was head over heels in love with him, but because he'd been her best friend since they were practically babies.

She watched him intently as he came back in the room carrying a blanket, thoughts and fears still swirling around her head.

Walking back in the room, Steve wondered desperately what was running through her mind as a myriad of emotions flashed through her hooded blue eyes. They were changing so quickly it was hard to keep track or even decipher each emotion. Reaching her, he stood next to the bed as they stared into each other's eyes, almost as if they were in a trance.

After what felt like minutes, but was only seconds, Maddie shivered from the ice water in her brace, effectively pulling him back to reality. Clearing his throat he laid the blanket over her. "Better?" he asked, slightly smiling down on her.

"Mmm hmm," she murmured. She felt awkward and unsure, almost like a teenager talking to her crush. _It's just Steve, you dork_, she tried to tell herself, hoping to relax. However, it didn't help. Carl and Steve's words were still running through her head.

Steve wasn't sure what was going on with her or why she seemed a bit distracted, he just knew she needed to get some sleep. "Try and get some rest, Mads," he told her.

"Okay." She sniffled then cleared her throat instead of coughing.

He recalled that each time she'd slept alone at her house she'd awoken from horrible nightmares. He also remembered that every time he'd held her while she slept the nightmares hadn't come. "You gonna be okay in here by yourself?" he asked, unsure of how to bring it up. Through sleepy eyes she looked at him with confusion. "Nightmares," he clarified. "Want me to stay?" he finally just came out and asked.

_Yes_, she thought. However, she knew there was no way she could actually tell him that. She was too scared. She knew if she cuddled with him while she slept that she'd get her hopes up only to possibly be let down again. She just couldn't risk it. "No, I'll be fine," she finally told him, finding it difficult to continue meeting his eyes.

"The nightmares are gone?" he asked. Of course, he hoped they were, but he had also loved the excuse to hold her.

"Yep," she lied. "Haven't had any the last few days."

Although she had been convincing, he saw through her. It was the way, for just a split second, she'd looked to the left. If he hadn't been trained, he might not have caught it. _Wow, she'd rather have nightmares than have me here with her_, he thought, hurt.

Although he'd tried to hide it, a bit of his true feelings had shown through before he'd put his "mask" back on. Maddie was surprised by the quick flash of hurt she saw and was reminded by Carl's words.

"I'll be in the other room if you need me for some reason," Steve told her. "Get some sleep," he added as he walked to the door.

As she watched Steve's retreating figure, his conversation with her ran through her head. **I know I screwed up. I'm sorry, Mads.** She heard him ask her to stop pushing him away. **…Stop pushing me away. I know I screwed up and hurt you, baby, but give me a chance to show you and prove to you that I didn't mean what I said. But that can only happen if you stop keeping me at arm's length.** She remembered the look on his face when her answer had been to simply ignore everything he'd said and tell him she needed to rehearse.

More than anything she'd wanted to tell him how scared she was, but she hadn't had the guts. Instead, she'd done exactly what he'd asked her not to, she'd pushed him away.

She remembered her promise to Carl, that she would stop pushing Steve away. _No time like the present_, she thought nervously.

"Steve?" she whispered just as he reached the door.

He turned back around to face her. "Yeah?"

Her heart racing, Maddie took a deep breath, terrified she was making a mistake. "I'm scared," she admitted, taking a chance.

His brow furrowed for a split second, shocked by her sudden, and random, admission, however he quickly erased any evidence. This was the last thing he'd been expecting her to say, especially after just lying to him.

Nervous as to where this conversation might take them, Steve inconspicuously took a deep breath. "Everything's gonna be fine. We'll figure it out," he told her, keeping it simple. He didn't want to get too deep into the conversation he knew they needed to have for many reasons. Mainly because Maddie was exhausted, sick, and injured, and he wanted to have the conversation when she wasn't distracted by her show. However, he wanted to say and/or do something that would hopefully make her feel less scared, especially because she had finally taken a step towards him, figuratively.

Worried he thought she was telling him she was scared of her stalker, she said, "I don't mean-"

"I know what you're talking about," he interrupted. He walked back to her and sat at the edge of the bed. He could hear the drumming of his heart in his ears although he let none of his anxiety or fear show. Outwardly, he appeared completely calm and collected, completely at ease. Like they weren't discussing the future of their relationship. "And everything's gonna be okay. We will figure it out… But not now. Just don't worry about it now. We'll figure it out at home. At the moment, I just want you to sleep. That's all you need to worry about right now."

Feeling like a teenager again, both nervous and awkward, Maddie gave him a shy, unsure smile. "Okay," she nodded.

He gave her his sexy, one-sided smile before leaning down, a hand on each side of her, effectively caging her in. He kissed her forehead. Then her nose. And, after holding back all day, he thought, _What the hell?_, and decided not to ignore the need and desire pulling at his insides. They seemed to have made a bit of progress, so he wasn't going to fight the urge. However, he didn't want to push her too hard, especially after she'd suddenly freaked out on him when he'd helped her stretch.

Although there was still a part of him that was freaking out at the idea of such a drastic change to their relationship, he pushed the thoughts to the back of his mind and ignored them as he lightly pressed his lips to hers.

The kiss was tentative as he waited to see what she'd do. He'd felt her immediately tense as his lips met hers. However, as he lingered for a second, he felt her begin to relax. That was all the encouragement he needed and he fought to keep from losing control as the need he felt for her rose. Need so powerful that it scared the hell out of him. He couldn't remember feeling anything remotely like it when simply kissing a woman. He pushed the thought, and fear it caused, away and focused only on Maddie as he kissed her again.

Not wanting to take things too far, Steve pulled away. He made it only an inch when the need to feel her soft mouth on his became so strong that he gave in and kissed her again. And again. He could feel his entire body reacting to the simple, sweet kisses.

By the third sweet kiss, Maddie was so lost in the feel of his mouth against hers as well as the feelings and desires Steve was evoking from her, that her hands involuntarily came up to his chest.

At first, her touch was a bit timid as her palms lay against his chiseled, t-shirt clad chest. However, before she knew it, her long, delicate fingers curled and lightly grabbed his shirt. Her body suddenly had a mind of its own and took control, ignoring the screaming doubts and fears in her head. Desire and need began rising within her, making her feel an incredible desperation to have him closer, feel him completely against her. With his shirt fisted in her hands, she began to tug lightly, needing him closer.

God, Steve wanted her. And, if her actions were anything to go by, she wanted him just as badly. However, he knew they needed to stop. For so many reasons. For one, the last time he'd tried to do anything, when they'd both been turned on while he'd helped her stretch, she'd suddenly panicked. He knew he'd pushed her too far and refused to let that happen again.

_Maddie needs sleep_, he tried to tell himself as he kissed her again. Plus, he didn't want to take things further until they had talked everything through. Sure, they'd just taken a step in the right direction. He couldn't have been happier that Maddie had decided to stop pushing him away, or at least make an effort not to, only time would tell if she continued to. But, they needed to have a real conversation about what had happened, about what she was feeling, about what he was feeling, about so many things. He wanted her to be able to tell him what she'd confided in Tina and only hinted at in her comment insinuating that he was disgusted by her as a woman.

Although the area had already been reacting to Maddie and how badly he wanted her, his pants tightened uncomfortably as she began slowly tugging him closer. He knew if they didn't stop right then, then he wouldn't be able to. He wouldn't have the self-control. He was already completely on edge from keeping the kisses at their current level and not bring his tongue into the mix. That and to keep his hands from touching her, and exploring, he'd grabbed a handful of bedding on each side of her and was holding on to it as if his life depended on it.

Groaning, Steve reluctantly pulled away, knowing he never would if he didn't do it right then. He rested his forehead against hers and looked into her gorgeous, blue eyes. The desire and need he saw in them nearly caused his self-control to snap, especially since their mouths were only inches apart. "I need to leave," he whispered, fighting the urge to kiss her again.

Maddie's stomach dropped, assuming he was letting her down again. Her eyes immediately looked away from his.

"Wait, " he told her before she turned her head to the side, breaking their forehead to forehead contact. He knew she had the wrong idea and wanted to clear it up immediately. "Look at me," he whispered. Although it was hard, she forced herself to meet his eyes again, their foreheads still touching. "I need to leave or else you won't be getting any sleep." He raised his eyebrows suggestively to drive the meaning behind his words home. He couldn't help but smirk at the way she began to blush once she understood what he was saying. "You need sleep. More importantly, we need to talk first. This is a perfect example of why. You immediately thought the complete opposite of what I meant." He paused again, sighing. "We'll figure this out, okay? I promise. Everything's gonna be fine, so please don't worry." With his forehead still against hers, he lightly kissed her nose. "Right now, worry about sleeping and resting. You have a show to pull of tonight and right now, you're falling apart, baby."

"Mmmkay," she murmured, inwardly reveling in the pet name. Other guys had tried to call her that in the past and she'd hated it. But when Steve called her "baby", she loved it. _Weird_, she thought. _Makes no sense._

Now that they'd taken this first step, he thought about asking her again if she wanted him to stay, but decided it was probably not the best idea. He was worked up and knew his self-control would snap in the blink of an eye if he laid down and held her. He'd just be in the next room and if she had a nightmare he'd come in and lay down with her. By then his body would have calmed down.

Steve lifted his head slowly. However, before he could get too far he leaned down and kissed her mouth once more, unable to help himself. He made sure not to linger too long or else he knew that would be it. He just couldn't seem to get enough of her. _I've only kissed her_, he thought. _I can't even imagine what it'll be like when I actually have her._ He felt his body react to the thought. "Sleep well, baby," he told her, pulling away and standing before his body won the battle with his mind and he laid on top of her and picked up where they left off.

Although taking that first step towards him had been hard, she did feel a bit better. She was still terrified and hesitant to completely let him in and trust him, but his response had seemed authentic and truthful.

As Steve looked down at her and watched her eyes fluttered closed. He smiled, happy to see she wasn't going to fight sleep. He readjusted the blanket, making sure she was completely covered and warm, before turning and exiting the room.

As he closed the door behind him, he felt better than he had in four days. _Looks like I can fix things after all_, he thought happily.

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><p>I really hope you enjoyed this update! ESPECIALLY THE END! :o)<p>

**Please leave a review!**

Again, I won't be posting the next update until I get at least 10 reviews. I apologize if that upsets you guys. It isn't my intention. In the past, I was getting that and more for each update, so it shouldn't be a problem!

Thanks!

xoxo


	42. Chapter 36, Part 7

**DISCLAIMER**: I do not own "Hawaii Five-0" or any of its characters. I do, however, own Maddie, Pete, Tina, Carl, Mo, the stalker, etc.

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><p><span><strong>AUTHOR'S NOTE<strong>: Hello everyone! Here are the first 12 pgs of the update. I'm just gonna call it Ch.36 Pt.7. I wrote another big chunk of the rest of Ch.36 tonight (10 pgs), but am saving it for the next update. :o)

Anyway, thank you sooo sooo much for all your reviews! I really appreciate it! I knew you'd like the way it ended. You'll also LOVE the beginning of the next chapter.;o) Because of all your reviews, I'm giving you this piece instead of waiting. I told you guys that when I hear from you, I'll update faster!

In regards to this update... I am not making Five-0 or Steve look like idiots... I am simply giving them an adversary that is just as good as them. It'll make for a very interesting story and case. So, please, keep that in mind. Throughout the entire story, I've slowly been adding in hints to why the stalker is as good as he is. And I will continue to do so. There are quite a few hints about it in this update.

THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND FOR THIS UPDATE...

1. The movie theater incident is mentioned. When Maddie and Steve kissed for the first time.

2. Refresh your memory about the roller-skates incident. When Maddie's skates were tampered with in Ch.26 (the end) and the beginning of Ch.27.

3. Recall that Gladys is the woman who runs Craft Services, which is all the food.

4. Like always, thoughts are in _italics_.

5. In this update, hand-written notes are in **bold**.

Like the last update, I won't post without at least 10 reviews, which you guys had NO PROBLEM meeting! Also, you can always PM if you have any questions or prefer to give me your feedback that way. :o)

I hope you enjoy this update. I know it's short, but something very important happens!

Thanks again for all the feedback and for simply reading my story! You guys are the best!

Enjoy!

xoxo

Laura

P.S. I wanted to remind you that I will be unable to work on the story from Thursday-Saturday. BEcause of that, I am going to do my absolute best to completely finish Ch.36 by Wednesday night so I can post it. If for some odd reason I don't finish it, I will post what I have on Wednesday, so you'll get some kind of update. That is if I get at least 10 reviews ;o)

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><p><span><strong>Chapter 36<strong>

**Part 7**

Steve sat at the small, round table in the small kitchen of Maddie's dressing room with a huge smile on his face. She'd let him in. _At least a little_, he thought. And, she'd done it out of the blue as opposed to him forcing her into it.

She'd admitted that she was scared. Scared to let him in. Now, that upset him because he knew she was saying she wasn't scared that their relationship would change, but scared of him hurting her again. She was expecting him to. That bothered him. And made him feel guilty. He shouldn't be the one hurting her, and she shouldn't be expecting him to. _But why not?_ he asked himself. _You have after all hurt her more than once since she's been home._

He sighed as he sat at the table, the box Pete had dropped off in front of him untouched. He recalled the many things he'd done. Sure, they were small, or most of them, a comment here, a comment there. _Okay, maybe going and meeting Lori right after I'd been on top of Maddie, making out, wasn't a small thing, _he inwardly admitted. _And probably wasn't the best idea._

He'd had a lot of time over the last three days to think. Figure out why he'd done the things he'd done, why he'd said the things he'd said. It had all started that night in the movie theatre. When he realized he was having very un-friend-like feelings for his best friend. So, he'd kissed her. And it was that moment that changed everything. It was then that things got crazy and weird.

He hadn't been prepared for the intensity of the desire he had felt at the first taste of her. He'd felt the same, actually more, when he'd simply kissed her moments before. What had been desire and want had rapidly turned to need. As he'd kissed her, he felt like he wouldn't survive if he stopped, if he couldn't have more. It was terrifying. He'd never felt anything remotely close to that.

It was that fear that made him keep his drink date with Lori that night. Why he'd flirted with her at the barbeque. It was why he'd been hot and cold with Maddie, and why he'd said the stupid things he'd said.

When he'd realized he was going to lose her because of that fear, it became easier to ignore. The fear of losing her was worse, stronger, more debilitating, than the fear of change. However, it didn't mean he still wasn't freaked out that he'd just kissed his best friend, and liked it. No, LOVED it!

He knew Maddie had every right to be upset. He'd messed up. And, she had every right to be afraid he'd hurt her again. He couldn't, and wouldn't, blame her for expecting it. Instead, he'd just have to prove her wrong. _And I will_, he thought. _No more stupid moves on my part. _

"What's going on? What happened with Tina?" Kono asked, startling her boss.

Steve's head shot to the door as his two female co-workers walked in. He forced his thoughts of Maddie to the backburner and focused on Kono and Lori.

Before answering, he unconsciously glanced over his shoulder at the closed door to the room Maddie was sleeping in. Looking back at his teammates, he took a deep breath. "Pete received a text from the psycho after Maddie," he told them, his voice softer than usual on the off chance Maddie was awake and could hear them.

"What?" Kono cried, shocked as she and Lori sat at the table.

"Shh," Steve immediately admonished. "She's asleep." With his head, he motioned backwards to the closed door.

"Right. Sorry, boss," Kono apologized.

"So, Pete got a text?" Lori asked. The profiler in her wanted as much knowledge as possible to try and understand the man after Maddie.

"Yeah."

"What'd it say?" she questioned.

"It was a picture of Tina getting out of the car," he answered. "Attached was, 'She's beautiful, isn't she?'"

"A picture?" Kono stated, trying to wrap her mind around what Steve was telling them. "A recent picture?"

"Taken today, while running errands," Steve soberly divulged, his expression matching his tone.

"That doesn't make any sense! Why Tina? Maddie wasn't even with her. Why was he following her?" Kono asked. The questions weren't really directed at anyone in particular. She was more just trying to figure out what was going on.

"I know," Steve replied. He was surprised by the psycho's move just as much as she was. He hadn't been expecting it.

Lori sighed as she remained silent, her mind whirling as she took the new information and readjusted the psychological profile she'd begun making on the stalker.

"What?" Steve asked, sensing her thoughts. She was quiet, hesitant to give her opinion on the stalker's new move. "Spit it out, Lori," he said, his tone harsher than intended. "Sorry," he immediately apologized. "I'm just tense."

"I understand," she replied, giving him a small, sweet smile. She took a deep breath, gathering her thoughts. "This new move suggests that, yes, while Maddie is his primary target, there's a lot more to this than just wanting her. She's most likely his endgame. I wasn't expecting this from him. We knew he was smart and precise, but this changes things." She paused, watching and gauging Steve's reaction. "This is a lot worse than I originally thought. And I was already really concerned."

Silence descended on the room as they digested Lori's professional opinion. After what felt like minutes, but in reality was only seconds, she asked, "What did Tina say? Did she notice anyone following her?"

Steve unconsciously wet his bottom lip with his tongue before speaking. "We haven't asked her anything. She was in bad shape when they brought her back." He relayed how Chin and Pete found her and what Doc had said. "Plus, Pete didn't tell her. He didn't want to scare her… More importantly, I don't want it getting back to Maddie. She'd be upset if she knew. In fact, she'd probably push us all away, convinced she's putting everyone she cares about in danger." He paused, rubbing his right index finger along the skin above his mouth. He sighed, dropping his hand. "It's imperative she never finds out. If that means Tina can't know either, so be it."

"But what if Tina saw something? What if it'll help us get a step closer to this asshole?" Kono questioned, her anger and anxiety apparent not only in her tone, but her face, eyes, and body.

"I know, but we're just gonna have to risk it," Steve answered.

"But Boss, she could have the lead we've been looking for. The lead that could end this," Kono argued passionately. She hated seeing Maddie so scared, so distant, so secretive.

"No," he nearly bellowed. His voice was hard, his face stony, while his eyes were stormy. The tone he used to speak the one word let them know his decision had been made and there wasn't anything they could say to change it. In fact, he wordlessly let them know to drop it and not to bring it up again.

A tense silence hung in the air. The women understood why Steve had made the decision he had, but they both knew if it had been anyone else except Maddie, he would have made the opposite call. However, neither voiced their observation.

He knew his coworkers were just trying to help, and although they were right, Tina should be interviewed, he just couldn't risk Maddie finding out about the threat to Tina. He was afraid she'd either run or shut down further.

Feeling slightly guilty for the way he'd just handled things, Steve came up with an idea. "How about this?" He paused, taking a deep breath before releasing it as a sigh. "You two chat with Tina when you have a chance. Find a way to bring up her errands. See if you can't find anything out without her realizing your interviewing her. Be inconspicuous about it. Don't let her realize you're fishing. Do what women do best,-" He smirked. "Girl talk."

"I wish that hadn't just been wasted on us," Kono laughed, her eyes twinkling. "Lieutenant Commander Steven McGarrett telling us to have girl talk!" Lori joined in the laughter while Steve rolled his eyes and shook his head.

"Are you guys going to just sit there and laugh at me, or are you going to help?" He motioned towards the untouched box with his head.

"Fan mail?" Lori asked, knowing they'd barely made a dent in it the day before.

"Yes, among other things," he answered as he tossed them each a pair of gloves. "I'm going to do a little background on the eight new security members Mads hired four months ago. Pete said they check out, but couldn't hurt to double check. However, I'm sure they're all clean."

Once their hands were gloved, Kono and Lori each took a stack of letters and began reading them while Steve opened his laptop and got to work.

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><p>He'd been silently lying up in the vent directly above the table listening to Steve and the two female members of Five-0 discuss trying to find him. He smiled menacingly, knowing every "lead" they had had been purposely left behind by him to stall and confuse them. <em>Who's better now, McGarrett?<em> he thought arrogantly.

Knowing he needed to continue on if he wanted time with Maddie, he slithered soundlessly through the ventilation system until he came to the vent in the room Maddie was sleeping in. Pulling a tool from his back pocket, he quietly unscrewed the vent and hopped down without making a single sound. He smiled cockily knowing Steve was in the next room and had no idea Maddie was no longer alone only made his visit that much more gratifying. _McGarrett's not the only one with tricks_, he thought.

He took off the small bag strapped to his back and silently set it down on the carpeted floor. His eyes glowed with happiness and a huge smile broke out on his face as he walked towards the bed, his eyes glued to the love of his life.

He eyed the amount of space between the side of the bed and Maddie, debating whether it would disturb her if he sat. Deciding there was enough space that it wouldn't jostle her, he slowly sat, his eyes never leaving her.

His forehead wrinkled as he studied her closely. _She's so pale_, he thought, concerned. He hated to see her like this. Sure, she hadn't been herself for months, ever since he'd begun contacting her and scaring her, but this was the worst she'd looked. He hated that he was partly to blame for her current state, but knew that it had to be this way. He had to break her down, make her realize she couldn't count on McGarrett, that she truly was alone. He knew once she realized that, then it'd be easier to get her to love him completely. He already knew she had feelings for him. It had been obvious from the first moment they'd met. However, Steve had always been there, in the way. He had to take care of that first.

Sure, it would be easier just to kill him, get it over with. But that wasn't as much fun. Plus, that wasn't the plan. He wanted to show everyone that McGarrett wasn't all that special. If anyone was special, it was him. He was better than McGarrett; people were just blind, and stupid. More importantly, he wanted to show McGarrett that he was better than him. Always had been. Always would be.

It wasn't just McGarrett he wanted to prove he was better than. It was all of them. They'd always thought they were so much better, so much more talented, than him. _I'll show them_, he thought.

He froze, unconsciously holding his breath as Maddie moved slightly in her sleep. Her hand rose to her mouth as she coughed several times. He winced at how painful it sounded.

He hated that she was sick and in so much pain. And he hated to see her suffering. Of course, part of that was his fault, but she hadn't listened. He needed to teach her to obey. He'd messed with her roller-skates because she'd needed to be punished. He hadn't felt good about it, but he had to do what he had to do. _She'll understand someday that I did it for her_, he told himself. _For what's best for her._

She moaned in her sleep, obviously in some kind of discomfort. He itched to touch her, to feel her soft skin beneath his roughened fingers. He reached a gloved hand out towards her face. However, at the last moment he froze. From all the times he'd watched her sleep, he knew when she was in a deep sleep, and she was in one now. However, he knew he couldn't risk it. _Eventually, _he thought. _I'll be able to touch her all I want. _He took a deep breath. _Patience_, he reminded himself. _You've been planning this too long to let your love for her cloud your judgment and risk the plan. It's going better than you ever could have hoped. _

He sat there, frozen as a statue, simply watching Maddie sleep for fifteen minutes. He knew he should leave, that he was pushing his luck, especially with Steve and two members of Five-0 in the next room, but he wasn't ready to leave her. Plus, it was a thrill to know he was sitting a foot away from her while Steve stood guard not fifty feet away.

He watched Maddie begin to move slightly in her sleep. Small movements at first. Her brow wrinkled in sleep as a frown formed on her beautiful face. He smirked, knowing exactly what was happening. He was happy she was taking his threats seriously enough that she was having nightmares, and had been for months. However, as he watched her begin to toss back and forth, something not easy in her knee brace, he couldn't help the small twinge of guilt he felt. He hated to hurt her, to scare her, but it was necessary. Reminding himself that was enough to rid him of the guilt, or at least ignore it.

He quickly, and soundlessly, stood as her thrashing became more violent. He couldn't risk her accidentally bumping him. He knew she'd definitely wake if that happened.

_Time to go_, he thought unhappily. He knew the nightmare would be waking her soon, and he couldn't be there when that happened.

He walked around the side of the bed, knowing exactly how to distribute his weight to make absolutely no sound. _Steve's not the only one_, he thought arrogantly.

He squatted down, opening the small bag he'd brought with him. With a gloved hand, he pulled a small box out. Standing, he watched Maddie. She was whimpering softly now. _Definitely time to go_, he mused as he placed the small box at the foot of the bed on the side furthest from her.

Without taking his eyes from her, he lifted the bag and attached it securely to his back. He licked his lips in yearning as he took a good long last look of her. He already knew every feature, every freckle, every scar, but he still took her in as if he was memorizing everything about her. "See you soon beautiful," he whispered before jumping and grabbing hold of the open vent. Most would have made some kind of noise, but he'd been trained, and trained by the best.

Inside the ceiling, he screwed the vent back into place and returned the small screwdriver to his back pocket. He laid there for several seconds, feeling the depression already setting in. He hated being away from her. That was the hardest part about his plan. He was miserable without her. _Soon enough_, he thought. _It's not time yet… there's still too much to do. _

Reminding himself of his plan and why he wasn't just taking Maddie eased the gloomy feeling and reinvigorated him with a sense of revenge. Although he wanted to know what McGarrett and his team were saying, he knew he didn't have the time Slowly, and utterly soundlessly, he began slithering through the ventilation system in the opposite direction of the main room of Maddie's dressing room.

It took only two minutes before he lowered himself out of a vent in a small supply closet. He secured the vent before stripping himself of the special, black jumpsuit he wore. It was made from a material that made it easier for him to do what he'd just done and not make a sound. He rolled it up and placed it in the bottom of his bag.

Underneath the suit were the clothes he'd worn to enter the arena. Boot cut jeans and a black t-shirt with the word "Crew" in white lettering on the back. Leaving his gloves on, he pulled the special shoes off and placed them in the bag with the jumpsuit before pushing his socked feet in the work boots he'd entered in.

He took the last item from the bag, a small case. Opening it, he took the shaggy haired red wig and matching mustache out and put them on. Not surveying it as a risk, he'd left the nearly violet colored contacts in when visiting Maddie.

Quietly, and quickly, he snapped open the large Road Runner touring case he'd left next to the side wall. "Madeline Lily" was stenciled in white on the front. He placed his small bag inside before latching the case closed. Although the case was identical to the hundreds Maddie toured with, right down to the stencil font she used, it was his case. For months he'd been using it as a prop as well as a way to carry items a crew member shouldn't have. For example, the contents in the small bag he had. Whenever he could, he'd been on tour with Maddie, disguising himself as a crew member. He'd made sure that the identity he'd created had been thorough, knowing it would have to hold up to Pete's extensive background search. Luckily, he knew not only exactly what he was doing, but also what Pete would look into when doing a background check. He smiled, nearly laughing out loud, at the memory of being hired, knowing he'd fooled Pete.

He'd socialized, only as much as needed, with other crew members, knowing if he avoided everyone and kept to himself, that it would garner unwanted attention. However, he'd made sure to avoid security as much as possible. Mainly a handful of the original eight members. Although he was confident in his disguise, he didn't want to risk them recognizing him. Of course, he didn't avoid them completely as that would have also brought unwanted attention and questions. Instead, he interacted with them only when necessary and always chose those times when everyone was so busy with a task that their full attention wouldn't be on him.

He gave himself a quick once over with a small mirror in his pocket, making sure the wig and mustache were perfectly in place, before slipping the official Madeline Lily All Access Crew Pass over his head. Grabbing two unopened packs of napkins from s shelf with one hand, he grabbed the Road Runner case with the other and exited the closet.

"Sup Gunner," Dax, another member of the crew, greeted as he exited.

"Hey," he replied, walking with him down the hallway.

"What were you doing in there?"

"Gladys needed more napkins and since I was going this way I told her I'd take care of it," he explained.

"Oh Gladys! Her cooking's the best!" Dax exclaimed. "Just another great thing about working for Maddie!"

"What? The cooking?" he asked as they continued down another hallway.

"Well, yeah, but that she doesn't spare expenses with things other artists do. She doesn't feed us crappy food." He paused, smiling. "Just one of those things that says a lot about the kind of person she is. A good person."

"That's for sure," he agreed. _Just one of the reasons I love her_, he thought.

"Well, this is me," Dax said, as they reached a section with several hallways jutting off in different directions.

"See ya later," he smiled, motioning with his head.

"For sure!" Dax responded. "Tell Gladys I'm looking forward to dinner!" He laughed as he disappeared down a hallway.

With the case in one hand and the large packs of napkins in the other, he continued to make his way to the main room. Once inside, he approached Gladys. "For the pretty lady," he joked, grinning charmingly.

"Thanks so much Gunner," Gladys smiled. "Saved me a trip!"

"Not a problem!" he replied. "Like I said, I was heading that way anyway!" There was a slight pause before he continued, "Well, I gotta get back to work, but I'll see you later!'

"Of course! Don't want to hold you up. It's a busy day. Big show tonight!" she responded.

"That's for sure!" He smiled and began towards the exit. "Oh, I almost forgot." He turned around as he continued walking. "Dax wanted me to tell you that he's looking forward to dinner!"

"When isn't he thinking about food?" Gladys called back, laughing.

"Very true!" he responded, chuckling with her. He smiled and waved before turning back around.

As he reached the exit, he nodded to Adam, once again stationed at the door, in greeting. The security member returned the gesture while quickly eyeing the badge around his neck. He knew Gunner, but it was still his job to check.

With the case securely in his hand he exited.

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><p>Although the crowd was screaming and roaring in approval, Maddie couldn't see them. Not from the stage as she performed. Unlike all the other times, the thrilled and enthusiastic audience wasn't exciting her. In fact, she didn't even notice them. All she was aware of was her pounding heart, and not because she'd been running around and dancing onstage for the last thirty minutes. She wasn't experiencing the adrenaline rush she normally did either. Instead, she felt unadulterated fear. Terror, really.<p>

She could feel him. Feel his eyes on her. Although she couldn't see him, she knew he was there, looming in the shadows. She knew he wasn't there to watch the show, but to punish her. He'd warned her to stay away from Steve, and she hadn't listened.

With her mouth dry, she spun forward onto the catwalk as she sang and danced. As she hit the conveyor belt in the center, she immediately realized it was going way too fast. _Oh no, not again, _she thought, just as it came to a screeching halt. The sudden change threw her off balance and she went flying forward, falling to the stage.

She knew it hadn't been an accident, just like the flying disc at the beginning had suddenly plummeted several feet, scaring the hell out of her. Or just like the stand she leaned against as she was raised high above the stage had been loose. There were countless other things that had gone wrong, all of which she knew had been warnings. He could've done more in each scenario, making them more dangerous and life threatening.

Maddie could feel herself begin to panic. Her breathing quickened as she let the fear begin to consume her. More than anything she wanted to run off the stage, stop the show in the middle. She wanted to beg to whomever it was she could feel watching her, beg for him to stop. That if he'd only stop, if he'd only promise to leave Steve alone than she'd do whatever he wanted. Just as she dropped to her knees to do just that, she looked out and saw Steve in the VIP section. She met his gorgeous blue eyes as he sent her an encouraging smile. "You're safe. I've got you," he mouthed to her.

She immediately felt her courage come back as the fear began to subside.

Suddenly she found herself at the part of the show where she was harnessed and raised above the audience. The words Steve had mouthed echoed in her head, keeping her calm. _He's not going to let him hurt me, or him. He's not going to let him destroy us. I'm safe. He's safe…_ she thought.

Dangling high in the air, she looked down to find Steve again, just wanting to see his face. Her stomach dropped and her heart stopped as she saw him lying in a pool of his own blood. She met his blue eyes again, however this time they sent her no message. They were glassy and lifeless as they bored into her. It was as if they were silently telling her, "You killed me. This is your fault. I'm dead because of you."

She couldn't breathe. There was no air. She gasped for breath as tears rolled down her face. She wanted to scream, to cry out for Steve, but nothing would come out as she continued to fly over the crowd. However, she saw no one but Steve, dead below her.

"You should have listened to me," a creepy male voice suddenly said to her. She glanced around, looking for the source of the voice, but there was no one. "He's dead because of you. You killed him." Suddenly, both wires snapped and she plummeted.

"No," Maddie whispered, as she shot up in bed, her eyes wide in fear. She glanced around the room, tears streaming down her face as she struggled for air. "Steve?" she whispered. She didn't see his body anymore. And where was the stage? Where'd the screaming crowd go? She couldn't hear them anymore.

Her eyes frantically darted around the room. _Where the hell am I?_ she wondered, gasping for air. She saw a small table to the left and a bag she recognized, sitting on top of it. The fog began to slowly clear as she began recognizing her surroundings.

"It was just a dream," she whispered, her immense relief obvious. She squeezed her eyes shut, pursing her lips as she tried to force the nightmare from her mind. It had felt so real. Her chin and bottom lip quivered and her stomach churned at the mere memory. With her breathing still rapid and abnormal, she began coughing. Deep, painful coughs that sliced at her sore throat and aching muscles.

_You gotta calm down, Mads_, she told herself, knowing if she continued to cough the way she was, Steve would hear and come in to check on her. She couldn't let him see her like this. She didn't want him knowing about the nightmare. She wanted him to believe they were gone, and she knew if that was to happen, she had to figure out a way to hide them. It was her only option since she knew they wouldn't be disappearing any time soon.

Closing her eyes, she focused on every muscle in her body. By concentrating, she was able to slowly relax each individual muscle one by one. In turn, her breathing began to normalize. Tears still ran down her face, but they continued to be silent.

She coughed and sniffled a few times before slowly opening her eyes. Although outwardly she appeared much calmer, her stomach was still in knots, causing a familiar nauseous aching feeling in it.

Maddie yawned, still exhausted. She wasn't exactly sure how long she'd slept, all she knew was that she wouldn't be getting any more. There was no way she'd be able to fall back asleep now. She shook her head, frustrated with herself and the fact she was letting the fear affect her so immensely.

"What the…?" she murmured. Something had caught her attention out of the corner of her eyes. She turned her focus to the small object on the other side of the foot of the bed.

Seeing it was a small gift, she furrowed her brow wondering where it'd come from. Knowing Steve was in the next room and that he wouldn't have let anyone near her while she slept, her only logical guess was that it was from him. She nibbled her bottom lip as a small smile tugged at her mouth.

Anxious to discover what was inside, Maddie quickly pulled the tube from her knee brace, immediately turning the machine off. With her right leg still in the brace, she maneuvered herself awkwardly across the bed so she could reach the gift.

She picked the small box up carefully, as if it were a priceless object that would disintegrate if she let go or dropped it. Her smile grew, her dimples appearing, at the thought Steve had come in and left her a gift just to make her smile.

She tugged at the end of the white satin ribbon, untying the bow. She then lifted the top off the box. Her brow furrowed at the small piece of paper folded inside. With her heart racing from excitement, she opened the paper. A tiny little plastic bag fell to her lap. Before looking at its contents, she wanted to read the note. Her heart dropped as she read the two sentences. **I thought you'd learned your lesson already. Have a good show…** Quickly she glanced at the tiny bag in her lap. With her heart pounding, she set the paper down and picked up the bag. She dumped the contents into her hand. "Screws?" she muttered, confused. However, it took only a split second for it to dawn on her. Her mouth went dry. They were the missing screws from her roller skates.

The terror she'd felt in her nightmare returned full force as she stuffed everything back into the tiny box. _Where did this come from? How did it get in here? _

As silent tears rolled down her face, Maddie's eyes darted around the room nervously, looking for any sign someone had been there. However, deep down she knew there would be none. The only sign was in her hands.

She knew where the box had come from. She knew somehow, he'd been in the room with her while she'd slept… while Steve was in the next room. A shiver shot through her body leaving goosebumps in its wake.

It became harder to breathe as the realization that she wasn't safe, that Steve couldn't keep her safe, hit her like a ton of bricks. However, that wasn't what had her scrambling to her feet and stuffing the box in a secret pouch inside the small bag she kept in her duffel. It was the fact that if he could get to her with all her security and with Steve and Five-0 there, then he could get to anyone at anytime. Which meant Steve wasn't safe himself. Not if she was anyone near him. Her stomach flip-flopped as the nausea increased.

Still in her knee brace, she hurriedly hobbled to the adjoining bathroom, something made incredibly difficult by her huge knee brace. She teetered and tottered as she rushed inside, closing the door behind her and flicking the lock on both that door and the other one connecting the bathroom to the main room of her dressing room. She flipped the sink on full blast before dropping to the floor in an awkward and very uncomfortable heap directly in front of the toilet. She made it just in time to lean over and lose what little food was in her stomach as her mind whirled and the terror mounted.

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Thanks!

xoxo


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